Boussinesq equations and other systems for small-amplitude long waves in nonlinear dispersive media. I: Derivation and linear theory. (English) Zbl 1022.35044

Bona, J. L.; Chen, M.; Saut, J.-C.

J. Nonlinear Sci. 12, No. 4, 283-318 (2002).

Summary: Considered herein are a number of variants of the classical Boussinesq system and their higher-order generalizations. Such equations were first derived by Boussinesq to describe the two-way propagation of small-amplitude, long wavelength, gravity waves on the surface of water in a canal. These systems arise also when modeling the propagation of long-crested waves on large lakes or the ocean and in other contexts. Depending on the modeling of dispersion, the resulting system may or may not have a linearization about the rest state which is well posed. Even when well posed, the linearized system may exhibit a lack of conservation of energy that is at odds with its status as an approximation to the Euler equations. In the present script, we derive a four-parameter family of Boussinesq systems from the two-dimensional Euler equations for free-surface flow and formulate criteria to help decide which of these equations one might choose in a given modeling situation. The analysis of the systems according to these criteria is initiated.

MSC:

35Q35	PDEs in connection with fluid mechanics
76B15	Water waves, gravity waves; dispersion and scattering, nonlinear interaction
35B30	Dependence of solutions to PDEs on initial and/or boundary data and/or on parameters of PDEs

Keywords:

water waves; two-way propagation; Boussinesq systems; local well-posedness; global well-posedness