Modelling of Surfactant Concentration in a Coupled Bulk Surface Problem

Surface active agents (surfactants) are on high interest for physical and chemical industries. Their presence lowers the surface tension of fluids. This is used to achieve special flow properties. These mechanisms are not only influenced by the overall amount of surfactant. They highly depend on the local surfactant distribution. The surfactant concentration is modeled by two convection diffusion equations, one in the bulk and the other on its surface. Adsorption- and desorption processes are included and lead to a (non linear) coupling of both equations. We present a numerical scheme for solving the coupled problem. Additionally, first analytical results will be given. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

K-Theory of Surfaces at the Prime 2

We prove that for smooth surfaces over real closed fields, and a class of smooth projective surfaces over a real number field, the map between mod 2 algebraic and étale K-theory is an isomorphism in sufficiently large degrees. For a class of smooth projective surfaces over a real closed field, including rational surfaces, complete intersections and K3-surfaces over the real numbers, we explicate the abutment of the mod 2 motivic cohomology to algebraic K-theory spectral sequence.     

The idle period of the finite G/M/1 queue with an interpretation in risk theory

We consider a G/M/1 queue with restricted accessibility in the sense that the maximal workload is bounded by 1. If the current workload V _t of the queue plus the service time of an arriving customer exceeds 1, only 1−V _t of the service requirement is accepted. We are interested in the distribution of the idle period, which can be interpreted as the deficit at ruin for a risk reserve process R _t in the compound Poisson risk model. For this risk process a special dividend strategy applies, where the insurance company pays out all the income whenever R _t reaches level 1. In the queueing context we further introduce a set-up time a∈[0,1]. At the end of every idle period, an arriving customer has to wait for a time units until the server is ready to serve it.     

On Mincʼs sheltered middle path

This paper shows that a construction, which was introduced by Piotr Minc in connection with a problem that came from Helly type theorems and that allows to replace three PL-arcs with a “sheltered middle path”, can in the case of general (non-PL) paths result in the topologist?s sine curve.     

Inverse closed ultradifferential subalgebras

In previous work we have shown that classical approximation theory provides methods for the systematic construction of inverse-closed smooth subalgebras. Now we extend this work to treat inverse-closed subalgebras of ultradifferentiable elements. In particular, Carleman classes and Dales–Davie algebras are treated. As an application the result of Demko, Smith and Moss, and Jaffard on the inverse of a matrix with exponential decay is obtained within the framework of a general theory of smoothness.     

Energy harvesting through arterial wall deformation: A FEM approach to fluid–structure interactions and magneto-hydrodynamics

Engineers are confronted with the energy demand of active medical implants in patients with increasing life expectancy. Scavenging energy from the patient’s body is envisioned as an alternative to conventional power sources. Joining in this effort towards human-powered implants, we propose an innovative concept that combines the deformation of an artery resulting from the arterial pressure pulse with a transduction mechanism based on magneto-hydrodynamics. To overcome certain limitations of a preliminary analytical study on this topic, we demonstrate here a more accurate model of our generator by implementing a three-dimensional multiphysics finite element method (FEM) simulation combining solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, electric and magnetic fields as well as the corresponding couplings. This simulation is used to optimize the generator with respect to several design parameters. A first validation is obtained by comparing the results of the FEM simulation with those of the analytical approach adopted in our previous study. With an expected overall conversion efficiency of 20% and an average output power of 30 μW, our generator outperforms previous devices based on arterial wall deformation by more than two orders of magnitude. Most importantly, our generator provides sufficient power to supply a cardiac pacemaker.     

Bernstein theorems for length and area decreasing minimal maps

In this article we prove Liouville and Bernstein theorems in higher codimension for length and area decreasing maps between two Riemannian manifolds. The proofs are based on a strong elliptic maximum principle for sections in vector bundles, which we also present in this article.     

Persistent oscillations in a threshold adjustment model

In this paper we present a simple time-continuous behavioural model of habit formation. Addictive behaviour is damped by a threshold which adapts itself to the habit. This adaptive behaviour of the threshold may lead to periodic fluctuations of the consumption rate, the habit and the threshold. It turns out that both a low adjustment rate of the threshold as well as a steep consumption function favour oscillatory patterns.