Series solutions of nano boundary layer flows by means of the homotopy analysis method

We present here a ‘similar’ solution for the nano boundary layer with nonlinear Navier boundary condition. Three types of flows are considered: (i) the flow past a wedge; (ii) the flow in a convergent channel; (iii) the flow driven by an exponentially-varying outer flows. The resulting differential equations are solved by the homotopy analysis method. Different from the perturbation methods, the present method is independent of small physical parameters so that it is applicable for not only weak but also strong nonlinear flow phenomena. Numerical results are compared with the available exact results to demonstrate the validity of the present solution. The effects of the slip length ?, the index parameters n and m on the velocity profile and the tangential stress are investigated and discussed.     

Automatic differentiation for the optimization of a ship propulsion and steering system: a proof of concept

We describe the optimization of the Voith-Schneider-Propeller (VSP) which is an industrial propulsion and steering system of a ship combined in one module. The goal is to optimize efficiency of the VSP with respect to different design variables. In order to determine the efficiency, we have to use numerical simulations for the complex flow around the VSP. Such computations are performed with standard (partly commercial) flow solvers. For the numerical optimization, one would like to use gradient-based methods which requires derivatives of the flow variables with respect to the design parameters. In this paper, we investigate if Automatic Differentiation (AD) offers a method to compute the required derivatives in the described framework. As a proof of concept, we realize AD for the 2D-code Caffa and the 3D-code Comet, for the simplified model of optimizing efficiency with respect to the angle of attack of one single blade (like an airfoil). We show that AD gives smooth derivatives, whereas finite differences show oscillations. This regularization effect is even more pronounced in the 3D-case. Numerical optimization by AD and Newton’s method shows almost optimal convergence rates.     

Laminar magnetohydrodynamic duct flow in the presence of a magnetic dipole

We study magnetohydrodynamic flow of a liquid metal in a straight duct. The magnetic field is produced by an exterior magnetic dipole. This basic configuration is of fundamental interest for Lorentz force velocimetry (LFV), where the Lorentz force opposing the relative motion of conducting medium and magnetic field is measured to determine the flow velocity. The Lorentz force acts in equal strength but opposite direction on the flow as well as on the dipole. We are interested in the dependence of the velocity on the flow rate and on strength of the magnetic field as well as on geometric parameters such as distance and position of the dipole relative to the duct. To this end, we perform numerical simulations with an accurate finite-difference method in the limit of small magnetic Reynolds number, whereby the induced magnetic field is assumed to be small compared with the external applied field. The hydrodynamic Reynolds number is also assumed to be small so that the flow remains laminar. The simulations allow us to quantify the magnetic obstacle effect as a potential complication for local flow measurement with LFV. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Error analysis of finite element approximations of the inverse mean curvature flow arising from the general relativity

This paper proposes and analyzes a finite element method for a nonlinear singular elliptic equation arising from the black hole theory in the general relativity. The nonlinear equation, which was derived and analyzed by Huisken and Ilmanen in (J Diff Geom 59:353–437), represents a level set formulation for the inverse mean curvature flow describing the evolution of a hypersurface whose normal velocity equals the reciprocal of its mean curvature. We first propose a finite element method for a regularized flow which involves a small parameter ɛ; a rigorous analysis is presented to study well-posedness and convergence of the scheme under certain mesh-constraints, and optimal rates of convergence are verified. We then prove uniform convergence of the finite element solution to the unique weak solution of the nonlinear singular elliptic equation as the mesh size h and the regularization parameter ɛ both tend to zero. Computational results are provided to show the efficiency of the proposed finite element method and to numerically validate the “jumping out” phenomenon of the weak solution of the inverse mean curvature flow. Numerical studies are presented to evidence the existence of a polynomial scaling law between the mesh size h and the regularization parameter ɛ for optimal convergence of the proposed scheme. Finally, a numerical convergence study for another approach recently proposed by R. Moser (The inverse mean curvature flow and p-harmonic functions. preprint U Bath, 2005) for approximating the inverse mean curvature flow via p-harmonic functions is also included.     

Distortion of liquid metal flow in a square duct due to the influence of a magnetic point dipole

We consider liquid metal flow in a square duct with electrically insulating walls under the influence of a magnetic point dipole using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations with a finite-difference method. The dipole acts as a magnetic obstacle. The Lorentz force on the magnet is sensitive to the velocity distribution that is influenced by the magnetic field. The flow transformation by an inhomogeneous local magnetic field is essential for obtaining velocity information from the measured forces. In this paper we present a numerical simulation of a spatially developing flow in a duct with laminar inflow and periodic boundary conditions. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Influence of the bottom undulation on surface waves in thin film flow

