TWO-GRID CHARACTERISTIC FINITE VOLUME METHODS FOR NONLINEAR PARABOLIC PROBLEMS＊

In this work, two-grid characteristic finite volume schemes for the nonlinear parabolic problem are considered. In our algorithms, the diffusion term is discretized by the finite volume method, while the temporal differentiation and advection terms are treated by the characteristic scheme. Under some conditions about the coefficients and exact solution, optimal error estimates for the numerical solution are obtained. Furthermore, the two- grid characteristic finite volume methods involve solving a nonlinear equation on coarse mesh with mesh size H, a large linear problem for the Oseen two-grid characteristic finite volume method on a fine mesh with mesh size h = O（H2） or a large linear problem for the Newton two-grid characteristic finite volume method on a fine mesh with mesh size h = 0（I log hll/2H3）. These methods we studied provide the same convergence rate as that of the characteristic finite volume method, which involves solving one large nonlinear problem on a fine mesh with mesh size h. Some numerical results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methods.     

Convergence of an operator splitting method on a bounded domain for a convection-diffusion-reaction system

We solve a convection-diffusion-sorption (reaction) system on a bounded domain with dominant convection using an operator splitting method. The model arises in contaminant transport in groundwater induced by a dual-well, or in controlled laboratory experiments. The operator splitting transforms the original problem to three subproblems: nonlinear convection, nonlinear diffusion, and a reaction problem, each with its own boundary conditions. The transport equation is solved by a Riemann solver, the diffusion one by a finite volume method, and the reaction equation by an approximation of an integral equation. This approach has proved to be very successful in solving the problem, but the convergence properties where not fully known. We show how the boundary conditions must be taken into account, and prove convergence in L1,loc of the fully discrete splitting procedure to the very weak solution of the original system based on compactness arguments via total variation estimates. Generally, this is the best convergence obtained for this type of approximation. The derivation indicates limitations of the approach, being able to consider only some types of boundary conditions. A sample numerical experiment of a problem with an analytical solution is given, showing the stated efficiency of the method.     

Selective diffusion involving reaction for binarization of bleed-through document images

Binarization has always been a challenging problem in document image processing because of various types of degradation. In this paper, we present a nonlinear reaction–diffusion model for binarization of bleed-through document images, which is the Perona–Malik equation involving diffusion coefficient based on structure tensor along with a nonlinear reaction term. The Perona–Malik diffusion is utilized to selectively smooth document images with bleed-through removal. Meanwhile, the nonlinear reaction term takes the responsibility for the desired binarization. In order to solve our model numerically, we develop a parallel–series splitting algorithm by combining finite differencing with two kinds of splitting methods in the literature. Our algorithm is tested on seven publicly available datasets (DIBCO 2009 to 2014 and 2016). The experimental results show that our method averagely outperforms six relevant models for the nineteen document images with bleed-through in the DIBCO series datasets.     

Two‐Grid method for nonlinear parabolic equations by expanded mixed finite element methods

In this article, we develop a two‐grid algorithm for nonlinear reaction diffusion equation (with nonlinear compressibility coefficient) discretized by expanded mixed finite element method. The key point is to use two‐grid scheme to linearize the nonlinear term in the equations. The main procedure of the algorithm is solving a small‐scaled nonlinear equations on the coarse grid and dealing with a linearized system on the fine space using the Newton iteration with the coarse grid solution. Error estimation to the expanded mixed finite element solution is analyzed in detail. We also show that two‐grid solution achieves the same accuracy as long as the mesh sizes satisfy H = O(h^1/2). Two numerical experiments are given to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2013     

Numerical solution of an optimal investment problem with proportional transaction costs

This paper mainly concerns the numerical solution of a nonlinear parabolic double obstacle problem arising in a finite-horizon optimal investment problem with proportional transaction costs. The problem is initially posed in terms of an evolutive HJB equation with gradient constraints and the properties of the utility function allow to obtain the optimal investment solution from a nonlinear problem posed in one spatial variable. The proposed numerical methods mainly consist of a localization procedure to pose the problem on a bounded domain, a characteristics method for time discretization to deal with the large gradients of the solution, a Newton algorithm to solve the nonlinear term in the governing equation and a projected relaxation scheme to cope with the double obstacle (free boundary) feature. Moreover, piecewise linear Lagrange finite elements for spatial discretization are considered. Numerical results illustrate the performance of the set of numerical techniques by recovering all qualitative properties proved in Dai and Yi (2009) [6].     

