The influence of geostrophic force on the stability of an heterogeneous conducting fluid with a radial gravitional force

Abstract

The linear and nonlinear stability of a heterogeneous incompressible inviscid perfectly conducting fluid between two cylinders is investigated in the presence of a radial gravitational force and geostrophic force. The stability for linear disturbances is investigated using the normal mode method, while the nonlinear stability is investigated by applying the energy method. In the case of linear theory, it is found that a necessary condition for in stability is that the algebraic sum of hydrodynamic, hydromagnetic and rotation Richardson number is less than one quarter somewhere in the fluid. A semi-circle theorem similar to that of Howard is also obtained. In the case of nonlinear disturbances a universal stability estimate namely a stability limit for motions subject to arbitrary nonlinear disturbances is obtained in the form E ≤ E₀ exp(−2M_τ). The motion is asymptotically stable if δ ≤ 1 + J_m + J_H somewhere in the fluid. This asymptotic stability limit is improved using the calculus of variation technique. We also find that when δ = ¼, and J_R=1, both the linear and nonlinear stability criteria coincide and in that particular case, we have a necessary and sufficient condition for stability.