Transonic potential flows in a convergent–divergent approximate nozzle

In this paper we prove existence, uniqueness and regularity of certain perturbed (subsonic–supersonic) transonic potential flows in a two-dimensional Riemannian manifold with “convergent–divergent” metric, which is an approximate model of the de Laval nozzle in aerodynamics. The result indicates that transonic flows obtained by quasi-one-dimensional flow model in fluid dynamics are stable with respect to the perturbation of the velocity potential function at the entry (i.e., tangential velocity along the entry) of the nozzle. The proof is based upon linear theory of elliptic–hyperbolic mixed type equations in physical space and a nonlinear iteration method.