We study gravity-driven viscous thin films flowing down an undulated plane. Applying the integral boundary-layer method we derive a set of two coupled PDEs for the film thickness and the flow rate. The steady state solution shows linear and nonlinear resonance. Based on this analytical solution we carry out a stability analysis with respect to surface waves and study wave generation and annihilation for time dependent flow. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A numerical study of the dynamics of elastic articulated systems in a fluid

We propose a method and an algorithm for computing the dynamics of elastic structures of articulated form in a fluid flow taking account of the weakening in certain structural elements. In describing the motion we use two sets of radius-vectors, which are approximated in the computations by parametric local splines of first degree. The possibilities of the proposed method are illustrated using the example of the study of the dynamics of transition processes in an articulated anchor-buoy structure, which arise when there is an abrupt change in the direction of the fluid flow velocity. We determine the kinematic and force characteristics of the structure under various changes in the direction of the flow velocity. We determine the structural elements in which the weakening occurs. Three figures. Bibliography: 7 titles. Translated fromTeoreticheskaya i Prikladnaya Mekhanika, No. 26, 1996, pp. 128–134.     

Modeling flow in porous media with fractures; Discrete fracture models with matrix-fracture exchange

This article is concerned with a numerical model for flow in a porous medium containing fractures. The fractures are modeled as (d − 1)-dimensional surfaces inside the d-dimensional matrix domain, and a mixed finite element method containing both d and (d − 1) dimensional elements is used. The method allows for fluid exchange between the fractures and the matrix. The method is defined for single-phase Darcy flow throughout the domain and for Forchheimer flow in the fractures. We also consider the case of two-phase flow in a domain in which the fractures and the matrix are of different rock type.     

Finite element method for viscoelastic fluids flows: approximation of the Maxwell model

We discuss about the finite element approximation of viscoelastic fluid flow. We consider a fluid obeying the Oldroyd model and particularly we study the purely viscoelastic case, the so-called Maxwell model, important in practice for the applications. We examine two kinds of methods used for the approximation of the Maxwell model: method using a splitting technique and finite element method satisfying inf-sup conditions relating tensor and velocity. We present numerical results for these methods and we discuss about their stability. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A contribution to the stochastic flow shop scheduling problem

This paper deals with performance evaluation and scheduling problems in m machine stochastic flow shop with unlimited buffers. The processing time of each job on each machine is a random variable exponentially distributed with a known rate. We consider permutation flow shop. The objective is to find a job schedule which minimizes the expected makespan. A classification of works about stochastic flow shop with random processing times is first given. In order to solve the performance evaluation problem, we propose a recursive algorithm based on a Markov chain to compute the expected makespan and a discrete event simulation model to evaluate the expected makespan. The recursive algorithm is a generalization of a method proposed in the literature for the two machine flow shop problem to the m machine flow shop problem with unlimited buffers. In deterministic context, heuristics (like CDS [Management Science 16 (10) (1970) B630] and Rapid Access [Management Science 23 (11) (1977) 1174]) and metaheuristics (like simulated annealing) provide good results. We propose to adapt and to test this kind of methods for the stochastic scheduling problem. Combinations between heuristics or metaheuristics and the performance evaluation models are proposed. One of the objectives of this paper is to compare the methods together. Our methods are tested on problems from the OR-Library and give good results: for the two machine problems, we obtain the optimal solution and for the m machine problems, the methods are mutually validated.     

Numerical Modeling of Fluid-Structure Interaction of Blood in a Vein by Simulating Conservation of Mass and Linear Momentum with the Finite Element Method in FEniCS

In medicine a fundamental understanding for blood flow in human arteries is significantly important. In socalled hemodynamics engineers all over the world simulate blood flows in healthy and diseased vessels. Scientific findings in this area help to improve cardiovascular assisting devices and to plan surgical operations. The difficulty with such simulations is the interaction of the blood flow with the elastic vessel wall, which deforms due to changing flow conditions. We will present a two-dimensional model for blood flowing through an arterial vessel and investigate the balance of mass and the balance of linear momentum. We will adjust these balance equations appropriately and define time dependent boundary conditions. The necessary partial differential equations for the fluid-structure interaction will be solved by using the finite element method in FEniCS [1]. (© 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Reduction of continuous symmetries of chaotic flows by the method of slices

We study continuous symmetry reduction of dynamical systems by the method of slices (method of moving frames) and show that a ‘slice’ defined by minimizing the distance to a single generic ‘template’ intersects the group orbit of every point in the full state space. Global symmetry reduction by a single slice is, however, not natural for a chaotic/ turbulent flow; it is better to cover the reduced state space by a set of slices, one for each dynamically prominent unstable pattern. Judiciously chosen, such tessellation eliminates the singular traversals of the inflection hyperplane that comes along with each slice, an artifact of using the templates local group linearization globally. We compute the jump in the reduced state space induced by crossing the inflection hyperplane. As an illustration of the method, we reduce the SO (2) symmetry of the complex Lorenz equations.     

