A similarity transformation for subcooled mixed convection film boiling in a porous medium

The classical two-phase boundary layer concept was adopted to analyse the problem of combined free and forced convection film boiling over an impermeable wall embedded in a porous medium. The governing equations, namely, the equations of continuity, energy and Darcy's model, were written for both vapor and liquid layers, and were solved simultaneously by means of the similarity transformation. Similarity solutions are found for a vertical flat plate, a horizontal circular cylinder and a sphere. Numerical integrations were carried out for given sets of the parameters associated with the vapor superheating Sup, the liquid subcooling Sub, the vapor mass flow rate R and the ratio of the liquid Rayleigh number to Peclet number Ra _xf /Pe _xf . It is found that a significant simplification of the problem is possible by setting the liquid stream function at the interface to zero. This simplification also reveals that the solution of the problem virtually depends on only three parameters, namely, Sup, Ra _xf /Pe _xf and the lumped parameter Sub/R.     

Heat transfer from the heated concave wall of a return bend with rectangular cross section

The characteristics of the turbulent heat transfer along the heated concave walls of return bends which have rectangular cross sections with large aspect ratio have been examined for various clearances of the ducts in detail. The experiments are carried out under the condition that the concave walls are heated at constant heat flux while the convex walls are insulated. Water as the working fluid is utilized. Using three kinds of clearance of 9, 34, and 55 mm, the Reynolds number in the turbulent range are varied from 5×10³ to 8×10⁴ with the Prandtl numbers ranging from 4 to 13. As a result it is elucidated that both the mean and the local Nusselt numbers are always greater than those for the straight parallel plates or for the straight duct, respectively. This is attributed to Görtier vortices, which are visualized here. It is also found that the more the clearance increases, the more both the local and the mean Nusselt numbers increase. Correlation equations for the mean and the local Nusselt numbers are determined in the range of parameters covered. Introducing the Richardson number, it appears that the local Nusselt number,Nu _x , may be described as the following equation:Nu _x =447.745 ·Re _x ^1.497 ·De _x ^?1.596 ·F ^0.960 ·Pr ^0.412     

Mixed convection film condensation from downward flowing vapors onto a sphere with uniform wall heat flux

A model is developed for the study of mixed convection film condensation from downward flowing vapors onto a sphere with uniform wall heat flux. The model combined natural convection dominated and forced convection dominated film condensation, including effects of pressure gradient and interfacial vapor shear drag has been investigated and solved numerically. The separation angle of the condensate film layer, φ _s is also obtained for various pressure gradient parameters, P ^* and their corresponding dimensionless Grashof?'s parameters, Gr ^*. Besides, the effect of P ^* on the dimensionless mean heat transfer, will remain almost uniform with increasing P ^* until for various corresponding available values of Gr ^*. Meanwhile, the dimensionless mean heat transfer, is increasing significantly with Gr ^* for its corresponding available values of P ^*. For pure natural-convection film condensation, is obtained.     

Finite difference analysis of unsteady natural convection flow along an inclined plate with variable surface temperature and mass diffusion

An analysis is performed to study the transient laminar natural convection flows along an inclined semi-infinite flat plate in which the wall temperatureT _w ^′ and species concentration on the wallC _w ^′ vary as the power of the axial co-ordinate in the formT _w ^′ (x)=T _∞ ^′ +ax ⁿ andC _w ^′ =C _∞ ^′ +bx ^m respectively. The dimensionless governing equations considered here are unsteady, two-dimensional, coupled and non-linear integro-differential equations. A finite difference scheme of Crank-Nicolson type is employed to solve the problem. The velocity, temperature, concentration, skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are studied in detail for various sets of values of parameters. Correlation equations are also established for Nusselt number and Sherwood number in terms of parameters.     

Stress and finite-strain analysis of a circular ring under diametral compression

Using a moiré, large-strain analysis method, a complete solution is shown in this paper of the fields of strain and stress for a circular ring subjected to diametral compression between two flat platens. The isotheticsu andv, obtained using 1000-lines-per-inch gratings, were differentiated photographically by the shifting technique (moiré-of-moiré) to determine ?u/?x, ?v/?y, ?u/?y and ?v/?x. Using the exact finite strain-displacement relationship, the Eulerian strains ? _x ^E , ? _y ^E and γ _xy ^E were computed. From these, the principal Eulerian strains were obtained. These results were verified with the isochromatics obtained from a large-deformation photoelasticity analysis. The ring was made of a polyurethane rubber which exhibits a linear relationship between natural strain and a newly introduced concept of “natural stress”. The Eulerian strains were converted to natural strains, and from these natural stresses were computed using the newly developed concept. Results are presented graphically for the whole field of the ring.     

