A new formulation of equations of compressible fluids by analogy with Maxwell's equations

Abstract

A compressible ideal fluid is governed by Euler's equation of motion and equations of continuity, entropy and vorticity. This system can be reformulated in a form analogous to that of electromagnetism governed by Maxwell's equations with source terms. The vorticity plays the role of magnetic field, while the velocity field plays the part of a vector potential and the enthalpy (of isentropic flows) plays the part of a scalar potential in electromagnetism. The evolution of source terms of fluid Maxwell equations is determined by solving the equations of motion and continuity. The equation of sound waves can be derived from this formulation, where time evolution of the sound source is determined by the equation of motion. The theory of vortex sound of aeroacoustics is included in this formulation. It is remarkable that the forces acting on a point mass moving in a velocity field of an inviscid fluid are analogous in their form to the electric force and Lorentz force in electromagnetism. The significance of the reformulation is interpreted by examples taken from fluid mechanics. This formulation can be extended to viscous fluids without difficulty. The Maxwell-type equations are unchanged by the viscosity effect, although the source terms have additional terms due to viscosities.