Identifying the radiative coefficient of an evolutional type heat conduction equation by optimization method

This paper studies an evolutional type inverse problem of identifying the radiative coefficient of heat conduction equation when the over-specified data is given. Problems of this type have important applications in several fields of applied science. Being different from other ordinary inverse coefficient problems, the unknown coefficient in this paper depends on both the space variable x and the time t. Based on the optimal control framework, the inverse problem is transformed into an optimization problem and a new cost functional is constructed in the paper. The existence, uniqueness and stability of the minimizer of the cost functional are proved, and the necessary conditions which must be satisfied by the minimizer are also given. The results obtained in the paper are interesting and useful, and can be extended to more general parabolic equations.     

The Trefftz method using fundamental solutions for biharmonic equations

In this paper, the Trefftz method of fundamental solution (FS), called the method of fundamental solution (MFS), is used for biharmonic equations. The bounds of errors are derived for the MFS with Almansi’s fundamental solutions (denoted as the MAFS) in bounded simply connected domains. The exponential and polynomial convergence rates are obtained from highly and finitely smooth solutions, respectively. The stability analysis of the MAFS is also made for circular domains. Numerical experiments are carried out for both smooth and singularity problems. The numerical results coincide with the theoretical analysis made. When the particular solutions satisfying the biharmonic equation can be found, the method of particular solutions (MPS) is always superior to the MFS and the MAFS, based on numerical examples. However, if such singular particular solutions near the singular points do not exist, the local refinement of collocation nodes and the greedy adaptive techniques can be used for seeking better source points. Based on the computed results, the MFS using the greedy adaptive techniques may provide more accurate solutions for singularity problems. Moreover, the numerical solutions by the MAFS with Almansi’s FS are slightly better in accuracy and stability than those by the traditional MFS. Hence, the MAFS with the AFS is recommended for biharmonic equations due to its simplicity.     

A study on the method of fundamental solutions using an image concept

In this paper, both analytical and semi-analytical solutions for Green’s functions are obtained by using the image method which can be seen as a special case of method of fundamental solutions (MFS). The image method is employed to solve the Green’s function for the annular, eccentric and half-plane Laplace problems. In addition, an analytical solution is derived for the fixed-free annular case. For the half-plane problem with a circular hole and an eccentric annulus, semi-analytical solutions are both obtained by using the image concept after determining the strengths of two frozen image points and a free constant by matching boundary conditions. It is found that two frozen images terminated at the two focuses in the bipolar coordinates for the problems with two circular boundaries. A boundary value problem of an eccentric annulus without sources is also considered. Error distribution is plotted after comparing with the analytical solution derived by Lebedev et al. using the bipolar coordinates. The optimal locations for the source distribution in the MFS are also examined by using the image concept. It is observed that we should locate singularities on the two focuses to obtain better results in the MFS. Besides, whether the free constant is required or not in the MFS is also studied. The results are compared well with the analytical solutions.     

半线性热方程的源项反问题

根据热方程的正问题理论,建立了一个联系附加数据和未知源项的积分恒等式并据此证明了非线性源项的存在唯一性．     

On an inverse problem: Recovery of non-smooth solutions to backward heat equation

We have recently developed two quasi-reversibility techniques in combination with Euler and Crank–Nicolson schemes and applied successfully to solve for smooth solutions of backward heat equation. In this paper, we test the viability of using these techniques to recover non-smooth solutions of backward heat equation. In particular, we numerically integrate the backward heat equation with smooth initial data up to a time of singularity (corners and discontinuities) formation. Using three examples, it is shown that the numerical solutions are very good smooth approximations to these singular exact solutions. The errors are shown using pseudo-L- and U-curves and compared where available with existing works. The limitations of these methods in terms of time of simulation and accuracy with emphasis on the precise set of numerical parameters suitable for producing smooth approximations are discussed. This paper also provides an opportunity to gain some insight into developing more sophisticated filtering techniques that can produce the fine-scale features (singularities) of the final solutions. Techniques are general and can be applied to many problems of scientific and technological interests.     

Stability estimate for an inverse boundary coefficient problem in thermal imaging

We establish a stability estimate for an inverse boundary coefficient problem in thermal imaging. The inverse problem under consideration consists in the determination of a boundary coefficient appearing in a boundary value problem for the heat equation with Robin boundary condition (we note here that the initial condition is assumed to be a priori unknown). Our stability estimate is of logarithmic type and it is essentially based on a logarithmic estimate for a Cauchy problem for the Laplace equation.     

