Derivatives of the Stretch, Rotation and Exponential Tensors in n-Dimensional Vector Spaces

We present a solution for the tensor equation TX + XT ^T = H, where T is a diagonalizable (in particular, symmetric) tensor, which is valid for any arbitrary underlying vector space dimension n. This solution is then used to derive compact expressions for the derivatives of the stretch and rotation tensors, which in turn are used to derive expressions for the material time derivatives of these tensors. Some existing expressions for n = 2 and n = 3 are shown to follow from the presented solution as special cases. An alternative methodology for finding the derivatives of diagonalizable tensor-valued functions that is based on differentiating the spectral decomposition is also discussed. Lastly, we also present a method for finding the derivatives of the exponential of an arbitrary tensor for arbitrary n.     

The Explicit Determination of the Logarithm of a Tensor and Its Derivatives

The logarithm of a tensor is often used in nonlinear constitutive relations of elastic materials. Here we show how the logarithm of an arbitrary tensor can be explicitly evaluated for any underlying space dimension n. We also present a method for the explicit evaluation of the derivatives of the logarithm of a tensor.      

On Extended Polar Decomposition

In this study, we considered the extended polar decomposition using a more general approach than the one provided by Boulanger and Hayes [Int. J. Non-Linear Mech. 36 (2001) 399–420]. We showed that the procedure of the decomposition could be simplified by considering its rotation tensor. Our method is illustrated by examples.     

An alternative derivation of the polar decomposition

This paper has showed that there is an alternative in deriving polar decomposition, which is quite different from Malvern's method[1]. Derivation procedure presented in this study has been started from the deformation gradient tensor F itself. Meanwhile, derivation procedure by Malvern [I] was started from the difference of the final squared length (ds)² of the element in the deformed configuration and the initial squared length (dS)² of the element in the undeformed configuration.     

On several new methods to polar decomposition computation

In this paper, the polar decomposition of a deformation gradient tensor is analyzed in detail. The four new methods for polar decomposition computation are given: (1) the iterated method, (2) the principal invariant's method, (3) the principal rotation axis's method, (4) the coordinate transformation's method. The iterated method makes it possible to establish the nonlinear finite element method based on polar decomposition. Furthermore, the material time derivatives of the stretch tensor and the rotation tensor are obtained by explicit and simple expressions. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support rendered by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi of China in 1998.     

Dynamic rotation and stretch tensors from a dynamic polar decomposition

The local rigid-body component of continuum deformation is typically characterized by the rotation tensor, obtained from the polar decomposition of the deformation gradient. Beyond its well-known merits, the polar rotation tensor also has a lesser known dynamical inconsistency: it does not satisfy the fundamental superposition principle of rigid-body rotations over adjacent time intervals. As a consequence, the polar rotation diverts from the observed mean material rotation of fibers in fluids, and introduces a purely kinematic memory effect into computed material rotation. Here we derive a generalized polar decomposition for linear processes that yields a unique, dynamically consistent rotation component, the dynamic rotation tensor, for the deformation gradient. The left dynamic stretch tensor is objective, and shares the principal strain values and axes with its classic polar counterpart. Unlike its classic polar counterpart, however, the dynamic stretch tensor evolves in time without spin. The dynamic rotation tensor further decomposes into a spatially constant mean rotation tensor and a dynamically consistent relative rotation tensor that is objective for planar deformations. We also obtain simple expressions for dynamic analogues of Cauchy's mean rotation angle that characterize a deforming body objectively.     

Decomposition of the Deformations of a Thin Shell. Asymptotic Behavior of the Green-St Venant’s Strain Tensor

We investigate the behavior of the deformations of a thin shell, whose thickness δ tends to zero, through a decomposition technique of these deformations. The terms of the decomposition of a deformation v are estimated in terms of the L ²-norm of the distance from ∇ v to SO(3). This permits in particular to derive accurate nonlinear Korn’s inequalities for shells (or plates). Then we use this decomposition technique and estimates to give the asymptotic behavior of the Green-St Venant’s strain tensor when the “strain energy” is of order less than δ ^3/2.     

Characterization of transversal homothetic solutions in the n-body problem

Homothetic solutions of the n-body problem can be seen as heteroclinic orbits when the dynamical variables are changed via the McGehee blow-up and the time is suitably scaled. Transversality of the invariant asymptotic manifolds which contain the heteroclinic orbits is related to some structural stability. We fully characterize the cases in which such transversality is obtained for the n-body problem in any dimension.     

