Gauss–Newton reconstruction method for optical tomography using the finite element solution of the radiative transfer equation

The radiative transfer equation can be utilized in optical tomography in situations in which the more commonly applied diffusion approximation is not valid. In this paper, an image reconstruction method based on a frequency domain radiative transfer equation is developed. The approach is based on a total variation output regularized least squares method which is solved with a Gauss–Newton algorithm. The radiative transfer equation is numerically solved with a finite element method in which both the spatial and angular discretizations are implemented in piecewise linear bases. Furthermore, the streamline diffusion modification is utilized to improve the numerical stability. The approach is tested with simulations. Reconstructions from different cases including domains with low-scattering regions are shown. The results show that the radiative transfer equation can be utilized in optical tomography and it can produce good quality images even in the presence of low-scattering regions.     

A posteriori error estimation and adaptive mesh refinement for a multiscale operator decomposition approach to fluid–solid heat transfer

We analyze a multiscale operator decomposition finite element method for a conjugate heat transfer problem consisting of a fluid and a solid coupled through a common boundary. We derive accurate a posteriori error estimates that account for all sources of error, and in particular the transfer of error between fluid and solid domains. We use these estimates to guide adaptive mesh refinement. In addition, we provide compelling numerical evidence that the order of convergence of the operator decomposition method is limited by the accuracy of the transferred gradient information, and adapt a so-called boundary flux recovery method developed for elliptic problems in order to regain the optimal order of accuracy in an efficient manner. In an appendix, we provide an argument that explains the numerical results provided sufficient smoothness is assumed.     

Numerical simulation of four-field extended magnetohydrodynamics in dynamically adaptive curvilinear coordinates via Newton–Krylov–Schwarz

Numerical simulations of the four-field extended magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations with hyper-resistivity terms present a difficult challenge because of demanding spatial resolution requirements. A time-dependent sequence of r-refinement adaptive grids obtained from solving a single Monge–Ampère (MA) equation addresses the high-resolution requirements near the x-point for numerical simulation of the magnetic reconnection problem. The MHD equations are transformed from Cartesian coordinates to solution-defined curvilinear coordinates. After the application of an implicit scheme to the time-dependent problem, the parallel Newton–Krylov–Schwarz (NKS) algorithm is used to solve the system at each time step. Convergence and accuracy studies show that the curvilinear solution requires less computational effort than a pure Cartesian treatment. This is due both to the more optimal placement of the grid points and to the improved convergence of the implicit solver, nonlinearly and linearly. The latter effect, which is significant (more than an order of magnitude in number of inner linear iterations for equivalent accuracy), does not yet seem to be widely appreciated.     

A fourth-order adaptive mesh refinement algorithm for the multicomponent,reacting compressible Navier–Stokes equations

In this paper, we present a fourth-order in space and time block-structured adaptive mesh refinement algorithm for the compressible multicomponent reacting Navier–Stokes equations. The algorithm uses a finite-volume approach that incorporates a fourth-order discretisation of the convective terms. The time-stepping algorithm is based on a multi-level spectral deferred corrections method that enables explicit treatment of advection and diffusion coupled with an implicit treatment of reactions. The temporal scheme is embedded in a block-structured adaptive mesh refinement algorithm that includes subcycling in time with spectral deferred correction sweeps applied on levels. Here we present the details of the multi-level scheme paying particular attention to the treatment of coarse–fine boundaries required to maintain fourth-order accuracy in time. We then demonstrate the convergence properties of the algorithm on several test cases including both non-reacting and reacting flows. Finally we present simulations of a vitiated dimethyl ether jet in 2D and a turbulent hydrogen jet in 3D, both with detailed kinetics and transport.     

Exact solutions of the Drinfel’d–Sokolov–Wilson equation using Bäcklund transformation of Riccati equation and trial function approach

In this paper, two integration schemes are employed to obtain solitons, singular periodic waves and other types of solutions of the Drinfel’d–Sokolov–Wilson equation. The two schemes studied in this paper are the Bäcklund transformation of Riccati equation and the trial function approach. The corresponding constraint conditions of the solutions are also given.     

Solution of the Schrödinger equation for a particular form of Morse potential using the Laplace transform

In this paper, we have solved the Schrdinger equation for a particular kind of Morse potential and find its normalized eigenfunctions and eigenvalues, exactly. Our work is based on the Laplace transform technique which reduces the second-order differential equation to a first-order.     