A variational-type method of fundamental solutions for a Cauchy problem of Laplace’s equation

In this paper, we propose a new regularization method based on a finite-dimensional subspace generated from fundamental solutions for solving a Cauchy problem of Laplace’s equation in a simply-connected bounded domain. Based on a global conditional stability for the Cauchy problem of Laplace’s equation, the convergence analysis is given under a suitable choice for a regularization parameter and an a-priori bound assumption to the solution. Numerical experiments are provided to support the analysis and to show the effectiveness of the proposed method from both accuracy and stability.     

Inverse prediction of frictional heat flux and temperature in sliding contact with a protective strip by iterative regularization method

In this study, an inverse algorithm based on the conjugate gradient method and the discrepancy principle is applied to estimate the unknown time-dependent frictional heat flux at the interface of two semi-spaces, one of them is covered by a strip of coating, during a sliding-contact process from the knowledge of temperature measurements taken within one of the semi-space. It is assumed that no prior information is available on the functional form of the unknown heat generation; hence the procedure is classified as the function estimation in inverse calculation. Results show that the relative position between the measured and the estimated quantities is of crucial importance to the accuracy of the inverse algorithm. The current methodology can be applied to the prediction of heat generation in engineering problems involving sliding-contact elements.     

Simultaneous reconstruction of the source term and the surface heat transfer coefficient

We study the problem of identifying unknown source terms in an inverse parabolic problem, when the overspecified (measured) data are given in form of Dirichlet boundary condition u(0,t) = h(t) and , where is an arbitrarily prescribed subregion. The main goal here is to show that the gradient of cost functional can be expressed via the solutions of the direct and corresponding adjoint problems. We prove Hölder continuity of the cost functional and derive the Lipschitz constant in the explicit form via the given data. On the basis of the obtained results, we propose a monotone iteration process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On first and second order stationarity of random coefficient models

We give conditions for first and second order stationarity of mixture autoregressive processes. We obtain a simple condition for positive definiteness of the solution of a generalisation of the Stein’s equation with semidefinite right-hand side and apply it to second order stationarity. The said condition may be of independent interest.     

Uniqueness and stability of the minimizer for a binary functional arising in an inverse heat conduction problem

The local well-posedness of the minimizer of an optimal control problem is studied in this paper. The optimization problem concerns an inverse problem of simultaneously reconstructing the initial temperature and heat radiative coefficient in a heat conduction equation. Being different from other ordinary optimization problems, the cost functional constructed in the paper is a binary functional which contains two independent variables and two independent regularization parameters. Particularly, since the status of the two unknown coefficients in the cost functional are different, the conjugate theory which is extensively used in single-parameter optimization problems cannot be applied for our problem. The necessary condition which must be satisfied by the minimizer is deduced. By assuming the terminal time T is relatively small, an L² estimate regarding the minimizer is obtained, from which the uniqueness and stability of the minimizer can be deduced immediately.     

Stagnation-point flow and heat transfer over an exponentially shrinking sheet

An analysis is carried out to investigate the stagnation-point flow and heat transfer over an exponentially shrinking sheet. Using the boundary layer approximation and a similarity transformation in exponential form, the governing mathematical equations are transformed into coupled, nonlinear ordinary differential equations which are then solved numerically by a shooting method with fourth order Runge-Kutta integration scheme. The analysis reveals that a solution exists only when the velocity ratio parameter satisfies the inequality −1.487068 ? c/a. Also, the numerical calculations exhibit the existence of dual solutions for the velocity and the temperature fields; and it is observed that their boundary layers are thinner for the first solution (in comparison with the second). Moreover, the heat transfer from the sheet increases with an increase in c/a for the first solution, while the heat transfer decreases with increasing c/a for the second solution, and ultimately heat absorption occurs.     

A family of potentials for elliptic equations with one singular coefficient and their applications

Potentials play an important role in solving boundary value problems for elliptic equations. In the middle of the last century, a potential theory was constructed for a two-dimensional elliptic equation with one singular coefficient. In the study of potentials, the properties of the fundamental solutions of the given equation are essentially and fruitfully used. At the present time, fundamental solutions of a multidimensional elliptic equation with one degeneration line are already known. In this paper, we investigate the double- and simple-layer potentials for this kind of elliptic equations. Results from potential theory allow us to represent the solution of the boundary value problems in the form of an integral equation. By using some properties of the Gaussian hypergeometric function, we first prove limiting theorems and derive integral equations concerning the densities of the double- and simple-layer potentials. The obtained results are then applied in order to find an explicit solution of the Holmgren problem for the multidimensional singular elliptic equation in the half of the ball.     

