Global BV Entropy Solutions and Uniqueness for Hyperbolic Systems of Balance Laws

We consider the Cauchy problem for n×n strictly hyperbolic systems of nonresonant balance laws each characteristic field being genuinely nonlinear or linearly degenerate. Assuming that and are small enough, we prove the existence and uniqueness of global entropy solutions of bounded total variation as limits of special wave-front tracking approximations for which the source term is localized by means of Dirac masses. Moreover, we give a characterization of the resulting semigroup trajectories in terms of integral estimates.     

Uniqueness of Weak Solutions to Systems of Conservation Laws

Consider a strictly hyperbolic system of conservation laws in one space dimension: Relying on the existence of the Standard Riemann Semigroup generated by , we establish the uniqueness of entropy-admissible weak solutions to the Cauchy problem, under a mild assumption on the variation of along space-like segments.     

Random Data Cauchy Theory for the Generalized Incompressible Navier–Stokes Equations

In this paper, we consider the generalized Navier?CStokes equations where the space domain is ${\mathbb{T}^N}$ or ${\mathbb{R}^N, N\geq3}$ . The generalized Navier?CStokes equations here refer to the equations obtained by replacing the Laplacian in the classical Navier?CStokes equations by the more general operator (???) ^?? with ${\alpha\in (\frac{1}{2},\frac{N+2}{4})}$ . After a suitable randomization, we obtain the existence and uniqueness of the local mild solution for a large set of the initial data in ${H^s, s\in[-\alpha,0]}$ , if ${1 < \alpha < \frac{N+2}{4}, s\in(1-2\alpha,0]}$ , if ${\frac{1}{2} < \alpha\leq 1}$ . Furthermore, we obtain the probability for the global existence and uniqueness of the solution. Specially, our result shows that, in some sense, the Cauchy problem of the classical Navier?CStokes equation is local well-posed for a large set of the initial data in H ^?1+, exhibiting a gain of ${\frac{N}{2}-}$ derivatives with respect to the critical Hilbert space ${H^{\frac{N}{2}-1}}$ .     

Non-standard fractional Lagrangians

Two mathematical physics’ approaches have recently gained increasing importance both in mathematical and in physical theories: (i) the fractional action-like variational approach which founds its significance in dissipative and non-conservative systems and (ii) the theory of non-standard Lagrangians which exist in some group of dissipative dynamical systems and are entitled “non-natural” by Arnold. Both approaches are discussed independently in the literature; nevertheless, we believe that the combination of both theories will help identifying more hidden solutions in certain classes of dynamical systems. Accordingly, we generalize the fractional action-like variational approach for the case of non-standard power-law Lagrangians of the form L ^1+γ $(\gamma\in\mathbb{R})$ recently introduced by the author (Qual. Theory Dyn. Syst. doi:10.1007/s12346-012-0074-0, 2012). Many interesting features are discussed in some details.     

Asymptotic analysis of linearly elastic shells. I. Justification of membrane shell equations

We consider a family of linearly elastic shells with thickness 2?, clamped along their entire lateral face, all having the same middle surfaceS=φ(?ω) ?R ³, whereω ?R ² is a bounded and connected open set with a Lipschitz-continuous boundaryγ, andφ ∈l ³ ( $\overline \omega$ ;R ³). We make an essential geometrical assumption on the middle surfaceS, which is satisfied ifγ andφ are smooth enough andS is “uniformly elliptic”, in the sense that the two principal radii of curvature are either both>0 at all points ofS, or both<0 at all points ofS. We show that, if the applied body force density isO(1) with respect to?, the fieldtu(?)=(u _i(?)), whereu _i (?) denote the three covariant components of the displacement of the points of the shell given by the equations of three-dimensional elasticity, one “scaled” so as to be defined over the fixed domain Ω=ω×]?1, 1[, converges inH ¹(Ω)×H ¹(Ω)×L ²(Ω) as?→0 to a limitu, which is independent of the transverse variable. Furthermore, the averageξ=1/2ε _?1 ¹ u dx ₃, which belongs to the space $$V_M (\omega ) = H_0^1 (\omega ) \times H_0^1 (\omega ) \times L^2 (\omega ),$$ satisfies the (scaled) two-dimensional equations of a “membrane shell” viz., $$\mathop \smallint \limits_\omega a^{\alpha \beta \sigma \tau } \gamma _{\sigma \tau } (\zeta )\gamma _{\alpha \beta } (\eta ) \sqrt \alpha dy = \mathop \smallint \limits_\omega \left\{ {\mathop \smallint \limits_{ - 1}^1 f^i dx_3 } \right\}\eta _i \sqrt a dy$$ for allη=(η _i) εV _M(ω), where $a^{\alpha \beta \sigma \tau }$ are the components of the two-dimensional elasticity tensor of the surfaceS, $$\gamma _{\alpha \beta } (\eta ) = \frac{1}{2}\left( {\partial _{\alpha \eta \beta } + \partial _{\beta \eta \alpha } } \right) - \Gamma _{\alpha \beta }^\sigma \eta _\sigma - b_{\alpha \beta \eta 3} $$ are the components of the linearized change of metric tensor ofS, $\Gamma _{\alpha \beta }^\sigma$ are the Christoffel symbols ofS, $b_{\alpha \beta }$ are the components of the curvature tensor ofS, andf ⁱ are the scaled components of the applied body force. Under the above assumptions, the two-dimensional equations of a “membrane shell” are therefore justified.     