Spectral analysis of the Pekeris operator in the theory of acoustic wave propagation in shallow water

ThePekeris differential operator is defined by $$Au = - c^2 (x_n )\rho (x_n )\nabla \cdot \left( {\frac{1}{{\rho (x_n )}}\nabla u} \right),$$ wherex=(x ₁,x ₂,...x _n )∈R _n ,?=(?/?x ₁, ?/?x ₂,...?/?x _n ), and the functionsc(x _n),σ(x _n) satisfy $$c(x_n ) = \left\{ \begin{gathered} c_1 , 0 \leqq x_n< h, \hfill \\ c_2 , x_n \geqq h, \hfill \\ \end{gathered} \right.$$ and $$\rho (x_n ) = \left\{ \begin{gathered} \rho _1 , 0 \leqq x_n< h, \hfill \\ \rho _2 , x_n \geqq h, \hfill \\ \end{gathered} \right.$$ wherec ₁,c ₂,? ₁,? ₂, andh are positive constants. The operator arises in the study of acoustic wave propagation in a layer of water having sound speedc ₁ and density? ₁ which overlays a bottom having sound speedc ₂ and density? ₂. In this paper it is shown that the operatorA, acting on a class of functions u (x) which are defined for x_n≧0 and vanish for x_n=0, defines a selfadjoint operator on the Hilbert space whereR ₊ ⁿ ={x∈R ⁿ :x _n >0} anddx =dx ₁ dx ₂...dx _n denotes Lebesgue measure in R ₊ ⁿ . The spectral family ofA is constructed and the spectrum is shown to be continuous. Moreover an eigenfunction expansion for A is given in terms of a family of improper eigenfunctions. Whenc ₁≧c ₂ each eigenfunction can be interpreted as a plane wave plus a reflected wave. When c₁< c₂, additional eigen-functions arise which can be interpreted as plane waves that are trapped in the layer 0n h by total reflection at the interface x_n=h.     

Nonsimilarity solutions for non-Darcy mixed convection from horizontal surfaces in a porous medium

Non-Darcy mixed convection in a porous medium from horizontal surfaces with variable surface heat flux of the power-law distribution is analyzed. The entire mixed convection regime is divided into two regions. The first region covers the forced convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ζ _f =Ra^* _x /Pe² _x is found to characterize the effect of buoyancy forces on the forced convection with K ^′ U _∞/ν characterizing the effect of inertia resistance. The second region covers the natural convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ζ _n =Pe _x /Ra^*1/2 _x is found to characterize the effect of the forced flow on the natural convection, with (K ^′ U _∞/ν)Ra^*1/2 _x /Pe _x characterizing the effect of inertia resistance. To obtain the solution that covers the entire mixed convection regime the solution of the first regime is carried out for ζ _f =0, the pure forced convection limit, to ζ _f =1 and the solution of the second is carried out for ζ _n =0, the pure natural convection limit, to ζ _n =1. The two solutions meet and match at ζ _f =ζ _n =1, and R ^* _h =G ^* _h . Also a non-Darcy model was used to analyze mixed convection in a porous medium from horizontal surfaces with variable wall temperature of the power-law form. The entire mixed convection regime is divided into two regions. The first region covers the forced convection dominated regime where the dimensionless parameter ξ _f =Ra _x /Pe _x ^3/2 is found to measure the buoyancy effects on mixed convection with Da _x Pe _x /ɛ as the wall effects. The second region covers the natural convection dominated region where ξ _n =Pe _x /Ra _x ^2/3 is found to measure the force effects on mixed convection with Da _x Ra _x ^2/3/ɛ as the wall effects. Numerical results for different inertia, wall, variable surface heat flux and variable wall temperature exponents are presented. Received on 8 July 1996     

Bounded solutions of some nonlinear elliptic equations in cylindrical domains

The existence of a (unique) solution of the second-order semilinear elliptic equation $$\sum\limits_{i,j = 0}^n {a_{ij} (x)u_{x_i x_j } + f(\nabla u,u,x) = 0}$$ withx=(x ₀,x ₁,?,x _n )?(s ₀, ∞)× Ω′, for a bounded domainΩ′, together with the additional conditions $$\begin{array}{*{20}c} {u(x) = 0for(x_1 ,x_2 ,...,x_n ) \in \partial \Omega '} \\ {u(x) = \varphi (x_1 ,x_2 ,...,x_n )forx_0 = s_0 } \\ {|u(x)|globallybounded} \\ \end{array}$$ is shown to be a well-posed problem under some sign and growth restrictions off and its partial derivatives. It can be seen as an initial value problem, with initial value?, in the spaceC ₀ ⁰ $(\overline {\Omega '} )$ and satisfying the strong order-preserving property. In the case thata _ij andf do not depend onx ₀ or are periodic inx ₀, it is shown that the corresponding dynamical system has a compact global attractor. Also, conditions onf are given under which all the solutions tend to zero asx ₀ tends to infinity. Proofs are strongly based on maximum and comparison techniques.     

