Numerical modeling of surge overtopping of a levee

Levee protection/armoring is critical in flood fighting, and understanding the flow characteristics involved requires the evaluation of the overtopping processes with a variety of tools. The Adaptive Hydraulics Model (AdH) is used to calculate velocity and depth during an overtopping event. Using these values, the work explores the application of AdH for the estimation of associated shear stresses, so that appropriate measures are applied for protection to ultimately reduce the probability of levee failure during an overtopping event. Four different depths and three Manning’s n values were used for a total of twelve different test cases. Results show mean shear stress increases with increased surge depth and roughness. Additionally, the area of greatest shear stress is shown to be at the slope transitions from levee to berm. Values calculated in this effort should be considered in the design and implementation of levee protection.     

Numerical modeling of baffle location effects on the flow pattern of primary sedimentation tanks

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used extensively by engineers to model and analyze complex issues related to hydraulic design, planning studies for future generating stations, civil maintenance and supply efficiency. In order to find the optimal position of a baffle in a rectangular primary sedimentation tank, computational investigations are performed. Also laboratory experiments are conducted to verify the numerical results and the measured velocity fields which were by Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) are used. The GMRES algorithm as a pressure solver was used in the computational modeling. The results of computational investigations performed in the present study indicate that the favorable flow field (uniform in the settling zone) would be enhanced for the case that the baffle position provide small circulation regions volume and dissipate the kinetic energy in the tank. Also results show that the GMRES algorithm can obtain the good agreement between the results of numerical models and experimental tests.     

Numerical modeling of deformation and fracture of a multiphase polymer concrete

A numerical method for predicting the deformational and strength characteristics of a calcite-quartzitic polymer concrete from the known properties of its components is developed based on the finite-element method. Components of the material are assumed elastic and isotropic, and the filler particles are modeled by round inclusions perfectly bonded to the polymer matrix. The size distribution of the inclusions correspond to that of actual fillers. The destruction process of the components is simulated by sequentially excluding the particles in which the maximum principal stress has achieved the ultimate value for this component. A comparison of calculated and experimental characteristics of the polymer concrete showed errors of 2–4% for the elastic modulus and about 10% for the ultimate strength if the finite-element cell included not less than 20–30 average-size particles and 2–5 large ones. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 817–824, November–December, 2006     

Numerical modeling of crystal growth under strong magnetic fields: An application to the travelling heater method

The article presents a 3-D numerical simulation study for the growth of single crystal semiconductors under strong magnetic fields. In such high fields, the magnetic body force components, which also depend on the flow velocity components present numerical challenges particularly in terms of convergence of iterations. To remedy such difficulties, a novel numerical approach was introduced in an in-house 3-D finite volume-based computer code. As an application, the Travelling Heater Method (THM) was selected for the growth of CdTe crystals under a static vertical magnetic field.     

Numerical modeling of the movement of a rigid particle in viscous fluid

Modeling the movement of a rigid particle in viscous fluid is a problem physicists and smathematicians have tried to solve since the beginning of this century. A general model for an ellipsoidal particle was first published by Jeffery in the twenties. We exploit the fact that Jeffery was concerned with formulae which can be used to compute numerically the velocity field in the neighborhood of the particle during his derivation of equations of motion of the particle. This is our principal contribution to the subject. After a thorough check of Jeffery's formulae, we coded software for modeling the flow around a rigid particle based on these equations. Examples of its applications are given in conclusion. A practical example is concerned with the simulation of sigmoidal inclusion trails in porphyroblast.     

Numerical simulation of the consequences of a mechanical action on a human brain under a skull injury

A two-dimensional mathematical model of the mechanical response of a human head to a shock action is proposed. It describes the spatial distribution of the mechanical loads on the brain. Some numerical results obtained using the grid characteristic methods on unstructured triangular grids are presented.     

