The influence of surface tension and configurational forces on the stability of liquid–vapor interfaces

The stability of liquid–vapor interfaces in a multidimensional van der Waals fluid is analyzed. We consider interfaces which connect liquid and vapor states as subsonic shock waves. Surface tension and configurational forces in the form of a kinetic relation determine the evolution of the interface.Stability results for the interface in the sense of energy estimates for solutions of the linearized problem are given. The normal mode analysis of the problem shows that in particular the uniform Kreiss–Lopatinskiĭ condition is satisfied as long as surface tension and amount of energy dissipation are positive but remain small.The analysis relies on Benzoni-Gavage and Freistühler (2004), where surface tension is arbitrary but energy dissipation is zero. Non-stability results for the same system without surface tension and without energy dissipation can be found in Benzoni-Gavage (1999).