KdV Equation Derivation
From WikiWaves
We consider the method of derivation of KdV Equation in the concept of Nonlinear Shallow Water Waves.
Introduction
In the analysis of Nonlinear Shallow Water Waves equations we see that there are two important geometrical parameters,
and
involved. By choosing appropriate magnitudes for ε and α, we can consider a theory in which dispersion and nonlinearity are in balance. The Korteweg-de Vries Equation verifies the relation between dispersion and nonlinearity properties.
Derivation
We begin with the equations for waves on water,
Provided that at y = η(x,t) = h + aH(x,t) we have,

To make these equations dimensionless, we use the scaled variables,

where
is defined as linear wave speed in shallow water. Hence the dimensionless system is,

where
and
are two small parameters which are given in this problem.
In the next step we use the transform
and introduce further transformation to remove ε from the equations,

The key idea is that
is O(1).
Hence,

The boundary condition (4) expresses Ψ at the flat bed,
. The boundary condition (3) is Bernoulli equation and (2) is kinematic boundary condition. Now we use asymptotic expansions of the form,

to derive an equation for each Hi according to the boundary conditions (2) to (4).
* Derivation of Hi's:
Substituting (5) and (6), (1) must be true for all powers of α. Therefore,

Now at leading order the Bernoulli and kinematic equations, (3) and (2), gives,

Differentiating (b) and eliminating H1 and B1 from (c) allow us to write,

Finally, (a) gives B0 in terms of H0 and hence

which is named Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation.
Interpretation
KdV equation includes dispersive effects through the term H0,zzz and nonlinear effects through the term H0H0,z and governs the behavior of the small amplitude waves, with α < < 1. It is reasonable to ask when and where the independent variables, z and τ, are of O(1) in order to determine more precisely the region in physical space where the KdV equation is valid as an approximation of the actual flow. According to the definition of z and τ, if α = O(ε2), then
and
. This leads us to interpret any waveform that arises as a solution of the KdV equation as the large time limit of an initial value problem.
For solution of KdV equation please refer here.
