On crack propagation shapes in elastic bodies

We consider a two dimensional elastic isotropic body with a curvilinear crack. The formula for the derivative of the energy functional with respect to the crack length is discussed. It is proved that this derivative is independent of the crack path provided that we consider quite smooth crack propagation shapes. An estimate for the derivative of the energy functional being uniform with respect to the crack propagation shape is derived.     

Asymptotically regular problems I: Higher integrability

We consider weak solutions u of non-linear systems of partial differential equations. Assuming that the system exhibits a certain kind of elliptic behavior near infinity we prove higher integrability results for the gradient Du. In particular, we establish Hölder continuity of u in low dimensions. Moreover, we obtain analogous results for vectorial minimizers of multi-dimensional variational integrals. Finally, we discuss an extension to minimizing sequences and applications to generalized minimizers.     

Structural stability and convergence in thermoelasticity and heat conduction with relaxation times

This article investigates the structural stability in several thermomechanics and heat conduction theories as well as the convergence of these theories to the classical versions of the thermoelasticity and heat conduction. We consider first the Lord–Shulman theory of thermoelasticity. We study the structural stability with respect to the relaxation parameter and the convergence of the solutions when the relaxation parameter tends to zero. Second we study the dual-phase-lag theory. Assuming that the relaxation parameters are small we consider the Taylor series in which only the first powers of the phase-lag parameters are retained. In this situation we consider the heat equation and study the structural stability and the convergence with respect to the phase-lag of the gradient of temperature. In the last part of the article, we consider the thermoelastic theory proposed by Chandrasekharaiah and Tzou. We study the structural stability and the convergence with respect to both relaxation parameters that describe this theory     

Regularity of solutions to a contact problem

We consider a variational inequality for the Lamé system which models an elastic body in contact with a rigid foundation. We give conditions on the domain and the contact set which allow us to prove regularity of solutions to the variational inequality. In particular, we show that the gradient of the solution is a square integrable function on the boundary.

     

Analysis of a dynamic contact problem for electro-viscoelastic cylinders

We consider a mathematical model which describes the antiplane shear deformations of a piezoelectric cylinder in frictional contact with a foundation. The process is mechanically dynamic and electrically static, the material behavior is described with a linearly electro-viscoelastic constitutive law, the contact is frictional and the foundation is assumed to be electrically conductive. Both the friction and the electrical conductivity condition on the contact surface are described with subdifferential boundary conditions. We derive a variational formulation of the problem which is of the form of a system coupling a second order hemivariational inequality for the displacement field with a time-dependent hemivariational inequality for the electric potential field. Then we prove the existence of a unique weak solution to the model. The proof is based on abstract results for second order evolutionary inclusions in Banach spaces. Finally, we present concrete examples of friction laws and electrical conductivity conditions for which our result is valid.     

Non-linear degenerate integro-partial differential evolution equations related to geometric Lévy processes and applications to backward stochastic differential equations

We prove a comparison principle for unbounded semicontinuous viscosity sub- and supersolutions of non-linear degenerate parabolic integro-partial differential equations coming from applications in mathematical finance in which geometric Lévy processes act as the underlying stochastic processes for the assets dynamics. As a consequence of the “geometric form” of these processes, the comparison principle holds without assigning spatial boundary data. We present applications of our result to (i) backward stochastic differential equations (BSDEs) and (ii) pricing of European and American derivatives via BSDEs. Regarding (i), we extend previous results on BSDEs in a Lévy setting and the connection to semilinear integro-partial differential equations.     

Analysis of a Compressed Thin Film Bonded to a Compliant Substrate: The Energy Scaling Law

We consider the deformation of a thin elastic film bonded to a thick compliant substrate, when the (compressive) misfit is far beyond critical. We take a variational viewpoint—focusing on the total elastic energy, i.e. the membrane and bending energy of the film plus the elastic energy of the substrate—viewing the buckling of the film as a problem of energy-driven pattern formation. We identify the scaling law of the minimum energy with respect to the physical parameters of the problem, and we prove that a herringbone pattern achieves the optimal scaling. These results complement previous numerical studies, which have shown that an optimized herringbone pattern has lower energy than a number of other patterns. Our results are different, because (i) we make the scaling law achieved by the herringbone pattern explicit, and (ii) we give an elementary, ansatz-free proof that no pattern can achieve a better law.     

