Lagrangian Averaging for Compressible Fluids

Abstract

This paper extends the derivation of the Lagrangian averaged Euler (LAE-$\alpha$) equations to the case of barotropic compressible flows. The aim of Lagrangian averaging is to regularize the compressible Euler equations by adding dispersion instead of artificial viscosity. Along the way, the derivation of the isotropic and anisotropic LAE-$\alpha$ equations is simplified and clarified. The derivation in this paper involves averaging over a tube of trajectories $\eta^\epsilon$ centered around a given Lagrangian flow $\eta$. With this tube framework, the Lagrangian averaged Euler (LAE-$\alpha$) equations are derived by following a simple procedure: start with a given action, Taylor expand in terms of small-scale fluid fluctuations $\xi$, truncate, average, and then model those terms that are nonlinear functions of $\xi$. Closure of the equations is provided through the use of \emph{flow rules}, which prescribe the evolution of the fluctuations along the mean flow.