Soil moisture movement and groundwater recharge by tritium tracer tagging technique

The paper deals with the study of rate of soil moisture movement and recharge to groundwater system at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) farm for the years 1973, 1974 and 1975. The utility of artificially injected tritium, experimental techniques adopted and a quantitative determination of recharge and moisture movement rates are discussed. Corrections for upward movement of moisture after the end of monsoon have been used to calculate the average rates of water movement below the injection level and groundwater recharge. Average rates of soil moisture movement and recharge are 9.4 mm/d and 27.4% (193 mm) of monsoon precipitation for three years respectively. Under favourable conditions the diffusion coefficients for soil water system are calculated assuming Gaussian distribution of tritium concentrations in the soil profiles. The average value of diffusion coefficient is 2.5 × 10^?5 cm²/s for the sandy loam soils. The variation in recharge is mainly due to inherent variability in soil physical properties and vegetative cover. The technique is not found reliable for higher water table conditions on account of lateral flow.     

Hydrodynamisches Modell zur Darstellung von Diffusionsvorgängen mit konzentrationsabhängigen Diffusionskoeffizienten

Summary It is possible, to get approximate solutions of the differential equation for non-stationary diffusion (Ficks 2^nd law) by means of a hydrodynamic model, consisting of cylindric containers connected by capillary tubes. Solutions witha diffusion coefficient dependent of concentration may be obtained by taking containers with a cross section variable with the height. Some proposals for the design of such a model are made.     

Numerical methods for a nonlinear reaction–diffusion system modelling a batch culture of biofilm

A biofilm is usually defined as a layer of bacterial cells anchored to a surface. These cells are embedded into a polymer matrix that keeps them attached to each other and to a solid surface. Among a large variety of biofilms, in this paper we consider batch cultures. The mathematical model is formulated in terms of a quasilinear system of diffusion–reaction equations for biomass and nutrients concentrations, which exhibits possible degeneracy and singularities in the nonlinear diffusion coefficient. In the present paper, we propose a set of efficient numerical methods that speeds up the solution of the model. Mainly, Crank–Nicolson finite differences techniques for discretisation are combined with a Newton algorithm for the nonlinearities. Moreover, some numerical examples show the expected behaviour of the biomass and nutrients concentrations and also clearly illustrate some theoretically proved qualitative properties related to exponential decays or convergence to a critical biomass concentration depending on the values of the model parameters.     

Convergence of a fixed point iteration method for the OSV model

In image processing, image denoising and texture extraction are important problems in which many new methods recently have been developed. One of the most important models is the OSV model [S. Osher, A. Solé, L. Vese, Image decomposition and restoration using total variation minimization and the H^-1 norm, Multiscale Model. Simul. A SIAM Interdisciplinary J. 1(3) (2003) 349-370] which is constructed by the total variation and H^-1 norm. This paper proves the existence of the minimizer of the functional from the OSV model and analyzes the convergence of an iterative method for solving the problems. Our iteration method is constructed by a fixed point iteration on the fourth order partial differential equation from the computation of the associated Euler-Lagrange equation, and the limit of our iterations satisfies the minimizer of the functional from the OSV model. In numerical experiments, we compare the numerical results of our works with those of the ROF model [L.I. Rudin, S. Osher, E. Fatemi, Nonlinear total variation based noise removal algorithms, Phys. D 60 (1992) 259-268].     

Stability and convergence for a complete model of mass diffusion

We propose a fully discrete scheme for approximating a three-dimensional, strongly nonlinear model of mass diffusion, also called the complete Kazhikhov–Smagulov model. The scheme uses a C⁰ finite-element approximation for all unknowns (density, velocity and pressure), even though the density limit, solution of the continuous problem, belongs to H². A first-order time discretization is used such that, at each time step, one only needs to solve two decoupled linear problems for the discrete density and the velocity–pressure, separately.We extend to the complete model, some stability and convergence results already obtained by the last two authors for a simplified model where λ²-terms are not considered, λ being the mass diffusion coefficient. Now, different arguments must be introduced, based mainly on an induction process with respect to the time step, obtaining at the same time the three main properties of the scheme: an approximate discrete maximum principle for the density, weak estimates for the velocity and strong ones for the density. Furthermore, the convergence towards a weak solution of the density-dependent Navier–Stokes problem is also obtained as λ→0 (jointly with the space and time parameters).Finally, some numerical computations prove the practical usefulness of the scheme.     