Non-Darcy mixed convection from a vertical plate in saturated porous media-variable surface heat flux

Nonsimilarity solutions for non-Darcy mixed convection from a vertical impermeable surface embedded in a saturated porous medium are presented for variable surface heat flux (VHF) of the power-law form. The entire mixed convection region is divided into two regimes. One region covers the forced convection dominated regime and the other one covers the natural convection dominated regime. The governing equations are first transformed into a dimensionless form by the nonsimilar transformation and then solved by a finite-difference scheme. Computations are based on Keller Box method and a tolerance of iteration of 10⁻⁵ as a criterion for convergence. Three physical aspects are introduced. One measures the strength of mixed convection where the dimensionless parameter Ra^* _x /Pe^3/2 _x characterizes the effect of buoyancy forces on the forced convection; while the parameter Pe _x /Ra^*2/3 _x characterizes the effect of forced flow on the natural convection. The second aspect represents the effect of the inertial resistance where the parameter K′U _∞/ν is found to characterize the effect of inertial force in the forced convection dominated regime, while the parameter (K′U _∞/ν)(Ra^*2/3 _x /Pe _x ) characterizes the effect of inertial force in the natural convection dominated regime. The third aspect is the effect of the heating condition at the wall on the mixed convection, which is presented by m, the power index of the power-law form heating condition. Numerical results for both heating conditions are carried out. Distributions of dimensionless temperature and velocity profiles for both Darcy and non-Darcy models are presented. Received on 26 May 1997     

Oscillating radial flow between parallel plates

An analysis is presented for laminar radial flow due to an oscillating source between parallel plates. The source strength varies according to Q=Q ₀ cos ωt, and the solution is in the form of an infinite series in terms of a reduced Reynolds number, R _a ^* =Q ₀/4πνa/(r/a)². (Q ₀ = amplitude of source strength, ω = frequency, a = half distance between plates, r = radial coordinate, t = time, and ν = kinematic viscosity.) The results are valid for small values of R _a ^* and all values of the frequency Reynolds number, α=ωa ²/ν. The effects of the parameters R _a ^* and α are discussed.     

Effect of the use of the balance and gradient methods as a result of experimental investigations of natural convection action with regard to the conception and construction of measuring apparatus

Measurement apparatus designed and constructed according to conceptions of the authors, enabled a more precise calculation of the heat transfer coefficient with the balance and gradient methods. Construction and use of the apparatus and devices are described below, results of experimental investigations for horizontal and vertical, isothermal, flat plates obtained independently with the balance and gradient methods, are also presented. The following equations were found:Nu=0.612 · (Ra)^1/4 10⁴ ≦Ra ≦ 10⁸ for vertical platesNu=0.766 · (Ra)^1/5 10⁴ ≦Ra ≦ 10⁷ Nu=0.173 · (Ra)^1/3 10⁵ ≦Ra≦ 10⁸ for horizontal plates. On the basis of the results obtained from both these methods, differences of natural convection acting from vertical and horizontal plates are discussed. The usefulness of the balance and gradient methods have been considered for qualitative and quantitative investigations of heat transfer by natural convection.     

Mixed convection film condensation from downward flowing vapors onto a sphere with variable wall temperature

A model is developed for the study of mixed- convection film condensation from downward flowing vapors onto a sphere with variable wall temperature. The model combined natural convection dominated and forced convection dominated film condensation, concerning effects of pressure gradient (P), interfacial vapor shear drag and non-uniform wall temperature variation (A), has been investigated and solved numerically. The effect of pressure gradient on the dimensionless mean heat transfer, NuˉRe^−1/2 will remain almost uniform with increasing P until for various corresponding available values of F. Meanwhile, the dimensionless mean heat transfer, NuˉRe^−1/2 is increasing significantly with F for its corresponding available values of P. Although the non-uniform wall temperature variation has an appreciable influence on the local film flow and heat transfer; however, the dependence of mean heat transfer on A can be almost negligible. Received on 10 October 1996     

New nonconforming finite element method for solving transient Naiver-Stokes equations

For transient Naiver-Stokes problems, a stabilized nonconforming finite element method is presented, focusing on two pairs inf-sup unstable finite element spaces, i.e., pNC/pNC triangular and pNQ/pNQ quadrilateral finite element spaces. The semi- and full-discrete schemes of the stabilized method are studied based on the pressure projection and a variational multi-scale method. It has some attractive features： avoiding higher-order derivatives and edge-based data structures, adding a discrete velocity term only on the fine scale, being effective for high Reynolds number fluid flows, and avoiding increased computation cost. For the full-discrete scheme, it has second-order estimations of time and is unconditionally stable. The presented numerical results agree well with the theoretical results.     