Making the semi-implicit space-time conservation-element solution-element method of Jerez et al. more explicit

In the beginning of the nineties a NASA-group around S. C. Chang started to work on a new method for unsteady flow computation with seemingly good results. Thereby elements are space-time domains. Within solution-elements state and flux variables are linearized satisfying the underlying differential equation, within conservation-elements space-time flux is conserved. Proceeding this way for one-dimensional pipe flow Jerez et al. include source terms with all cross-section dependencies making the method semi-implicit. We show that by taking simple measures as - accounting for cross-sections in state and flux variables of mass and energy or - subtracting spatially integrated source terms from the flux the method may become more or completely explicit, particularly helpful when chemical species transport is involved. (© 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Numerical simulation of the endolymph flow in a semicircular canal

We present a concept for the simulation of the fluid flow in the semicircular canals of the inner ear. Based on the temporal dynamics of an idealized model configuration we formulate the governing equations and devise a strategy for their numerical solution. We analyze the proposed method and find a numerical instability. This instability is characterized by an error bound which can serve as a guideline for tuning the numerical method to the specific boundary conditions. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Embedding smooth and formal diffeomorphisms through the Jordan-Chevalley decomposition

In [Xiang Zhang, The embedding flows of C^∞ hyperbolic diffeomorphisms, J. Differential Equations 250 (5) (2011) 2283-2298] Zhang proved that any local smooth hyperbolic diffeomorphism whose eigenvalues are weakly nonresonant is embedded in the flow of a smooth vector field. We present a new and more conceptual proof of such result using the Jordan-Chevalley decomposition in algebraic groups and the properties of the exponential operator.We characterize the hyperbolic smooth (resp. formal) diffeomorphisms that are embedded in a smooth (resp. formal) flow. We introduce a criterion showing that the presence of weak resonances for a diffeomorphism plus two natural conditions imply that it is not embeddable. This solves a conjecture of Zhang. The criterion is optimal, we provide a method to construct embeddable diffeomorphisms with weak resonances if we remove any of the conditions.     

Adaptive higher-order space-time discontinuous Galerkin method for the computer simulation of variably-saturated porous media flows

This paper is concerned with the numerical simulation of time-dependent variably-saturated Darcian flow problems described by the Richards equation. We present the adaptive higher-order space-time discontinuous Galerkin (hp-STDG) method which optimizes accuracy and efficiency by balancing the errors that arise from the space and time discretizations and from the resulting nonlinear algebraic system. Convergence problems related to the transition between unsaturated flow and saturated flow are eliminated by regularizing the constitutive formulas. We also present an hp-anisotropic mesh adaptation technique capable of generating unstructured triangular elements with optimal sizes, shapes, and polynomial approximation degrees. Several numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency, and robustness of the numerical method presented here.     

Impact of heterogeneously distributed solid particles in the transition zone between porous and free flow domain

We present a direct numerical simulation approach for the simulation of shallow water flow using the particle based meshfree Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. Simulations of single phase flow are done to characterize the occurring flow parameters on both macro-scale and pore-scale. More precisely, we examine initiation of motion and sediment transport as appearing at the interface between a free flow and porous flow domain under parallel flow conditions. Therefore we evaluate three theoretical models presenting analytical solutions for this coupled problem. Moreover, we discuss the influence of heterogeneities at the interface on forces on single grains by implementing and testing various microstructures into our numerical model. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Approximate solution of a complete singular integral equation of the first kind with a fixed hypersingularity by the overlapping method

We suggest a new method for the numerical solution of a singular integral equation of the first kind with a fixed hypersingularity, which arises in the problem on the flow past a profile with an ejector of the external flow. This method permits one to obtain a solution of the characteristic and complete integral equations with an interpolation degree of accuracy.     

On eigenfunctions of the structures described by the “shallow-water” model on the plane

We propose a new method for solving the “shallow-water” equations. We show that from the equations of “shallow water” one obtains nonlinear Liouville-type equations, Helmholtz equations, etc. This allows one to construct eigenfunctions of various structures that appear in the flow in the two-dimensional case. We obtain exact and asymptotic solutions in an elliptic domain with singularities. __________ Translated from Fundamentalnaya i Prikladnaya Matematika, Vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 17–32, 2006.     

Analysis of the blunting anti-wrapping strategy

Interval methods for ODEs often face two obstacles in practical computations: the dependency problem and the wrapping effect. Taylor model methods, which have been developed by Berz and his group, have recently attracted attention. By combining interval arithmetic with symbolic calculations, these methods suffer far less from the dependency problem than traditional interval methods for ODEs. By allowing nonconvex enclosure sets for the flow of a given initial value problem, Taylor model methods have also a high potential for suppressing the wrapping effect. Makino and Berz [1] advocate the so-called blunting method. In this paper, we analyze the blunting method (as an interval method) for a linear model ODE. We compare its convergence behavior with that of the well-known QR interval method. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)