For a barotropic fluid, define . Dotting the steady Euler equation with gives
Thus the Bernoulli function is constant along each streamline. Different streamlines can have different constants; steady flow alone does not imply one spatially uniform .
In a quasi-one-dimensional flow through area with negligible gravity, the axial momentum equation and give
Meanwhile the mass flow rate is constant, so . Substitution proves the nozzle area-velocity relation
A subsonic flow accelerates where decreases, whereas a supersonic flow accelerates where increases. A smooth accelerating transonic branch in a de Laval nozzle therefore crosses at a minimum-area throat. Suitable reservoir and downstream pressures are also required: a converging-diverging shape by itself does not exclude a wholly subsonic solution or a downstream shock.
Figure 1.
Choked adiabatic nozzle: minimum area, sonic crossing and continued supersonic acceleration
. Details.
For the stipulated constant- polytropic flow, . At the throat , so
The specific enthalpy is . Evaluating at the throat and substituting elsewhere gives
On the outward supersonic branch, lets the gas expand and its specific enthalpy tend to zero for . Consequently
For , . Also . These are the adiabatic nozzle terminal speed and expansion laws for a lossless escaping branch; a subsonic branch could instead approach finite pressure with . A pressure-shaped astrophysical jet is being approximated by a nozzle here: the assumed geometry does not by itself explain the confinement or account for magnetic forces or relativistic motion in an actual active galactic nucleus.