On Shearing, Stretching and Spin

An analysis is presented of stretching, shearing and spin of material line elements in a continuous medium. It is shown how to determine all pairs of material line elements at a point x, at time t, which instantaneously are not subject to shearing. For a given pair not subject to shearing, a formula is presented for the determination of a third material line element such that all three form a triad not subject to shearing, instantaneously. It is seen that there is an infinity of such triads not subject to shearing. A new decomposition of the velocity gradient L is introduced. In place of the classical decomposition of Cauchy and Stokes, L=d+w, where d is the stretching tensor and w is the spin tensor, the new decomposition is L=?+ℳ, where ?, called the ldquo;modified” stretching tensor, is not symmetric, and ℳ, called the “modified” spin tensor, is skew-symmetric – the tensor ? being chosen so that it has three linearly independent real right (and left) eigenvectors. The physical interpretation of this decomposition is that the material line elements along the three linearly independent right eigenvectors of ? instantaneously form a triad not subject to shearing. They spin as a rigid body with angular velocity μ (say) associated with ℳ. Also, for each decomposition L=?+ℳ, there is a decomposition L=? ^T +, where is also skew-symmetric. The triad of material line elements along the right eigenvectors of ? ^T (the set reciprocal to the right eigenvectors of ?) is also instantaneously not subject to shearing and rotates with angular velocity (say) associated with . It is seen that the vorticity vector ω is the mean of the two angular velocities μ and , ω =(μ+)/2. For irrotational motion, ω =0, so that μ=-; any triad of material line elements suffering no shearing rotates with angular velocity equal and opposite to that of the reciprocal triad of material line elements. It is proved that provided d is not spherical, there is an infinity of choices for ? and ℳ in the decomposition L=?+ℳ. Two special types of decompositions are introduced. The first type is called “CCS-decomposition” (where CCS is an abbreviation for Central Circular Section). It is associated with the infinite family of triads (not subject to shearing) with a common edge along the normal to one plane of central circular section of an ellipsoid ? associated with the stretching tensor, and the two other edges arbitrary in the other plane of central circular section of ?. There are two such CCS-decompositions. The second type is called “triangular decomposition”, because, in a rectangular cartesian coordinate system, ? has three off-diagonal zero elements. There are six such decompositions. Received 14 November 2000 and accepted 2 August 2001     

Determination of the Rotation Tensor in the Polar Decomposition

An explicit representation for the rotation tensor which contains the lower powers of deformation gradient is proposed and used to evaluate the angle and axis of the rotation tensor. Some related equations about the rotation tensor are established. Through the approximate analysis, the relation between the S-R decomposition and the polar decomposition is examined. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A symmetry preserving dissipative artificial viscosity in r‐z geometry

We present a novel artificial viscosity for staggered Lagrangian schemes in 2D axi‐symmetric r‐z geometry on logically rectangular grids. The suggested viscous force is dissipative by construction, conserves both components of momentum, and preserves spherical symmetry on an equiangular polar grid. This method turns out to be robust and performs well for spherically symmetric problems on various grid types (symmetric, perturbed polar, rectangular), without any need for tinkering with problem‐dependent or grid‐dependent parameters. The results are compared with the outcome of the area‐weighted approach using the popular tensor viscosity by Campbell and Shashkov. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The non-uniqueness of the atomistic stress tensor and its relationship to the generalized Beltrami representation

The non-uniqueness of the atomistic stress tensor is a well-known issue when defining continuum fields for atomistic systems. In this paper, we study the non-uniqueness of the atomistic stress tensor stemming from the non-uniqueness of the potential energy representation. In particular, we show using rigidity theory that the distribution associated with the potential part of the atomistic stress tensor can be decomposed into an irrotational part that is independent of the potential energy representation, and a traction-free solenoidal part. Therefore, we have identified for the atomistic stress tensor a discrete analog of the continuum generalized Beltrami representation (a version of the vector Helmholtz decomposition for symmetric tensors). We demonstrate the validity of these analogies using a numerical test. A program for performing the decomposition of the atomistic stress tensor called MDStressLab is available online at http://mdstresslab.org.     