A comparison of the Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method and the EVP model for solving the sea ice momentum equation with a viscous-plastic formulation: A serial algorithm study

Numerical convergence properties of a recently developed Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) solver are compared to the ones of the widely used EVP model when solving the sea ice momentum equation with a Viscous-Plastic (VP) formulation. To do so, very accurate reference solutions are produced with an independent Picard solver with an advective time step of 10 s and a tight nonlinear convergence criterion on 10, 20, 40, and 80-km grids. Approximate solutions with the JFNK and EVP solvers are obtained for advective time steps of 10, 20 and 30 min. Because of an artificial elastic term, the EVP model permits an explicit time-stepping scheme with a relatively large subcycling time step. The elastic waves excited during the subcycling are intended to damp out and almost entirely disappear such that the approximate solution should be close to the VP solution. Results show that residual elastic waves cause the EVP approximate solution to have notable differences with the reference solution and that these differences get more important as the grid is refined. Compared to the reference solution, additional shear lines and zones of strong convergence/divergence are seen in the EVP approximate solution. The approximate solution obtained with the JFNK solver is very close to the reference solution for all spatial resolutions tested.     

A direct-forcing embedded-boundary method with adaptive mesh refinement for fluid–structure interaction problems

In the present work we developed a structured adaptive mesh refinement (S-AMR) strategy for fluid–structure interaction problems in laminar and turbulent incompressible flows. The computational grid consists of a number of nested grid blocks at different refinement levels. The coarsest grid blocks always cover the entire computational domain, and local refinement is achieved by the bisection of selected blocks in every coordinate direction. The grid topology and data-structure is managed using the Paramesh toolkit. The filtered Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible flow are advanced in time using an explicit second-order projection scheme, where all spatial derivatives are approximated using second-order central differences on a staggered grid. For transitional and turbulent flow regimes the large-eddy simulation (LES) approach is used, where special attention is paid on the discontinuities introduced by the local refinement. For all the fluid–structure interaction problems reported in this study the complete set of equations governing the dynamics of the flow and the structure are simultaneously advanced in time using a predictor–corrector strategy. An embedded-boundary method is utilized to enforce the boundary conditions on a complex moving body which is not aligned with the grid lines. Several examples of increasing complexity are given to demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the proposed formulation.     

Analytical solution of the Korteweg–de Vries equation and microtubule equation using the first integral method

In this paper, the first integral method is applied to solve the Korteweg–de Vries equation with dual power law nonlinearity and equation of microtubule as nonlinear RLC transmission line. This method is manageable, straightforward and a powerful tool to find the exact solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations.     

Adjoint-based error estimation and adaptive mesh refinement for the RANS and k–ω turbulence model equations

In this article we present the extension of the a posteriori error estimation and goal-oriented mesh refinement approach from laminar to turbulent flows, which are governed by the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes and k–ω turbulence model (RANS-kω) equations. In particular, we consider a discontinuous Galerkin discretization of the RANS-kω equations and use it within an adjoint-based error estimation and adaptive mesh refinement algorithm that targets the reduction of the discretization error in single as well as in multiple aerodynamic force coefficients. The accuracy of the error estimation and the performance of the goal-oriented mesh refinement algorithm is demonstrated for various test cases, including a two-dimensional turbulent flow around a three-element high lift configuration and a three-dimensional turbulent flow around a wing-body configuration.     

Fast unsteady flow computations with a Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov algorithm

Despite the advances in computer power and numerical algorithms over the last decades, solutions to unsteady flow problems remain computing time intensive. Especially for large Reynolds number flows, nonlinear multigrid, which is commonly used to solve the nonlinear systems of equations, converges slowly. The stiffness induced by the large aspect ratio cells and turbulence is not tackled well by this solution method.     

Improving the numerical convergence of viscous-plastic sea ice models with the Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method

