A computational investigation of the finite-time blow-up of the 3D incompressible Euler equations based on the Voigt regularization

Abstract

We report the results of a computational investigation of two recently proved blow-up criteria for the 3D incompressible Euler equations. These criteria are based on an inviscid regularization of the Euler equations known as the 3D Euler-Voigt equations. The latter are known to be globally well-posed. Moreover, simulations of the 3D Euler-Voigt equations also require less resolution than simulations of the 3D Euler equations for fixed values of the regularization parameter α>0. Therefore, the new blow-up criteria allow one to gain information about possible singularity formation in the 3D Euler equations indirectly; namely, by simulating the better-behaved 3D Euler-Voigt equations. The new criteria are only known to be sufficient criteria for blow-up. Therefore, to test the robustness of the inviscid-regularization approach, we also investigate analogous criteria for blow-up of the 1D Burgers equation, where blow-up is well-known to occur.