Numerical three-dimensional free surface circulation model for the South Biscayne Bay,Florida

A three– dimensional, time dependent free surface model has been developed for predicting circulation and surface height variations in a tidal bay. An explicit finite difference numerical solution is obtained by transforming the vertical coordinate in the governing model equations. The transformed geometry consists of a fixed, flat free surface and a constant depth basin for easy computation. The ocean–bay interface open boundary condition is incorporated into this hydrodynamic model without approximation, and yields rather accurate results for the bay circulation and tide level variations. The numerical method employs a staggered grid Richardson lattice, which has the inherent property of not requiring calculation of the tangential velocity components on solid surfaces. The momentum equations ignore horizontal diffusion which is small for the South Biscayne Bay, for which vertical diffusion and advection dominate.     

The development of a cellular automaton-finite volume model for dendritic growth

A cellular automaton to track the solid–liquid interface movement is linked to finite volume computations of solute diffusion to simulate the behavior of dendritic structures in binary alloys during solidification. A significant problem encountered in the CA formulation has been the presence of artificial anisotropy in growth kinetics introduced by a Cartesian CA grid. A new technique to track the interface movement is proposed to model dendritic growth in different crystallographic orientations while reducing the anisotropy due to grid orientation. The model stability with respect to the numerical parameters (cell size and time step) for various operating conditions is examined. A method for generating an operating window in Δt and Δx has been identified, in which the model gives a grid-independent set of results for calculated dendrite tip radius and tip undercooling. Finally, the model is compared to published experimental and analytical results for both directional and equiaxed growth conditions.     

The Andersen thermostat in molecular dynamics

We carry out a mathematical study of the Andersen thermostat [1], which is a frequently used tool in molecular dynamics. After reformulating the continuous‐ and discrete‐time Andersen dynamics, we prove that in both cases the Andersen dynamics is uniformly ergodic. A detailed numerical analysis is presented, establishing the rate of convergence of most commonly used numerical algorithms for the Andersen thermostat. Transport properties such as the diffusion constant are also investigated. It is proved for the Lorentz gas model where there is intrinsic diffusion that the diffusion coefficient calculated using the Andersen thermostat converges to the true diffusion coefficient in the limit of vanishing collision frequency in the Andersen thermostat. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Local discontinuous Galerkin methods with explicit Runge‐Kutta time marching for nonlinear carburizing model

A fully discrete local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) method coupled with 3 total variation diminishing Runge‐Kutta time‐marching schemes, for solving a nonlinear carburizing model, will be analyzed and implemented in this paper. On the basis of a suitable numerical flux setting in the LDG method, we obtain the optimal error estimate for the Runge‐Kutta–LDG schemes by energy analysis, under the condition τ ≤ λh², where h and τ are mesh size and time step, respectively, λ is a positive constant independent of h. Numerical experiments are presented to verify the accuracy and capability of the proposed schemes. For the carburizing diffusion processes of steel and the diffusion simulation for Cu‐Ni system, the numerical results show good agreement with the experimental results.     

A C0 interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin Method for fourth‐order total variation flow. II: Existence and uniqueness

We prove the existence and uniqueness of a solution of a C⁰ Interior Penalty Discontinuous Galerkin (C⁰ IPDG) method for the numerical solution of a fourth‐order total variation flow problem that has been developed in part I of the paper. The proof relies on a nonlinear version of the Lax‐Milgram Lemma. It requires to establish that the nonlinear operator associated with the C⁰ IPDG approximation is Lipschitz continuous and strongly monotone on bounded sets of the underlying finite element space.     

