Existence and stability of multidimensional transonic flows through an infinite nozzle of arbitrary cross-sections

We establish the existence and stability of multidimensional steady transonic flows with transonic shocks through an infinite nozzle of arbitrary cross-sections, including a slowly varying de Laval nozzle. The transonic flow is governed by the inviscid potential flow equation with supersonic upstream flow at the entrance, uniform subsonic downstream flow at the exit at infinity, and the slip boundary condition on the nozzle boundary. Our results indicate that, if the supersonic upstream flow at the entrance is sufficiently close to a uniform flow, there exists a solution that consists of a C 1,α subsonic flow in the unbounded downstream region, converging to a uniform velocity state at infinity, and a C 1,α multidimensional transonic shock separating the subsonic flow from the supersonic upstream flow; the uniform velocity state at the exit at infinity in the downstream direction is uniquely determined by the supersonic upstream flow; and the shock is orthogonal to the nozzle boundary at every point of their intersection. In order to construct such a transonic flow, we reformulate the multidimensional transonic nozzle problem into a free boundary problem for the subsonic phase, in which the equation is elliptic and the free boundary is a transonic shock. The free boundary conditions are determined by the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions along the shock. We further develop a nonlinear iteration approach and employ its advantages to deal with such a free boundary problem in the unbounded domain. We also prove that the transonic flow with a transonic shock is unique and stable with respect to the nozzle boundary and the smooth supersonic upstream flow at the entrance. © 2006 Springer-Verlag