Positive‐definite q‐families of continuous subcell Darcy‐flux CVD(MPFA) finite‐volume schemes and the mixed finite element method

A new family of locally conservative cell‐centred flux‐continuous schemes is presented for solving the porous media general‐tensor pressure equation. A general geometry‐permeability tensor approximation is introduced that is piecewise constant over the subcells of the control volumes and ensures that the local discrete general tensor is elliptic. A family of control‐volume distributed subcell flux‐continuous schemes are defined in terms of the quadrature parametrization q (Multigrid Methods. Birkhauser: Basel, 1993; Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery, Norway, June 1994; Comput. Geosci. 1998; 2 :259–290), where the local position of flux continuity defines the quadrature point and each particular scheme. The subcell tensor approximation ensures that a symmetric positive‐definite (SPD) discretization matrix is obtained for the base member (q=1) of the formulation. The physical‐space schemes are shown to be non‐symmetric for general quadrilateral cells. Conditions for discrete ellipticity of the non‐symmetric schemes are derived with respect to the local symmetric part of the tensor. The relationship with the mixed finite element method is given for both the physical‐space and subcell‐space q‐families of schemes. M‐matrix monotonicity conditions for these schemes are summarized. A numerical convergence study of the schemes shows that while the physical‐space schemes are the most accurate, the subcell tensor approximation reduces solution errors when compared with earlier cell‐wise constant tensor schemes and that subcell tensor approximation using the control‐volume face geometry yields the best SPD scheme results. A particular quadrature point is found to improve numerical convergence of the subcell schemes for the cases tested. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the Smoothness of a Class of Weak Solutions to the Navier--Stokes equations

We improve regularity criteria for weak solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations stated in references [1], [3] and [12], by using in the proof given in [3], a new idea introduced by H. O. Bae and H. J. Choe in [1]. This idea allows us, in one of the main hypothesis (see eq. (1.7)), to replace the velocity u by its projection [`(u)] \bar u into an arbitrary hyperplane of \Bbb Rⁿ {\Bbb R}^n ; see Theorem A. For simplicity, we state our results for space dimension n ￡ 4 n \le 4 , since if n 3 5 n \ge 5 the proofs become more technical and additional hypotheses are needed. However, for the interested reader, we will present the formal calculations for arbitrary dimension n.     

Spinodal Decomposition for the¶Cahn-Hilliard Equation in Higher Dimensions:¶Nonlinear Dynamics

This paper addresses the phenomenon of spinodal decomposition for the Cahn-Hilliard equation

Second-Order Shell Kinematics Implied by Rotation Constraint-Equation

The paper presents a general methodology of introducing the shell-type variables which is based on the rotation constraint-equation (RC-equation). The RC-equation is proven to be equivalent to the polar decomposition of the deformation gradient formula, and the rotations which it yields are interpreted in terms of rotations of vectors of an ortho-normal basis. The deformation function and rotations are assumed as polynomials of the thickness coordinate ζ, and in this form used in the RC-equation. Solving this equation, we can express the coefficients of the quadratic deformation function in terms of the following shell-type variables: (a) the mid-surface position x ₀, (b) the constant rotation Q ₀, (c) the rotation vector ψ ^* for the ζ-dependent rotations, and (d) the normal components U ₃₃ ⁰ and U ₃₃ ¹ of the right stretching tensor. This new methodology (i) ensures that all shell kinematical variables are consistent with the RC-equation, which is justified on 3D grounds, (ii) provides a general framework from which various Reissner-type hypotheses can be obtained by suitable assumptions. As an example, two generalized Reissner hypotheses are derived: one with two normal stretches, and the other with the in-plane twist and the bubble-like warping parameters. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Approximate inertial manifolds for reaction-diffusion equations in high space dimension

The concept of approximate inertial manifolds was introduced by Foiaset al. (1987) in the case of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. These manifolds are finite dimensional smooth manifolds such that the orbits enter a very thin neighborhood of the manifold after a transient time; this concept replaces the one of inertial manifold when either an inertial manifold does not exist or its existence is not known. Our aim in this paper is to prove that approximate inertial manifolds exist for reaction-diffusion equations in high space dimension by opposition with exact inertial manifolds whose existence has only been proved in low dimension and for which nonexistence results have been obtained in space dimensionn=4.     

A new (n+1)-dimensional generalized Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation: integrability characteristics and localized solutions

Searching for higher-dimensional integrable models is one of the most significant and challenging issues in nonlinear mathematical physics. This paper aims to extend the classic lower-dimensional integrable models to arbitrary spatial dimension. We investigate the celebrated Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (KP) equation and propose its (n+1)-dimensional integrable extension. Based on the singularity manifold analysis and binary Bell polynomial method, it is found that the (n+1)-dimensional generalized KP equation has N-soliton solutions, and it also possesses the Painlevé property, Lax pair, Bäcklund transformation as well as infinite conservation laws, and thus the (n+1)-dimensional generalized KP equation is proven to be completely integrable. Moreover, various types of localized solutions can be constructed starting from the N-soliton solutions. The abundant interactions including overtaking solitons, head-on solitons, one-order lump, two-order lump, breather, breather-soliton mixed solutions are analyzed by some graphs.