Global Well-posedness of Incompressible Inhomogeneous Fluid Systems with Bounded Density or Non-Lipschitz Velocity

In this paper, we first prove the global existence of weak solutions to the d-dimensional incompressible inhomogeneous Navier–Stokes equations with initial data ${a_0 \in L^\infty (\mathbb{R}^d), u_0 = (u_0^h, u_0^d) \in \dot{B}^{-1+\frac{d}{p}}_{p, r} (\mathbb{R}^d)}$ , which satisfy ${(\mu \| a_0 \|_{L^\infty} + \|u_0^h\|_{\dot{B}^{-1+\frac{d}{p}}_{p, r}}) {\rm exp}(C_r{\mu^{-2r}}\|u_0^d\|_{\dot{B}^{-1+\frac{d}{p}}_{p,r}}^{2r}) \leqq c_0\mu}$ for some positive constants c ₀, C _r and 1 < p < d, 1 < r < ∞. The regularity of the initial velocity is critical to the scaling of this system and is general enough to generate non-Lipschitz velocity fields. Furthermore, with additional regularity assumptions on the initial velocity or on the initial density, we can also prove the uniqueness of such a solution. We should mention that the classical maximal L ^p (L ^q ) regularity theorem for the heat kernel plays an essential role in this context.     

On the Stokes and Oseen Problems with Singular Data

We consider the steady Stokes and Oseen problems in bounded and exterior domains of ${\mathbb{R}^n}$ of class C ^k-1,1 (n = 2, 3; k ≥ 2). We prove existence and uniqueness of a very weak solution for boundary data a in ${W^{2-k-1/q,q} (\partial\Omega)}$ . If ${\Omega}$ is of class ${C^\infty}$ , we can assume a to be a distribution on ${\partial\Omega}$ .     

A Widder’s Type Theorem for the Heat Equation with Nonlocal Diffusion

The main goal of this work is to prove that every non-negative strong solution u(x, t) to the problem $$u_t + (-\Delta)^{\alpha/2}{u} = 0 \,\, {\rm for} (x, t) \in {\mathbb{R}^n} \times (0, T ), \, 0 < \alpha < 2,$$ can be written as $$u(x, t) = \int_{\mathbb{R}^n} P_t (x - y)u(y, 0) dy,$$ where $$P_t (x) = \frac{1}{t^{n/ \alpha}}P \left(\frac{x}{t^{1/ \alpha}}\right),$$ and $$P(x) := \int_{\mathbb{R}^n} e^{i x\cdot\xi-|\xi |^\alpha} d\xi.$$ This result shows uniqueness in the setting of non-negative solutions and extends some classical results for the heat equation by Widder in [15] to the nonlocal diffusion framework.     

