Weakly dissipative solutions and weak–strong uniqueness for the Navier–Stokes–Smoluchowski system

This article deals with a fluid–particle interaction model for the evolution of particles dispersed in a fluid. The fluid flow is governed by the Navier–Stokes equations for a compressible fluid while the evolution of the particle densities is given by the Smoluchowski equation. The coupling between the dispersed and dense phases is obtained through the drag forces that the fluid and the particles exert mutually. The existence of weakly dissipative solutions is established under reasonable physical assumptions on the initial data, the physical domain, and the external potential. Furthermore, a weak–strong uniqueness result is established via the relative entropy method yielding that a weakly dissipative solution agrees with a classical solution with the same initial data when such a classical solution exists.