Existence and uniqueness for a nonlinear parabolic/Hamilton–Jacobi coupled system describing the dynamics of dislocation densities

We study a mathematical model describing the dynamics of dislocation densities in crystals. This model is expressed as a 1D system of a parabolic equation and a first order Hamilton–Jacobi equation that are coupled together. We examine an associated Dirichlet boundary value problem. We prove the existence and uniqueness of a viscosity solution among those assuming a lower-bound on their gradient for all time including the initial time. Moreover, we show the existence of a viscosity solution when we have no such restriction on the initial data. We also state a result of existence and uniqueness of entropy solution for the initial value problem of the system obtained by spatial derivation. The uniqueness of this entropy solution holds in the class of bounded-from-below solutions. In order to prove our results on the bounded domain, we use an “extension and restriction” method, and we exploit a relation between scalar conservation laws and Hamilton–Jacobi equations, mainly to get our gradient estimates.     

Commutability of homogenization and linearization at identity in finite elasticity and applications

We prove under some general assumptions on elastic energy densities (namely, frame indifference, minimality at identity, non-degeneracy and existence of a quadratic expansion at identity) that homogenization and linearization commute at identity. This generalizes a recent result by S. Müller and the second author by dropping their assumption of periodicity. As a first application, we extend their Γ-convergence commutation diagram for linearization and homogenization to the stochastic setting under standard growth conditions. As a second application, we prove that the Γ-closure is local at identity for this class of energy densities.     

The stable manifold theorem for non-linear stochastic systems with memory. I. Existence of the semiflow

We consider non-linear stochastic functional differential equations (sfde's) on Euclidean space. We give sufficient conditions for the sfde to admit locally compact smooth cocycles on the underlying infinite-dimensional state space. Our construction is based on the theory of finite-dimensional stochastic flows and a non-linear variational technique. In Part II of this article, the above result will be used to prove a stable manifold theorem for non-linear sfde's.     

Homogenization of a three-phase flow model in porous media

We give homogenization results for an immiscible and incompressible three-phase flow model in a heterogeneous petroleum reservoir with periodic structure, including capillary effects. We consider a model which leads to a coupled system of partial differential equations which includes an elliptic equation and two nonlinear degenerate parabolic equations of convection–diffusion types. Using two-scale convergence, we get an homogenized model which governs the global behavior of the flow. The determination of effective properties require the numerical resolution of local problems in a standard cell.     

Some problems in nonlinear magnetoelasticity

In this paper we examine the influence of magnetic fields on the static response of magnetoelastic materials, such as magneto-sensitive elastomers, that are capable of large deformations. The analysis is based on a simple formulation of the mechanical equilibrium equations and constitutive law for such materials developed recently by the authors, coupled with the governing magnetic field equations. The equations are applied in the solution of some simple representative and illustrative problems, with the focus on incompressible materials. First, we consider the pure homogeneous deformation of a slab of material in the presence of a magnetic field normal to its faces. This is followed by a review of the problem of simple shear of the slab in the presence of the same magnetic field. Next we examine a problem involving non-homogeneous deformations, namely the extension and inflation of a circular cylindrical tube. In this problem the magnetic field is taken to be either axial (a uniform field) or circumferential. For each problem we give a general formulation for the case of an isotropic magnetoelastic constitutive law, and then, for illustration, specific results are derived for a prototype constitutive law. We emphasize that in general there are significant differences in the results for formulations in which the magnetic field or the magnetic induction is taken as the independent magnetic variable. This is demonstrated for one particular problem, in which restrictions are placed on the admissible class of constitutive laws if the magnetic induction is the independent variable but no restrictions if the magnetic field is the independent variable.Received: May 17, 2004     

Regularity results for real analytic homotopies

Summary In this paper, we study two main features of the homotopy curves which we follow when we use the homotopy method for solving the zeros of analytic maps. First, we prove that near the solution the curve behaves nicely. Secondly, we prove that the set of starting points which give smooth homotopy curves is open and dense. The second property is of particular importance in computer implementation.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants MCS 78-02420 (Li) and MCS-7818858 (Mallet-Paret) and MCS-7818221 (Yorke), by the Army Research office under Grant DAAG-29-80-C-0040 (Li and Yorke)     

A dynamic thermoviscoelastic problem: An existence and uniqueness result

This work deals with the variational analysis of a dynamic problem which models the temperature evolution in a thermoviscoelastic body. The variational problem is formulated as a coupled system of evolutionary nonlinear variational equations. Then, the existence of a unique weak solution is proved using Banach fixed-point arguments and results on time-dependent families of subgradients.     