A gradient based iterative algorithm for solving structural dynamics model updating problems

The procedure of updating an existing but inaccurate model is an essential step toward establishing an effective model. Updating damping and stiffness matrices simultaneously with measured modal data can be mathematically formulated as following two problems. Problem 1: Let M _a ∈SR ^n×n be the analytical mass matrix, and Λ=diag{λ ₁,…,λ _p }∈C ^p×p , X=[x ₁,…,x _p ]∈C ^n×p be the measured eigenvalue and eigenvector matrices, where rank(X)=p, p<n and both Λ and X are closed under complex conjugation in the sense that $\lambda_{2j} = \bar{\lambda}_{2j-1} \in\nobreak{\mathbf{C}} $ , $x_{2j} = \bar{x}_{2j-1} \in{\mathbf{C}}^{n} $ for j=1,…,l, and λ _k ∈R, x _k ∈R ⁿ for k=2l+1,…,p. Find real-valued symmetric matrices D and K such that M _a XΛ ²+DXΛ+KX=0. Problem 2: Let D _a ,K _a ∈SR ^n×n be the analytical damping and stiffness matrices. Find $(\hat{D}, \hat{K}) \in\mathbf{S}_{\mathbf{E}}$ such that $\| \hat{D}-D_{a} \|^{2}+\| \hat{K}-K_{a} \|^{2}= \min_{(D,K) \in \mathbf{S}_{\mathbf{E}}}(\| D-D_{a} \|^{2} +\|K-K_{a} \|^{2})$ , where S _E is the solution set of Problem 1 and ∥?∥ is the Frobenius norm. In this paper, a gradient based iterative (GI) algorithm is constructed to solve Problems 1 and 2. A sufficient condition for the convergence of the iterative method is derived and the range of the convergence factor is given to guarantee that the iterative solutions consistently converge to the unique minimum Frobenius norm symmetric solution of Problem 2 when a suitable initial symmetric matrix pair is chosen. The algorithm proposed requires less storage capacity than the existing numerical ones and is numerically reliable as only matrix manipulation is required. Two numerical examples show that the introduced iterative algorithm is quite efficient.     

Global Compensated Compactness Theorem for General Differential Operators of First Order

Let A ₁(x, D) and A ₂(x, D) be differential operators of the first order acting on l-vector functions ${u= (u_1, \ldots, u_l)}$ in a bounded domain ${\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^{n}}$ with the smooth boundary ${\partial\Omega}$ . We assume that the H ¹-norm ${\|u\|_{H^{1}(\Omega)}}$ is equivalent to ${\sum_{i=1}^2\|A_iu\|_{L^2(\Omega)} + \|B_1u\|_{H^{\frac{1}{2}}(\partial\Omega)}}$ and ${\sum_{i=1}^2\|A_iu\|_{L^2(\Omega)} + \|B_2u\|_{H^{\frac{1}{2}}(\partial\Omega)}}$ , where B _i  = B _i (x, ν) is the trace operator onto ${\partial\Omega}$ associated with A _i (x, D) for i = 1, 2 which is determined by the Stokes integral formula (ν: unit outer normal to ${\partial\Omega}$ ). Furthermore, we impose on A ₁ and A ₂ a cancellation property such as ${A_1A_2^{\prime}=0}$ and ${A_2A_1^{\prime}=0}$ , where ${A^{\prime}_i}$ is the formal adjoint differential operator of A _i (i = 1, 2). Suppose that ${\{u_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ and ${\{v_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ converge to u and v weakly in ${L^2(\Omega)}$ , respectively. Assume also that ${\{A_{1}u_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ and ${\{A_{2}v_{m}\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ are bounded in ${L^{2}(\Omega)}$ . If either ${\{B_{1}u_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ or ${\{B_{2}v_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ is bounded in ${H^{\frac{1}{2}}(\partial\Omega)}$ , then it holds that ${\int_{\Omega}u_m\cdot v_m \,{\rm d}x \to \int_{\Omega}u\cdot v \,{\rm d}x}$ . We also discuss a corresponding result on compact Riemannian manifolds with boundary.     