We have implemented the Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) method to solve the sea ice momentum equation with a viscous-plastic (VP) formulation. The JFNK method has many advantages: the system matrix (the Jacobian) does not need to be formed and stored, the method is parallelizable and the convergence can be nearly quadratic in the vicinity of the solution. The convergence rate of our JFNK implementation is characterized by two phases: an initial phase with slow convergence and a fast phase for which the residual norm decreases significantly from one Newton iteration to the next. Because of this fast phase, the computational gain of the JFNK method over the standard solver used in existing VP models increases with the required drop in the residual norm (termination criterion). The JFNK method is between 3 and 6.6 times faster (depending on the spatial resolution and termination criterion) than the standard solver using a preconditioned generalized minimum residual method. Resolutions tested in this study are 80, 40, 20 and 10 km. For a large required drop in the residual norm, both JFNK and standard solvers sometimes do not converge. The failure rate for both solvers increases as the grid is refined but stays relatively small (less than 2.3% of failures). With increasing spatial resolution, the velocity gradients (sea ice deformations) get more and more important. Nonlinear solvers such as the JFNK method tend to have difficulties when there are such sharp structures in the solution. This lack of robustness of both solvers is however a debatable problem as it mostly occurs for large required drops in the residual norm. Furthermore, when it occurs, it usually affects only a few grid cells, i.e., the residual is small for all the velocity components except in very localized regions. Globalization approaches for the JFNK solver, such as the line search method, have not yet proven to be successful. Further investigation is needed.     

Implementation of the Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method for solving the first-order ice sheet momentum balance

We have implemented the Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) method for solving the first-order ice sheet momentum equation in order to improve the numerical performance of the Glimmer-Community Ice Sheet Model (Glimmer-CISM), the land ice component of the Community Earth System Model (CESM). Our JFNK implementation is based on significant re-use of existing code. For example, our physics-based preconditioner uses the original Picard linear solver in Glimmer-CISM. For several test cases spanning a range of geometries and boundary conditions, our JFNK implementation is 1.8–3.6 times more efficient than the standard Picard solver in Glimmer-CISM. Importantly, this computational gain of JFNK over the Picard solver increases when refining the grid. Global convergence of the JFNK solver has been significantly improved by rescaling the equation for the basal boundary condition and through the use of an inexact Newton method. While a diverse set of test cases show that our JFNK implementation is usually robust, for some problems it may fail to converge with increasing resolution (as does the Picard solver). Globalization through parameter continuation did not remedy this problem and future work to improve robustness will explore a combination of Picard and JFNK and the use of homotopy methods.     

A second-order discretization of the nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann equation over irregular geometries using non-graded adaptive Cartesian grids

In this paper we present a finite difference scheme for the discretization of the nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann (PB) equation over irregular domains that is second-order accurate. The interface is represented by a zero level set of a signed distance function using Octree data structure, allowing a natural and systematic approach to generate non-graded adaptive grids. Such a method guaranties computational efficiency by ensuring that the finest level of grid is located near the interface. The nonlinear PB equation is discretized using finite difference method and several numerical experiments are carried which indicate the second-order accuracy of method. Finally the method is used to study the supercapacitor behaviour of porous electrodes.     

The application of Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov methods to reduce the spin-up time of ocean general circulation models

In present-day forward time stepping ocean-climate models, capturing both the wind-driven and thermohaline components, a substantial amount of CPU time is needed in a so-called spin-up simulation to determine an equilibrium solution. In this paper, we present methodology based on Jacobian-Free Newton–Krylov methods to reduce the computational time for such a spin-up problem. We apply the method to an idealized configuration of a state-of-the-art ocean model, the Modular Ocean Model version 4 (MOM4). It is shown that a typical speed-up of a factor 10–25 with respect to the original MOM4 code can be achieved and that this speed-up increases with increasing horizontal resolution.     

A Bohmian approach to the perturbations of non-linear Klein–Gordon equation

In the framework of Bohmian quantum mechanics, the Klein–Gordon equation can be seen as representing a particle with mass m which is guided by a guiding wave ?(x) in a causal manner. Here a relevant question is whether Bohmian quantum mechanics is applicable to a non-linear Klein–Gordon equation? We examine this approach for ?⁴(x) and sine-Gordon potentials. It turns out that this method leads to equations for quantum states which are identical to those derived by field theoretical methods used for quantum solitons. Moreover, the quantum force exerted on the particle can be determined. This method can be used for other non-linear potentials as well.     

Pomraning–Eddington approximation for radiative transfer in a homogeneous solid cylinder

Abstract

The radiative transfer in a solid cylinder containing a homogeneous turbid medium with anisotropic scattering is considered. The medium has a diffuse and specular reflecting boundary illuminated by an external incidence and contains an internal energy source. This general problem can be solved in terms of the solution of the corresponding source-free problem with a specular reflecting boundary and isotropic external incidence. The Pomraning–Eddington approximation is used to solve the source-free problem. Three different weight functions are used to verify the boundary condition to find the constants of the solution. The partial flux, the irradiance and the net flux at the boundary for the general problem are calculated.