This volume introduces a systematic approach to the solution of some mathematical problems that arise in the study of the hyperbolic-parabolic systems of equations that govern the motions of thermodynamic fluids. It is intended for a wide audience of theoretical and applied mathematicians with an interest in compressible flow, capillarity theory, and control theory.The focus is particularly on recent results concerning nonlinear asymptotic stability, which are independent of assumptions about the smallness of the initial data. Of particular interest is the loss of control that sometimes results when steady flows of compressible fluids are upset by large disturbances. The main ideas are illustrated in the context of three different physical problems:(i) A barotropic viscous gas in a fixed domain with compact boundary. The domain may be either an exterior domain or a bounded domain, and the boundary may be either impermeable or porous.(ii) An isothermal viscous gas in a domain withfree boundaries.(iii) A heat-conducting, viscous polytropic gas.
From the reviews: "The subject of the book is the dynamic stability of steady flows of fluids. ... The book considers many different boundary conditions with fixed and free boundaries. ... the book is well written and of interest to everyone working on the questions of stability, in particular global stability of compressible viscous fluid flows. It also provides an extensive list of references about the subject matter." (Gerhard O. Ströhmer, Mathematical Reviews, January, 2013)