Measurement of true angular correlation in Fe57 in a single crystal of metallic cobalt

Unperturbed angular correlation in Fe⁵⁷ has been observed in a single crystal of metallic cobalt. The value of the angular correlation coefficient A₂=? 0·042±0·016 is obtained which gives the mixing ratioδ=? 0·17±0·03 for the 122 keV gamma-transition.     

Adaptive total variation regularization based scheme for Poisson noise removal

To better preserve the edge features, this paper investigates an adaptive total variation regularization based variational model for removing Poisson noise. This edge‐preserving scheme comprises a spatially adaptive diffusivity coefficient, which adjusts the diffusion strength automatically. Compared with the classical total variation based one, numerical simulations distinctly indicate the superiority of our proposed strategy in maintaining the small details while denoising Poissonian image. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CFD of turbulent transport of particles behind a backward-facing step using a new model—k-ε-Sp

The k-ε-S_p model, describing two-dimensional gas–solid two-phase turbulent flow, has been developed. In this model, the diffusion flux and slip velocity of solid particles are introduced to represent the particle motion in two-phase flow. Based on this model, the gas–solid two-phase turbulent flow behind a vertical backward-facing step is simulated numerically and the turbulent transport velocities of solid particles with high density behind the step are predicted. The numerical simulation is validated by comparing the results of the numerical calculation with two other two-phase turbulent flow models (k-ε-A_p, k-ε-k_p) by Laslandes and the experimental measurements. This model, not only has the same virtues of predicting the longitudinal transport of the solid particles as the present practical two-phase flow models, but also can predict the lateral transport of the solid particles correctly.     

Determination of a material constant in the impedance boundary condition for electromagnetic fields

We study a recovery problem for an unknown boundary data at the boundary part in static electromagnetism. Our computational area is a bounded domain Ω⊂Rⁿ with a Lipschitz continuous boundary. The problem for determining the coefficient λ is considered. This coefficient represents one of the ferromagnetic material characteristics occupying this domain. The existence and uniqueness of a weak solution are proved and a numerical method for its recovery is supported by numerical experiments.     

Calculation of conjugate heat transfer problem with volumetric heat generation using the Galerkin method

A mathematical model of fluid flow across a rod bundle with volumetric heat generation has been built. The rods are heated with volumetric internal heat generation. To construct the model, a volume average technique (VAT) has been applied to momentum and energy transport equations for a fluid and a solid phase to develop a specific form of porous media flow equations. The model equations have been solved with a semi-analytical Galerkin method. The detailed velocity and temperature fields in the fluid flow and the solid structure have been obtained. Using the solution fields, a whole-section drag coefficient C_d and a whole-section Nusselt number Nu have also been calculated. To validate the developed solution procedure, the results have been compared to the results of a finite volume method. The comparison shows an excellent agreement. The present results demonstrate that the selected Galerkin approach is capable of performing calculations of heat transfer in a cross-flow where thermal conductivity and internal heat generation in a solid structure has to be taken into account. Although the Galerkin method has limited applicability in complex geometries, its highly accurate solutions are an important benchmark on which other numerical results can be tested.     

Convergence towards attractors for a degenerate Ginzburg-Landau equation

We study a real Ginzburg-Landau equation, in a bounded domain of \mathbbR^N ,\mathbb{R}^N , with a variable, generally non-smooth diffusion coefficient having a finite number of zeroes. By using the compactness of the embeddings of the weighted Sobolev spaces involved in the functional formulation of the problem, and the associated energy equation, we show the existence of a global attractor. The extension of the main result in the case of an unbounded domain is also discussed, where in addition, the diffusion coefficient has to be unbounded. Some remarks for the case of a complex Ginzburg-Landau equation are given.     