Asymptotic analysis of linearly elastic shells. III. Justification of Koiter's shell equations

We consider as in Parts I and II a family of linearly elastic shells of thickness 2?, all having the same middle surfaceS=?(?)?R ³, whereω?R ² is a bounded and connected open set with a Lipschitz-continuous boundary, and? ∈ ?³ (?;R ³). The shells are clamped on a portion of their lateral face, whose middle line is?(γ ₀), whereγ ₀ is a portion of?ω withlength γ ₀>0. For all?>0, let $\zeta _i^\varepsilon$ denote the covariant components of the displacement $u_i^\varepsilon g^{i,\varepsilon }$ of the points of the shell, obtained by solving the three-dimensional problem; let $\zeta _i^\varepsilon$ denote the covariant components of the displacement $\zeta _i^\varepsilon$ a ⁱ of the points of the middle surfaceS, obtained by solving the two-dimensional model ofW.T. Koiter, which consists in finding $$\zeta ^\varepsilon = \left( {\zeta _i^\varepsilon } \right) \in V_K (\omega ) = \left\{ {\eta = (\eta _\iota ) \in {\rm H}^1 (\omega ) \times H^1 (\omega ) \times H^2 (\omega ); \eta _i = \partial _v \eta _3 = 0 on \gamma _0 } \right\}$$ such that $$\begin{gathered} \varepsilon \mathop \smallint \limits_\omega a^{\alpha \beta \sigma \tau } \gamma _{\sigma \tau } (\zeta ^\varepsilon )\gamma _{\alpha \beta } (\eta )\sqrt a dy + \frac{{\varepsilon ^3 }}{3} \mathop \smallint \limits_\omega a^{\alpha \beta \sigma \tau } \rho _{\sigma \tau } (\zeta ^\varepsilon )\rho _{\alpha \beta } (\eta )\sqrt a dy \hfill \\ = \mathop \smallint \limits_\omega p^{i,\varepsilon } \eta _i \sqrt a dy for all \eta = (\eta _i ) \in V_K (\omega ), \hfill \\ \end{gathered}$$ where $a^{\alpha \beta \sigma \tau }$ are the components of the two-dimensional elasticity tensor ofS, $\gamma _{\alpha \beta }$ (η) and $\rho _{\alpha \beta }$ (η) are the components of the linearized change of metric and change of curvature tensors ofS, and $p^{i,\varepsilon }$ are the components of the resultant of the applied forces. Under the same assumptions as in Part I, we show that the fields $\frac{1}{{2_\varepsilon }}\smallint _{ - \varepsilon }^\varepsilon u_i^\varepsilon g^{i,\varepsilon } dx_3^\varepsilon$ and $\zeta _i^\varepsilon$ a ⁱ , both defined on the surfaceS, have the same principal part as? → 0, inH ¹ (ω) for the tangential components, and inL ²(ω) for the normal component; under the same assumptions as in Part II, we show that the same fields again have the same principal part as? → 0, inH ¹ (ω) for all their components. For “membrane” and “flexural” shells, the two-dimensional model ofW.T. Koiter is therefore justified.     

Pointwise Bounds for the Solutions of the Smoluchowski Equation with Diffusion

We prove various decay bounds on solutions (f _n : n > 0) of the discrete and continuous Smoluchowski equations with diffusion. More precisely, we establish pointwise upper bounds on n ^? f _n in terms of a suitable average of the moments of the initial data for every positive ?. As a consequence, we can formulate sufficient conditions on the initial data to guarantee the finiteness of ${L^p(\mathbb{R}^d \times [0, T])}$ norms of the moments ${X_a(x, t) := \sum_{m\in\mathbb{N}}m^a f_m(x, t)}$ , ( ${\int_0^{\infty} m^a f_m(x, t)dm}$ in the case of continuous Smoluchowski’s equation) for every ${p \in [1, \infty]}$ . In previous papers [11] and [5] we proved similar results for all weak solutions to the Smoluchowski’s equation provided that the diffusion coefficient d(n) is non-increasing as a function of the mass. In this paper we apply a new method to treat general diffusion coefficients and our bounds are expressed in terms of an auxiliary function ${\phi(n)}$ that is closely related to the total increase of the diffusion coefficient in the interval (0, n].     

Regularity of Non-Newtonian Fluids

In this paper, we consider a non-Newtonian fluids with shear dependent viscosity in a bounded domain ${\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^n, n = 2, 3}$ . For the power-law model with the viscosity as in (1.4), we show the global in time existence of a weak solution for ${q \geq \frac{11}{5}}$ when n = 3 (see Theorem 1.1), and the local in time existence of a weak solution for ${2 > q > \frac{3n}{n+2}}$ , when n = 2,3 (see Theorem 1.2).     

