Hydrodynamic impulse in a compressible fluid

A suitable expression for hydrodynamic impulse in a compressible fluid is deduced. The development of appropriate impulse formulation for compressible Euler equations confirms the propriety of the hydrodynamic impulse expression for a compressible fluid given here. Implications of the application of this formulation to a compressible vortex ring are pointed out. Extension of Benjamin's variational characterization of a moving axisymmetric vortex system to a compressible fluid is explored. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.