Axisymmetric inviscid flow between moving parallel plates Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
For plates , incompressibility, impermeability and regularity on the axis determine a z-independent radial velocity and vertical velocity . A possible azimuthal velocity requires additional rotational data; continuity alone does not determine it. For a smooth regular initial profile independent of , its azimuthal Euler equation transports it as , where . If the rotation is solid-body with angular velocity , the vorticity equation gives . Along a particle path, and are constant, illustrating conservation of angular momentum.
For constant-density incompressible inviscid flow with conservative body force, Euler equations for an inviscid fluid give . Using , take the curl to obtain . Since both divergences vanish, the vector identity expands this to
Without incompressibility or the constant-density/barotropic hypothesis, extra compression or baroclinic terms are present; the printed equation uses these flow assumptions.
Let , with . Axisymmetric mass conservation is . If is independent of , then is affine in . The impermeable moving-plate conditions force , and integrating the radial equation gives . Regularity at the axis excludes . The meridional part of the axisymmetric inviscid flow between moving parallel plates is therefore
For no swirl, completes the field. Continuity alone does not determine azimuthal motion; this must be specified separately. More generally, prescribe a smooth regular initial profile independent of . The azimuthal part of Euler equations for an inviscid fluid is
so conservation of along radial particle paths gives , where . Together with the meridional components above, this gives a family of complete fields, with a suitable pressure determined by the radial and vertical equations. The field is therefore not unique without rotational data.
With the stated solid-body rotation, and . The vorticity equation gives , hence
For a fluid particle, , so is constant and is constant. This is conservation of angular momentum about the axis: radial spreading when the plates approach decreases the angular velocity. The meridional and rotating fields satisfy the inviscid equations with an appropriate pressure; no tangential no-slip condition is imposed on inviscid plates.