Mixed Convection Boundary-Layer Flow Along a Vertical Cylinder Embedded in a Porous Medium Filled by a Nanofluid

The steady mixed convection boundary-layer flow on a vertical circular cylinder embedded in a porous medium filled by a nanofluid is studied for both cases of a heated and a cooled cylinder. The governing system of partial differential equations is reduced to ordinary differential equations by assuming that the surface temperature of the cylinder and the velocity of the external (inviscid) flow vary linearly with the axial distance x measured from the leading edge. Solutions of the resulting ordinary differential equations for the flow and heat transfer characteristics are evaluated numerically for various values of the governing parameters, namely the nanoparticle volume fraction ${\phi}$ , the mixed convection or buoyancy parameter ?? and the curvature parameter ??. Results are presented for the specific case of copper nanoparticles. A critical value ?? _c of ?? with ?? _c <?0 is found, with the values of | ?? _c| increasing as the curvature parameter ?? or nanoparticle volume fraction ${\phi}$ is increased. Dual solutions are seen for all values of ?? >??? _c for both aiding, ?? >?0 and opposing, ?? <?0, flows. Asymptotic solutions are also determined for both the free convection limit ${(\lambda \gg 1)}$ and for large curvature parameter ${(\gamma \gg 1)}$ .     

Turbulence Models and Large Eddy Simulations Applied to Ascending Mixed Convection Flows

Coolant flows in the cores of current gas-cooled nuclear reactors consist of ascending vertical flows in a large number of parallel passages. Under post-trip conditions such heated turbulent flows may be significantly modified from the forced convection condition by the action of buoyancy, and the thermal-hydraulic regime is no longer one of pure forced convection. These modifications are associated primarily with changes to the turbulence structure. Flow laminarization may occur, and in that event heat transfer rates may be as low as 40% of those in the corresponding forced convection case. The present work is concerned with the modelling of such ??mixed?? convection flows in a vertical heated pipe. All fluid properties are assumed to be constant and buoyancy is accounted for within the Boussinesq approximation. Six different Eddy Viscosity Models (EVMs) are examined against experimental measurements and the direct numerical simulation (DNS) data of You et?al. (Int J Heat Mass Transfer 46:1613?C1627, 2003). The EVMs selected for study embody distinct physical refinements with respect to the parent high-Reynolds-number k-?? model. Large Eddy Simulations employing the classical Smagorinsky sub-grid-scale model are also presented. It is found that the early EVM scheme of Launder and Sharma (1974) is the turbulence model in the closest agreement with direct simulation results for the ratio of mixed-to-forced convection Nusselt number, Nu/Nu ₀; the model in the poorest accord with the DNS data is a k-??-SST formulation. However, in relation to comparisons with both numerical and experimental data for forced convection Nusselt number, Nu ₀, the present work reveals that some of the more recent models perform better than the Launder-Sharma scheme. No single scheme is in consistently close agreement with the numerical simulation flow profiles.     

