Weak Nonlinear Long Waves in Channel Flow with Internal Dissipation

This article concerns the evolution of long waves ( O (ε^−1/2) wavelength) of small [ O (ε)] amplitude in channel flow with internal dissipation. We use multiple scale expansions to derive a generalized Kuramoto–Sivashinsky (GKS) equation that governs the dominant asymptotic solution in the limit of small disturbances and marginal linear instability. We compare this solution with numerical integrations of the full quasilinear system, and show that the error is consistent with an asymptotic solution to ε^3/2 over a time interval of order ε^−3/2.