Universal Moduli of Continuity for Solutions to Fully Nonlinear Elliptic Equations

This paper provides universal, optimal moduli of continuity for viscosity solutions to fully nonlinear elliptic equations F(X, D ² u) =  f(X), based on the weakest and borderline integrability properties of the source function f in different scenarios. The primary result established in this work is a sharp Log-Lipschitz estimate on u based on the L ⁿ norm of f, which corresponds to optimal regularity bounds for the critical threshold case. Optimal C ^1,α regularity estimates are also delivered when ${f\in L^{n+\varepsilon}}$ . The limiting upper borderline case, ${f \in L^\infty}$ , also has transcendental importance to elliptic regularity theory and its applications. In this paper we show, under the convexity assumption on F, that ${u \in C^{1,{\rm Log-Lip}}}$ , provided f has bounded mean oscillation. Once more, such an estimate is optimal. For the lower borderline integrability condition allowed by the theory, we establish interior a priori estimates on the ${C^{0,\frac{n-2\varepsilon}{n-\varepsilon}}}$ norm of u based on the L ^n-ε norm of f, where ? is the Escauriaza universal constant. The exponent ${\frac{n-2\varepsilon}{n-\varepsilon}}$ is optimal. When the source function f lies in L ^q , n > q > n?ε, we also obtain the exact, improved sharp Hölder exponent of continuity.     

Linear control semigroups acting on projective space

Linear control semigroupsL?=Gl(d,R) are associated with semilinear control systems of the form whereA:R ^m → gl(d,R) is continuous in some open set containingU. The semigroupL then corresponds to the solutions with piecewise constant controls, i.e., L acts in a natural way onR ^d {0}, on the sphereS ^d?1, and on the projective spaceP ^d?1. Under the assumption that the group generated byL in Gl(d,R) acts transitively onP ^d?1, we analyze the control structure of the action ofL onP ^d?1: We characterize the sets inP ^d?1, where the system is controllable (the control sets) using perturbation theory of eigenvalues and (generalized) eigenspaces of the matrices g εL For nonlinear control systems on finitedimensional manifoldsM, we study the linearization on the tangent bundleTM and the projective bundleP M via the theory of Morse decompositions, to obtain a characterization of the chain-recurrent components of the control flow onU×PM. These components correspond uniquely to the chain control sets onP M, and they induce a subbundle decomposition ofU×TM. These results are used to characterize the chain control sets ofL acting onP ^d?1 and to compare the control sets and chain control sets.     

Remnant functions

Remnant functions are defined, with \(\kappa = \sigma + \tau + \tfrac{1}{2}\) , by $$R_{\sigma \tau } (z) = [{{\Gamma (\sigma - [\kappa ])} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\Gamma (\sigma - [\kappa ])} {\Gamma (\sigma )}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\Gamma (\sigma )}}]\sum\limits_{r = 1}^\infty {r^{2\tau } \left[\kern-0.15em\left[ {(r^2 + z)^{\sigma - 1} } \right]\kern-0.15em\right]_\kappa }$$ where \(\left[\kern-0.15em\left[ \right]\kern-0.15em\right]_\kappa\) denotes subtraction of sufficiently many terms of the Taylor series in powers of z to yield a convergent sum; for integral σ a factor \([1 + ({z \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {z {r^2 }}} \right. \kern-0em} {r^2 }})]\) may also enter. These functions arise in various contexts, in particular, in the calculation of uniform remainder terms for the approximation by integrals of sums with singular summands. Differential recurrence relations, Taylor expansions, and various integral representations are obtained. The full asymptotic expansions for ¦z¦→∞ with ¦arg z¦ <π are derived, and it is shown that for integral τ these converge exponentially fast.     