Advected turbulent line thermal driven by concentration difference

The spatial evolution of an advected line thermal driven by concentration difference––a turbulent buoyant body of fluid, for which small density difference is caused by a proportional variation in scalar concentration, horizontally introduced at no excess momentum into a horizontal ambient current, is studied using the standard two-equation k– model with a buoyancy expansion. The numerical results show that the advected line thermal is characterized longitudinally by a flat trajectory with scalar dilution taking place essentially near the jet exit, and transversely by a vortex-pair flow and a kidney-shaped concentration structure with double peak maxima corresponding to stronger buoyancy effect; the computed flow details and scalar mixing characteristics can be described by self-similar relations beyond a dimensionless distance of around 10; the aspect ratio for the kidney-shaped sectional thermal is found to be around 1.2–1.4; the predicted flow feature and mixing rate are well supported by asymptotic dimensional analysis and related experimental data. The analogy between a steady advected line thermal and corresponding time-dependent line thermal is also found reasonable by a special exploration into the horizontal velocity distribution and the significance of horizontal diffusion effect of the advected line thermal. Only about half of the vertical momentum resulting from the buoyancy effect is found contained in the advected line thermal, corresponding to an added virtual mass coefficient of approximately 1 for the sectional thermal.     

Preliminary tests of a hybrid numerical-asymptotic method for solving nonlinear advection-diffusion equations in a domain limited by a self-adjusting boundary

An advection-diffusion equation is examined in which the diffusion coefficient is proportional to a positive power of the dependent variable, h. Because the diffusion coefficient is zero where h is zero, it is believed that the domain where h ≠ 0 expands at a finite velocity, u_η, which must be calculated in an appropriate way if an accurate numerical solution technique is to be implemented. An asymptotic study leads to a local approximation of u_η. The latter is then utilized in a finite volume solution of an axisymmetric problem where an exact solution can be obtained. The accuracy of the numerical results is excellent. Some peculiarities of the numerical solution are highlighted, and it is shown that they are due to the simplistic nature of the axisymmetric problem solved, which may be partly responsible for the high quality of the numerical results. Although the preliminary results are very encouraging, further testing of the method is needed, especially in fully two-dimensional cases.     

Analytical solution of a spatially variable coefficient advection–diffusion equation in up to three dimensions

Analytical solutions are provided for the two- and three-dimensional advection–diffusion equation with spatially variable velocity and diffusion coefficients. We assume that the velocity component is proportional to the distance and that the diffusion coefficient is proportional to the square of the corresponding velocity component. There is a simple transformation which reduces the spatially variable equation to a constant coefficient problem for which there are available a large number of known analytical solutions for general initial and boundary conditions. These solutions are also solutions to the spatially variable advection–diffusion equation. The special form of the spatial coefficients has practical relevance and for divergent free flow represent corner or straining flow. Unlike many other analytical solutions, we use the transformation to obtain solutions of the spatially variable coefficient advection–diffusion equation in two and three dimensions. The analytical solutions, which are simple to evaluate, can be used to validate numerical models for solving the advection–diffusion equation with spatially variable coefficients. For numerical schemes which cannot handle flow stagnation points, we provide analytical solution to the spatially variable coefficient advection–diffusion equation for two-dimensional corner flow which contains an impermeable flow boundary. The impermeable flow boundary coincides with a streamline along which the fluid velocity is finite but the concentration vanishes. This example is useful for validating numerical schemes designed to predict transport around a curved boundary.     

A uniformly convergent B-spline collocation method on a nonuniform mesh for singularly perturbed one-dimensional time-dependent linear convection–diffusion problem

A numerical method is proposed for solving singularly perturbed one-dimensional parabolic convection–diffusion problems. The method comprises a standard implicit finite difference scheme to discretize in temporal direction on a uniform mesh by means of Rothe's method and B-spline collocation method in spatial direction on a piecewise uniform mesh of Shishkin type. The method is shown to be unconditionally stable and accurate of order O((Δx)²+Δt). An extensive amount of analysis has been carried out to prove the uniform convergence with respect to the singular perturbation parameter. Several numerical experiments have been carried out in support of the theoretical results. Comparisons of the numerical solutions are performed with an upwind finite difference scheme on a piecewise uniform mesh and exponentially fitted method on a uniform mesh to demonstrate the efficiency of the method.