Stability of confined vortex sheets

We propose a simple model for the evolution of an inviscid vortex sheet in a potential flow in a channel with parallel walls. This model is obtained by augmenting the Birkhoff–Rott equation with a potential field representing the effect of the solid boundaries. Analysis of the stability of equilibria corresponding to flat sheets demonstrates that in this new model the growth rates of the unstable modes remain unchanged as compared to the case with no confinement. Thus, in the presence of solid boundaries the equilibrium solution of the Birkhoff–Rott equation retains its extreme form of instability with the growth rates of the unstable modes increasing in proportion to their wavenumbers. This linear stability analysis is complemented with numerical computations performed for the nonlinear problem which show that confinement tends to accelerate the growth of instabilities in the nonlinear regime.