On the application of the Kelvin–Arnol'd energy principle to the stability of forced two-dimensional inviscid flows

Abstract

Arnol'd developed two distinct yet closely related approaches to the linear stability of Euler flows. One is widely used for two-dimensional flows and involves constructing a conserved functional whose first variation vanishes and whose second variation determines the linear (and nonlinear) stability of the motion. The second method is a refinement of Kelvin's energy principle which states that stable steady Euler flows represent extremums in energy under a virtual displacement of the vorticity field. The conserved-functional (or energy-Casimir) method has been extended by several authors to more complex flows, such as planar MHD flow. In this paper we generalize the Kelvin–Arnol'd energy method to two-dimensional inviscid flows subject to a body force of the form −ϕ∇f. Here ϕ is a materially conserved quantity and f an arbitrary function of position and of ϕ. This encompasses a broad class of conservative flows, such as natural-convection planar and poloidal MHD flow with the magnetic field trapped in the plane of the motion, flows driven by electrostatic forces, swirling recirculating flow, self-gravitating flows and poloidal MHD flow subject to an azimuthal magnetic field. We show that stable steady motions represent extremums in energy under a virtual displacement of ϕ and of the vorticity field. That is, d1E=0 at equilibrium and whenever d2E is positive or negative definite the flow is (linearly) stable. We also show that unstable normal modes must have a spatial structure which satisfies d2E=0. This provides a single stability test for a broad class of flows, and we describe a simple universal procedure for implementing this test. In passing, a new test for linear stability is developed. That is, we demonstrate that stability is ensured (for flows of the type considered here) whenever the Lagrangian of the flow is a maximum under a virtual displacement of the particle trajectories, the displacement being of the type normally associated with Hamilton's principle. A simple universal procedure for applying this test is also given. We apply our general stability criteria to a range of flows and recover some familiar results. We also extend these ideas to flows which are subject to more than one type of body force. For example, a new stability criterion is obtained (without the use of Casimirs) for natural convection in the presence of a magnetic field. Nonlinear stability is also considered. Specifically, we develop a nonlinear stability criterion for planar MHD flows which are subject to isomagnetic perturbations. This differs from previous criteria in that we are able to extend the linear criterion into the nonlinear regime. We also show how to extend the Kelvin–Arnol'd method to finite-amplitude perturbations.