Phragmén-Lindelöf theorems for nonlinear elliptic equations

We obtain theorems of Phragmén-Lindelöf type for the following classes of elliptic partial differential inequalities in an arbitrary unbounded domain \(\Omega \subseteq \mathbb{R}^n ,{\text{ }}n \geqq 2\) (A.1) $$\sum\limits_{i,j = 1}^n {\frac{\partial }{{\partial x_i }}\left( {a_{ij} 9(x)\frac{{\partial u}}{{\partial xj}}} \right)} + \sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {b_i (x,{\text{ }}u,{\text{ }}\nabla u)\frac{\partial }{{\partial x_i }}} \geqq f(x,{\text{ }}u)$$ where a _ij are elliptic in Ω and b _i ε L^∞(Ω) and where also a _ij are uniformly elliptic and Holder continuous at infinity and b _i = O(|x|⁺¹) as x → ∞; (A.2) $${\text{(A}}{\text{.2) }}\sum\limits_{i,j = 1}^n {a_{ij} (x,{\text{ }}u,{\text{ }}\nabla u)\frac{{\partial ^2 u}}{{\partial x_i \partial x_j }}} + \sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {b_i (x,{\text{ }}u,{\text{ }}\nabla u)\frac{\partial }{{\partial x_i }}} \geqq f(x,{\text{ }}u)$$ where a_ijare uniformly elliptic in Ω and b _iε L^∞(Ω); and finally (A.3) $${\text{div(}}\nabla u^p \nabla u {\text{)}} \geqq f{\text{(}}u{\text{), }}p > - 1,$$ where the operator on the left is the so-called P-Laplacian. The function f is always supposed positive and continuous. Moreover u is assumed throughout to be in the natural weak Sobolev space corresponding to the particular inequality under consideration, namely u ε. W _loc ^1,2 (Ω) ∩L _loc ^t8 (Ω) for (A.I), W _loc ^2,n(Ω) for (A.2), and W _loc ^1,p+2 (Ω) ∩ L _loc ^t8 (Ω) for (A.3). As a consequence of our results we obtain both non-existence and Liouville theorems, as well as existence theorems for (A.1).     

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.     

Natural convection heat transfer in enclosures with microemulsion phase change material slurry

This paper has dealt with the natural convection heat transfer characteristics of microemulsion slurry composed of water, fine particles of phase change material (PCM) in rectangular enclosures. The microemulsion slurry exhibited non-Newtonian pseudoplastic fluid behavior, and the phase changing process can show dramatically variations in both thermophysical and rheological properties with temperature. The experiments have been carried out separately in three subdivided regions in which the state of PCM in microemulsion is in only solid phase, two phases (coexistence of solid and liquid phases) or only liquid phase. The complicated heat transfer characteristics of natural convection have appeared in the phase changing region. The phase change phenomenon of the PCM enhanced the heat transfer in natural convection, and the Nusselt number was generalized by introducing a modified Stefan number. However, the Nusselt number did not show a linear output with the height of the enclosure, since a top conduction lid or stagnant layer was induced over a certain height of the enclosure. The Nusselt number increased with a decrease in aspect ratio (width/height of the rectangular enclosure) even including the side-wall effect. However, the microemulsion was more viscous while the PCM was in the solid phase, the side-wall effect on heat transfer was greater for the PCM in the solid region than that for the PCM in the liquid region. The correlation generalized for the PCM in a single phase is $ Nu = 1/3(1 - C_1 )Ra^{{1 \over {3.5n + 1}}} , $ where C ₁ = e ^–0.09AR for the PCM in solid phase and C ₁ = e ^–0.33AR for the PCM in liquid phase. For the PCM in the phase changing region, the correlation can be expressed as $ Nu = CRa^{{1 \over {7n + 2}}} Ste^{ - (1.9 - 1.65n)} , $ where C = 1.22 – 0.035AR for AR > 10 and C = 0.55 – 16.4e ^–1.1AR for AR < 10. The enclosure height used in the present experiments was varied from H = 5.5 [mm] to 30.4 [mm] at the fixed width W = 120 [mm] and depth D = 120 [mm]. The experiments were done in the range of modified Rayleigh number 7.0 × 10² ≤ Ra ≤ 3.0 × 10⁶, while the enclosure aspect ratio AR varied from 3.9 to 21.8.     

Der Einfluß der Prandtlzahl auf den Wärmeübergang und Druckverlust künstlich aufgerauhter Strömungskanäle

The influence of the Prandtl number on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of artificially roughened test sections has been investigated experimentally in the Prandtl number range from 3 to 180. For integral roughenesses and fully roughened test sections the efficiency η=ε _Nu /ε _ζ can be described by the Prandtl number and the roughness parameter \(k_{\text{S}}^ + = Re{\text{(}}k_{\text{S}} /d_{\text{h}} )\sqrt \zeta /8\) . The relation between the efficiency η, the Prandtl numberPr and the roughness parameterk _s ⁺ can be expressed by the following empirical relation: $$\eta = \log \frac{{Pr^{{\text{0,33}}} }}{{k_{\text{S}}^{ + {\text{ 0,243}}} }} - 0,32 \cdot 10^{ - 3} k_{\text{S}}^ + {\text{ log }}Pr + {\text{1,25}}{\text{.}}$$ With this relation for the heat transfer and friction characteristics of smooth and rough channels it is possible to calculate the increase of heat transfer for rough channels by means of pressure drop measurements which are necessary to determine the friction factor ζ and the equivalent sand roughness depth; provided that heat transfer and friction characteristics of the respective smooth channel are known.     

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 → + ∞.