Isentropic gas flow for the compressible Euler equation in a nozzle (Q393997)

The author studies the motion of isentropic gas in a nozzle, such as jet engines, rocket engines and supersonic wind tunnels. One considers an unsteady flow governed by the compressible Euler equation, in paticular a transonic flow which is essential in engineering and physics. Under some assumptions for the initial values, the author proves the existence of a global entropy weak solution (in the sense of conservation law theory) for the Cauchy problem. This problem was previously solved including a transonic flow by the author and Y. G. Lu under the assumption that the cross section area of the nozzle is monotone. The present paper considers the transonic flow in a nozzle with a general cross section area. In order to prove the global existence of the solution, the author gives a bounded estimate for approximate solutions, employing a new invariant region that depends on the space variable and introducing a modified Godunov scheme.