Determination of the form of a thin axisymmetric cavity on the basis of an integrodifferential equation (Q579069)

With the principle of ``the independence of expansion'' [proposed by \textit{G. V. Logvinovich}, The hydrodynamics of flows with free boundaries (1969; Zbl 0239.76009)] as a basis, simple differential equations are obtained which describe the form both of a steady and of an unsteady cavity. In the unsteady case all that is known are integrodifferential equations for the form of the cavity and the solutions to the equations of the first approximation. These equations provide a good qualitative description of the form of steady and unsteady cavities. In order to achieve quantitative agreement, it is essential to solve the integrodifferential equations. The solution of this type of equation is reduced to the integration of a chain of linear first-order differential equations. If one restricts oneself to the first two in this chain, the second approximation equations so obtained provide a high degree of accuracy and are fairly simple. Analytical equations can be obtained in the steady case for the radius of the cavity during flow of a weightless, and of a heavy, fluid round an object. In the case of unsteady cavities, an analytical expression is obtained for the second derivative of the radius.