A non‐standard finite difference scheme for an advection‐diffusion‐reaction equation

In this note, a non‐standard finite difference (NSFD) scheme is proposed for an advection‐diffusion‐reaction equation with nonlinear reaction term. We first study the diffusion‐free case of this equation, that is, an advection‐reaction equation. Two exact finite difference schemes are constructed for the advection‐reaction equation by the method of characteristics. As these exact schemes are complicated and are not convenient to use, an NSFD scheme is derived from the exact scheme. Then, the NSFD scheme for the advection‐reaction equation is combined with a finite difference space‐approximation of the diffusion term to provide a NSFD scheme for the advection‐diffusion‐reaction equation. This new scheme could preserve the fixed points, the positivity, and the boundedness of the solution of the original equation. Numerical experiments verify the validity of our analytical results. Copyright © 2014 JohnWiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Variational Analysis for the Moving Finite Element Method for Gradient Flows

By using the Onsager principle as an approximation tool, we give a novel derivation for the moving finite element method for gradient flow equations. We show that the discretized problem has the same energy dissipation structure as the continuous one. This enables us to do numerical analysis for the stationary solution of a nonlinear reaction diffusion equation using the approximation theory of free-knot piecewise polynomials. We show that under certain conditions the solution obtained by the moving finite element method converges to a local minimizer of the total energy when time goes to infinity. The global minimizer, once it is detected by the discrete scheme, approximates the continuous stationary solution in optimal order. Numerical examples for a linear diffusion equation and a nonlinear Allen-Cahn equation are given to verify the analytical results.     

Nonlinear mathematical model for intensive steel quenching and its analytical solution in closed form

In the present paper the nonlinear mathematical model for intensive steel quenching processes is considered. This model involves the hyperbolic heat conduction equation, the initial conditions and the Newton type nonlinear boundary conditions characterizing the boiling process on quenchant surface. The reduction of the original problem to the Volterra type nonlinear integral equation is the essence of offered approach. Besides, in the present work some analytical procedure for solving of obtained nonlinear equation is proposed. It is proved that this analytical procedure permits finding the unique solution of the original nonlinear model. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Reconstructing unknown nonlinear boundary conditions in a time‐fractional inverse reaction–diffusion–convection problem

This paper has focused on unknown functions identification in nonlinear boundary conditions of an inverse problem of a time‐fractional reaction–diffusion–convection equation. This inverse problem is generally ill‐posed in the sense of stability, that is, the solution of problem does not depend continuously on the input data. Thus, a combination of the mollification regularization method with Gauss kernel and a finite difference marching scheme will be introduced to solve this problem. The generalized cross‐validation choice rule is applied to find a suitable regularization parameter. The stability and convergence of the numerical method are investigated. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to test the effectiveness and validity of the proposed approach.     

A Positivity-preserving Finite Element Method for Quantum Drift-diffusion Model

In this paper, we propose a positivity-preserving finite element method for solving the three-dimensional quantum drift-diffusion model. The model consists of five nonlinear elliptic equations, and two of them describe quantum corrections for quasi-Fermi levels. We propose an interpolated-exponential finite element (IEFE) method for solving the two quantum-correction equations. The IEFE method always yields positive carrier densities and preserves the positivity of second-order differential operators in the Newton linearization of quantum-correction equations. Moreover, we solve the two continuity equations with the edge-averaged finite element (EAFE) method to reduce numerical oscillations of quasi-Fermi levels. The Poisson equation of electrical potential is solved with standard Lagrangian finite elements. We prove the existence of solution to the nonlinear discrete problem by using a fixed-point iteration and solving the minimum problem of a new discrete functional. A Newton method is proposed to solve the nonlinear discrete problem. Numerical experiments for a three-dimensional nano-scale FinFET device show that the Newton method is robust for source-to-gate bias voltages up to 9V and source-to-drain bias voltages up to 10V.     

