Dissipative solvability of an alpha model of fluid flow with memory (Q2278201)

Hydrodynamical alpha models represent approximations that depend on parameter \(\alpha\). The velocity field \(v\) is replaced by a smoother function \(u\) related to \(v\) by the elliptic system \(v = u - \alpha^2 \Delta u\). The authors consider a bounded domain in two and three spatial dimensions with a sufficiently smooth boundary. The initial-boundary value problem with Dirichlet condition on the boundary is posed for the alpha model of a fluid with memory. The solvability analysis of the models for fluid flows with memory faces the difficulty that the velocity field does not determine the trajectories of motion of the particles. A possible way to treat such problems is to regularize the velocity vector and to determine the trajectories for a smoother velocity field. However, the regularization introduces a problem with the lack of results concerning the solvability of the initial-boundary value problem in the case of a rough velocity field. The advantage of the alpha model is that the velocity field is sufficiently smooth thanks to the \(\alpha\) terms, so there is no need to regularize the velocity field further. The authors prove the existence of a dissipative solution to the alpha model of a fluid with memory. The dissipative solution is defined in Sobolev space \(H^1\). They also prove that if the model has a strong solution, then the restriction of the dissipative solution to the same time interval coincides with the strong solution. Finally, they prove that each strong solution is a unique dissipative solution.