Decay estimates for some semilinear damped hyperbolic problems

Let Ω be a bounded open domain in R ⁿ , g ∶ R → R a non-decreasing continuous function such that g(0)=0 and h ε L _loc ¹ (R⁺; L ²(Ω)). Under suitable assumptions on g and h, the rate of decay of the difference of two solutions is studied for some abstract evolution equations of the general form u ^′′ + Lu + g(u ^′) = h(t,x) as t → + ∞. The results, obtained by use of differential inequalities, can be applied to the case of the semilinear wave equation $$u_u - \Delta u + g{\text{(}}u_t {\text{) = }}h{\text{ in }}R^ + \times \Omega ,{\text{ }}u = {\text{0 on }}R^ + \times \partial \Omega$$ in R ⁺×Ω, u=0 on R ⁺×?Ω. For instance if \(g(s) = c\left| s \right|^{p - 1} s + d\left| s \right|^{q - 1} s\) with c, d>0 and 1 < p≦q, (n?2)q≦n+2, then if \(h \in L^\infty (R + ;L^2 (\Omega ))\) , all solutions are bounded in the energy space for t≧0 and if u, v are two such solutions, the energy norm of u(t) ? v(t) decays like t ^?1/p?1 as t → + ∞.     

Asymptotic analysis of linearly elastic shells. II. Justification of flexural shell equations

We consider as in Part I a family of linearly elastic shells of thickness 2?, all having the same middle surfaceS=?(?)?R ³, whereω?R ² is a bounded and connected open set with a Lipschitz-continuous boundary, and?∈l ³ (?;R ³). The shells are clamped on a portion of their lateral face, whose middle line is?(γ ₀), whereγ ₀ is any portion of?ω withlength γ ₀>0. We make an essential geometrical assumption on the middle surfaceS and on the setγ ₀, which states that the space of inextensional displacements $$\begin{gathered} V_F (\omega ) = \{ \eta = (\eta _i ) \in H^1 (\omega ) \times H^1 (\omega ) \times H^2 (\omega ); \hfill \\ \eta _i = \partial _v \eta _3 = 0 on \gamma _0 ,\gamma _{\alpha \beta } (\eta ) = 0 in \omega \} , \hfill \\ \end{gathered}$$ where $\gamma _{\alpha \beta }$ (η) are the components of the linearized change is metric tensor ofS, contains non-zero functions. This assumption is satisfied in particular ifS is a portion of cylinder and?(γ ₀) is contained in a generatrix ofS. We show that, if the applied body force density isO(? ²) with respect to?, the fieldu(?)=(u _i (?)), whereu _i (?) denote the three covariant components of the displacement of the points of the shell given by the equations of three-dimensional elasticity, once “scaled” so as to be defined over the fixed domain Ω=ω×]?1, 1[, converges as?→0 inH ¹(Ω) to a limitu, which is independent of the transverse variable. Furthermore, the averageζ=1/2ts _?1 ¹ u dx ₃, which belongs to the spaceV _F (ω), satisfies the (scaled) two-dimensional equations of a “flexural shell”, viz., $$\frac{1}{3}\mathop \smallint \limits_\omega a^{\alpha \beta \sigma \tau } \rho _{\sigma \tau } (\zeta )\rho _{\alpha \beta } (\eta )\sqrt {a } dy = \mathop \smallint \limits_\omega \left\{ {\mathop \smallint \limits_{ - 1}^1 f^i dx_3 } \right\} \eta _i \sqrt {a } dy$$ for allη=(η _i ) ∈V _F (ω), where $a^{\alpha \beta \sigma \tau }$ are the components of the two-dimensional elasticity tensor of the surfaceS, $$\begin{gathered} \rho _{\alpha \beta } (\eta ) = \partial _{\alpha \beta } \eta _3 - \Gamma _{\alpha \beta }^\sigma \partial _\sigma \eta _3 + b_\beta ^\sigma \left( {\partial _\alpha \eta _\sigma - \Gamma _{\alpha \sigma }^\tau \eta _\tau } \right) \hfill \\ + b_\alpha ^\sigma \left( {\partial _\beta \eta _\sigma - \Gamma _{\beta \sigma }^\tau \eta _\tau } \right) + b_\alpha ^\sigma {\text{|}}_\beta \eta _\sigma - c_{\alpha \beta } \eta _3 \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ are the components of the linearized change of curvature tensor ofS, $\Gamma _{\alpha \beta }^\sigma$ are the Christoffel symbols ofS, $b_\alpha ^\beta$ are the mixed components of the curvature tensor ofS, andf ⁱ are the scaled components of the applied body force. Under the above assumptions, the two-dimensional equations of a “flexural shell” are therefore justified.