Flow,heat, and species transfer over a stretching plate considering coupled Stefan blowing effects from species transfer

In this paper, we investigate the flow, heat and mass transfer of a viscous fluid flow over a stretching sheet by including the blowing effects of mass transfer under high flux conditions. Mass transfer in this work means species transfer and is different from mass transpiration for permeable walls. The new contribution from this work is, for the first time, to consider the coupled blowing effects from massive species transfer on flow, heat, and species transfer for a stretching plate. Based on the exact solutions of the momentum equations, which are valid for the whole Navier–Stokes equations, the energy and mass transfer equations are solved exactly and the effects of the blowing parameter, the Schmidt number, and the Prandtl number on the flow, heat and mass transfer are presented and discussed. The solution is given in terms of an incomplete Gamma function. It is found the coupled blowing effects due to mass transfer can have significant influences on velocity profiles, drag, heat flux, as well as temperature and concentration profiles. These solutions provide rare results with closed form analytical expressions and can be used as benchmark problem for numerical code validation.     

Combining MFS and PGD methods to solve transient heat equation

We propose in this article a numerical algorithm based on the combination of the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) and the proper generalized decomposition technique (PGD) to solve time‐dependent heat equation. The MFS is considered as a truly meshless technique well adapted for a wide range of physical problems and the PGD approach can be considered as a reduction technique based on the separated representation of the variable functions. The proposed study relates to a separation between the spatial and temporal coordinates. To show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, several examples are presented and compared to the reference results.     

Rate of convergence of the method of fundamental solutions and hyperinterpolation for modified Helmholtz equations on the unit ball

Approximate solutions of boundary value problems of homogeneous modified Helmholtz equations on the unit ball are explicitly constructed by the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) with the order of approximation provided. Hyperinterpolation is used to find particular solutions of non-homogeneous equations, and the rate of convergence of solving boundary value problems of non-homogeneous equations is derived. Numerical examples are shown to demonstrate the efficiency of the methods.      

Study on connections of the MFS, Trefftz method, indirect BIEM and invariant MFS in the three-dimensional Laplace problems containing spherical boundaries

Following the success of a study on the method of fundamental solutions using an image concept [13], we extend to solve the three-dimensional Laplace problems containing spherical boundaries by using the three approaches. The case of eccentric sphere for the Laplace problem is considered. The optimal locations for the source distribution to include the foci in the MFS are also examined by using the image concept in the 3D problems. Whether a free constant is required or not in the MFS is also studied. The error distribution is discussed after comparing with the analytical solution derived by using the bispherical coordinates. Besides, the relationship between the Trefftz bases and the singularity in the MFS for the three-dimensional Laplace problems is also addressed. It is found that one source of the MFS contains several interior and exterior Trefftz sets through a degenerate kernel. On the contrary, one single Trefftz base can be superimposed by some lumped sources in the MFS through an indirect BIEM. Based on this finding, the relationship between the fictitious boundary densities of the indirect BIEM and the singularity strength in the MFS can be constructed due to the fact that the MFS is a lumped version of an indirect BIEM.     

Determination of an unknown source term and the temperature distribution for the linear heat equation involving fractional derivative in time

We consider the inverse problem of finding the temperature distribution and the heat source whenever the temperatures at the initial time and the final time are given. The problem considered is one dimensional and the unknown heat source is supposed to be space dependent only. The existence and uniqueness results are proved.     

A new scheme for the solution of reaction diffusion and wave propagation problems

In this paper, a robust numerical scheme is presented for the reaction diffusion and wave propagation problems. The present method is rather simple and straightforward. The Houbolt method is applied so as to convert both types of partial differential equations into an equivalent system of modified Helmholtz equations. The method of fundamental solutions is then combined with the method of particular solution to solve these new systems of equations. Next, based on the exponential decay of the fundamental solution to the modified Helmholtz equation, the dense matrix is converted into an equivalent sparse matrix. Finally, verification studies on the sensitivity of the method’s accuracy on the degree of sparseness and on the time step magnitude of the Houbolt method are carried out for four benchmark problems.     

Similarity solutions for flow and heat transfer over a permeable surface with convective boundary condition

The steady laminar boundary layer flow over a permeable flat plate in a uniform free stream, with the bottom surface of the plate is heated by convection from a hot fluid is considered. Similarity solutions for the flow and thermal fields are possible if the mass transpiration rate at the surface and the convective heat transfer from the hot fluid on the lower surface of the plate vary like x^−1/2, where x is the distance from the leading edge of the solid surface. The governing partial differential equations are first transformed into ordinary differential equations, before being solved numerically. The effects of the governing parameters on the flow and thermal fields are thoroughly examined and discussed.