Numerical investigation of a three-dimensional four field model for collisionless magnetic reconnection

In this paper we present the numerical investigation of a three-dimensional four field model for magnetic reconnection in collisionless regimes. The model describes the evolution of the magnetic flux and vorticity together with the perturbations of the parallel magnetic and velocity fields. We explored the different behavior of vorticity and current density structures in low and high β regimes, β being the ratio between the plasma and magnetic pressure. A detailed analysis of the velocity field advecting the relevant physical quantities is presented. We show that, as the reconnection process evolves, velocity layers develop and become more and more localized. The shear of these layers increases with time ending up with the occurrence of secondary instabilities of the Kelvin-Helmholtz type. We also show how the β parameter influences the different evolution of the current density structures, that preserve for longer time a laminar behavior at smaller β values. A qualitative explanation of the structures formation on the different z-sections is also presented.     

A multi-objective optimal allocation model for irrigation water resources under multiple uncertainties

This paper proposed a multi-objective optimal water resources allocation model under multiple uncertainties. The proposed model integrated the chance-constrained programming, semi-infinite programming and integer programming into an interval linear programming. Then, the developed model is applied to irrigation water resources optimal allocation system in Minqin’s irrigation areas, Gansu Province, China. In this study, the irrigation areas’ economic benefits, social benefits and ecological benefits are regarded as the optimal objective functions. As a result, the optimal irrigation water resources allocation plans of different water types (surface water and groundwater) under different hydrological years (wet year, normal year and dry year) and probabilities are obtained. The proposed multi-objective model is unique by considering water-saving measures, irrigation water quality impact factors and the dynamic changes of groundwater exploitable quantity in the irrigation water resources optimal allocation system under uncertain environment. The obtained results are valuable for supporting the adjustment of the existing irrigation patterns and identify a desired water-allocation plan for irrigation under multiple uncertainties.     

Numerical analysis of a water wave model with a nonlocal viscous dispersive term using the diffusive approach

In this paper, we numerically study the water wave model with a nonlocal viscous term where is the Riemann‐Liouville half‐order derivative in time. We propose and compare different numerical schemes based on the diffusive realizations of fractional operators.     

Wave breaking for a periodic shallow water equation

The focus of this paper is on the blow-up of a recently derived one-dimensional shallow water equation which is formally integrable and can be obtained by approximating directly the Hamiltonian for Euler's equations in the shallow water regime. Some new criteria guaranteeing the development of singularities in finite time for strong solutions with regular initial data are obtained for the periodic case.     

An efficient and accurate lattice for pricing derivatives under a jump-diffusion process

Derivatives are popular financial instruments whose values depend on other more fundamental financial assets (called the underlying assets). As they play essential roles in financial markets, evaluating them efficiently and accurately is critical. Most derivatives have no simple valuation formulas; as a result, they must be priced by numerical methods such as lattice methods. In a lattice, the prices of the derivatives converge to theoretical values when the number of time steps increases. Unfortunately, the nonlinearity error introduced by the nonlinearity of the option value function may cause the pricing results to converge slowly or even oscillate significantly. The lognormal diffusion process, which has been widely used to model the underlying asset’s price dynamics, does not capture the empirical findings satisfactorily. Therefore, many alternative processes have been proposed, and a very popular one is the jump-diffusion process. This paper proposes an accurate and efficient lattice for the jump-diffusion process. Our lattice is accurate because its structure can suit the derivatives’ specifications so that the pricing results converge smoothly. To our knowledge, no other lattices for the jump-diffusion process have successfully solved the oscillation problem. In addition, the time complexity of our lattice is lower than those of existing lattice methods by at least half an order. Numerous numerical calculations confirm the superior performance of our lattice to existing methods in terms of accuracy, speed, and generality.     

Simulation and optimization for crop water allocation based on crop water production functions and climate factor under uncertainty

In this paper, the uncertainty methods of interval and functional interval are introduced in the research of the uncertainty of crop water production function itself and optimal allocation of water resources in the irrigation area. The crop water production functions in the whole growth period under uncertainty and the optimal allocation of water resources model in the irrigation area under uncertainty are established, and the meteorological factor is considered in the model. It can promote the practical application of the uncertain methods, reflect the complexity and uncertainty of the actual situation, and provide more reliable scientific basis for using water resources economically, fully improving irrigation efficiency, and keeping the sustainable development of the irrigated area. This approach has important value on theoretical and practical for the optimal irrigation schedule, and has very broad prospects for research and development to other related agriculture water management.     