An asymptotically linear fixed point extension of the inf-sup theory of galerkin approximation

In 1972, Babu?ka and Aziz introduced a Galerkin approximation theory for saddle point formulations of linear partial differential equations (The Mathematical Foundations of the Finite Element Method with Applications to Partial Differential Equations, Academic Press, 1972). It represented a powerful ex-

It was my pleasure to know Farouk Odeh over a period of twenty-four years. After meeting him at Yorktown Heights on a visit in 1968, I did not have occasion to meet him again until a joint IEEE-SIAM meeting in Boston in the Fall of 1982. In the interim, in a 1982 paper on the elastica, Michael Golomb and I referenced a related, beautiful paper of Oden ahd Tadjbakhsh [J. Math.Anal. appl. 18 (1967), 59-74]. After the Boston reacquaintance, Farouk and I kept in regular contact during the remaining nine and one-half years of his life. This included the exchange of visits between Evanston and Yorktown Heights, the exchange of ideas and papers, and, most importantly, the exchange of friendship. At a minisymposium which I organized at the 1986 SIAM annual meeting, Farouk presented what was then a novel model for mathematicians working in semiconductor device simulation and analysis, the hydrodynamic model. This was to have a profound impact on the work of myself and many others, including Carl Gardner. The paper of Rudan and Odeh was our starting point. The paper of Gnudi, Odeh, and Rudan was a rich source of information, motivating much further work. It is sad to know that his explicit presence no longer graces our intellectual stage; the impact of his ideas and many interactions will endure for a very long time to come.     

Solvability of dynamic antiplane frictional contact problems for viscoelastic cylinders

We study a mathematical model which describes the antiplane shear deformations of a cylinder in frictional contact with a rigid foundation. The process is dynamic, the material behavior is described with a linearly viscoelastic constitutive law and friction is modeled with a general subdifferential boundary condition. We derive a variational formulation of the model which is in a form of an evolutionary hemivariational inequality for the displacement field. Then we prove the existence of a weak solution to the model. The proof is based on an abstract result for second order evolutionary inclusions in Banach spaces. Also, we prove that, under additional assumptions, the weak solution to the model is unique. We complete our results with concrete examples of friction laws for which our results are valid.     

Pseudo-almost periodic viscosity solutions of second-order nonlinear parabolic equations

In this paper we generalize the comparison result of Bostan and Namah (2007) [8] to the second-order parabolic case and prove two properties of pseudo-almost periodic functions; then by using Perron’s method we prove the existence and uniqueness of time pseudo-almost periodic viscosity solutions of second-order parabolic equations under usual hypotheses.     

Mixed Boundary Value Problems of Thermopiezoelectricity for Solids with Interior Cracks

We investigate asymptotic properties of solutions to mixed boundary value problems of thermopiezoelectricity (thermoelectroelasticity) for homogeneous anisotropic solids with interior cracks. Using the potential methods and theory of pseudodifferential equations on manifolds with boundary we prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions. The singularities and asymptotic behaviour of the mechanical, thermal and electric fields are analysed near the crack edges and near the curves, where the types of boundary conditions change. In particular, for some important classes of anisotropic media we derive explicit expressions for the corresponding stress singularity exponents and demonstrate their dependence on the material parameters. The questions related to the so called oscillating singularities are treated in detail as well. This research was supported by the Georgian National Science Foundation grant GNSF/ST07/3-170 and by the German Research Foundation grant DFG 436 GEO113/8/0-1.     

Small vibrations of an elastic conductor in a magnetic field

In this paper we study the motion of an elastic conducting wire in a magnetic field. The motion of the conductor induces a current in the wire (Faraday's law) which, in turn produces a force on the wire. We consider the linear equation obtained by linearizing the resulting equations of motion about an equilibrium solution. This is a hyperbolic partial differential equation with a non-local term. We prove existence and uniqueness of a weak solution of an initial–boundary value problem for this equation. © 1998 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart—John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Invariant manifolds for stochastic wave equations

In this paper, we consider a class of stochastic wave equations with nonlinear multiplicative noise. We first show that these stochastic wave equations generate random dynamical systems (or stochastic flows) by transforming the stochastic wave equations to random wave equations through a stationary random homeomorphism. Then, we establish the existence of random invariant manifolds for the random wave equations. Due to the temperedness of the nonlinearity, we obtain only local invariant manifolds no matter how large the spectral gap is unlike the deterministic cases. Based on these random dynamical systems, we prove the existence of random invariant manifolds in a tempered neighborhood of an equilibrium. Finally, we show that the images of these invariant manifolds under the inverse stationary transformation give invariant manifolds for the stochastic wave equations.