Numerical Optimal Harvesting for a Periodic Age-Structured Population Dynamics with Logistic Term

We investigate an optimal harvesting problem for age-structured population dynamics with logistic term and periodic vital rates. We use first-order necessary optimality conditions in order to derive an algorithm to approximate the optimal harvesting effort. We present corresponding numerical experiments.     

二维超音速边界层中三波共振和二次失稳机制的数值模拟研究

通过直接数值模拟的方法,探讨在超音速边界层的转捩问题中,是否存在和不可压缩流情况相似的产生亚谐波的机制．结果表明,三波共振和二次失稳这两种机制都存在．讨论了这两种机制在层流至湍流的转捩中的重要性是否的确很大的问题．     

On the modeling of demand spill for a stochastic demand system under competition

When customers for a product from N substitutable alternatives find their first choice sold out, they might “spill” to their secondmost preferred product. The existing literature typically assumes an exogenous spill rate. We develop a surprisingly simple model that links the spill rate to economic factors associated with direct demand systems.     

An existence result for a free boundary shallow water model using a Lagrangian scheme

We propose a free boundary shallow water model for which we give an existence theorem. The proof uses an original Lagrangian discrete scheme in order to build a sequence of approximate solutions. The properties of this scheme allow to treat the difficulties linked to the boundary motion. These approximate solutions verify some compactness results which allow us to pass to the limit in the discrete problem.     

Production and replacement policies for a deteriorating manufacturing system under random demand and quality

This work investigates the production planning of an unreliable deteriorating manufacturing system under uncertainties. The effect of the deterioration phenomenon on the machine is mainly observed in its availability and the quality of the parts produced, with the rates of failure and defectives increasing with the age of the machine. The option to replace the machine should be considered to mitigate the effect of deterioration in order to ensure long-term satisfaction of demand. The objective of this paper is to find the production rate and the replacement policy that minimize the total discounted cost, which includes inventory, backlog, production, repair and replacement costs, over an infinite planning horizon. We formulate the stochastic control problem in the framework of a semi-Markov decision process to consider the machine's history. The integration of random demand and quality behaviour led us to propose a new modeling approach by developing optimality conditions in terms of a second-order approximation of Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equations. Numerical methods are used to obtain the optimal control policies. Finally, a numerical example and a sensitivity analysis are presented in order to illustrate and confirm the structure of the optimal solution obtained.     

Statistical inference for a Wiener-based degradation model with imperfect maintenance actions under different observation schemes

This paper studies the statistical inference in a degradation model with imperfect maintenance. Technological or industrial devices subject to degradation undergo maintenance actions that reduce their degradation level. The underlying degradation process is a Wiener process with drift. Maintenance effects are assumed to be imperfect, described by an Arithmetic Reduction of Degradation ($AR{D}_1$) model. The system is regularly inspected and the degradation levels are measured. Four different observation schemes are considered so that degradation levels can be observed between maintenance actions as well as just before or just after maintenance times. The paper studies the estimation of the model parameters under the four observation schemes. Maximum likelihood estimators are derived for each scheme. The quality of the estimations is assessed and the observation schemes are compared through an extensive simulation and performance study.     

Modelling and optimization of parallel reservoirs having nonlinear storage curves under critical water conditions for long-term regulation

This paper deals with the problem of parallel reservoirs having nonlinear storage-elevation curves (quadratic functions) for long-term regulation under critical water conditions using the minimum norm formulation. To overcome these nonlinearities, we introduce a set of pseudo-state variables. A set of optimizing equations is obtained. The proposed method is efficient in computing time and in calculating the expected benefits of generation from the system during the critical period. Numerical results are reported for a real system in operation consisting of two rivers; each river has two reservoirs in series.This work was supported by the National Research Council of Canada, Grant No. A4146. The authors would like to acknowledge data obtained from B. C. Hydro.     

On the dynamics of Navier-Stokes equations for a shallow water model

In this paper, we study a free boundary problem of one-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations with a density-dependent viscosity, which include, in particular, a shallow water model. Under some suitable assumptions on the initial data, we obtain the global existence, uniqueness and the large time behavior of weak solutions. In particular, it is shown that a stationary wave pattern connecting a gas to the vacuum continuously is asymptotically stable for small initial general perturbations.