Inverse source problem for a diffusion equation involving the fractional spectral Laplacian

In this paper, we consider an inverse problem related to a fractional diffusion equation. The model problem is governed by a nonlinear partial differential equation involving the fractional spectral Laplacian. This study is focused on the reconstruction of an unknown source term from a partial internal measured data. The considered ill‐posed inverse problem is formulated as a minimization one. The existence, uniqueness, and stability of the solution are discussed. Some theoretical results are established. The numerical reconstruction of the unknown source term is investigated using an iterative process. The proposed method involves a denoising procedure at each iteration step and provides a sequence of source term approximations converging in norm to the actual solution of the minimization problem. Some numerical results are presented to show the efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed approach.     

Homogenization of a stochastic nonlinear reaction–diffusion equation with a large reaction term: The almost periodic framework

Homogenization of a stochastic nonlinear reaction–diffusion equation with a large nonlinear term is considered. Under a general Besicovitch almost periodicity assumption on the coefficients of the equation we prove that the sequence of solutions of the said problem converges in probability towards the solution of a rather different type of equation, namely, the stochastic nonlinear convection–diffusion equation which we explicitly derive in terms of appropriate functionals. We study some particular cases such as the periodic framework, and many others. This is achieved under a suitable generalized concept of $\Sigma$-convergence for stochastic processes.     

On convergence of finite volume schemes for one-dimensional two-phase flow in porous media

This paper deals with development and analysis of finite volume schemes for a one-dimensional nonlinear, degenerate, convection-diffusion equation having application in petroleum reservoir and groundwater aquifer simulation. The main difficulty is that the solution typically lacks regularity due to the degenerate nonlinear diffusion term. We analyze and compare three families of numerical schemes corresponding to explicit, semi-implicit, and implicit discretization of the diffusion term and a Godunov scheme for the advection term. L^∞ stability under appropriate CFL conditions and BV estimates are obtained. It is shown that the schemes satisfy a discrete maximum principle. Then we prove convergence of the approximate solution to the weak solution of the problem. Results of numerical experiments using the present approach are reported.     

Bright soliton solution to a generalized Burgers–KdV equation with time-dependent coefficients

We consider a generalized Burgers–KdV type equation with time-dependent coefficients incorporating a generalized evolution term, the effects of third-order dispersion, dissipation, nonlinearity, nonlinear diffusion and reaction. The exact bright soliton solution for the considered model is obtained by using a solitary wave ansatz in the form of sech^s function. The physical parameters in the soliton solution are obtained as functions of the time varying coefficients and the dependent exponents. The dependent exponents and the temporal variations of the model coefficients satisfy certain parametric conditions as shown by the obtained soliton solution. This solution may be useful to explain some physical phenomena in genuinely nonlinear dynamical systems that are described by Burgers–KdV type models.     

Semi-analytical method for solving nonlinear heat diffusion problems in spherical medium

A semi-analytical methodology, based on the finite integral transform technique, is proposed to solve the heat diffusion problem in a spherical medium subject to nonlinear boundary conditions due to radiation exchange at the interface according to the fourth power law. The method proceeds by treating the nonlinearity term in the boundary condition as a source in the differential equation and keeping other conditions unchanged. The results obtained from this semi-analytical solutions are compared with those obtained from a numerical solution developed using an explicit finite difference method, which showed very good agreement.     

Modeling and computer simulation of the identification problem related to the sludge concentration in a settler

The mathematical model of sludge particles settling in the water treatment plant (settler) is considered. In the case of the residence time of sludge particles in the settler the model leads to a nonlinear age-dependent transport–diffusion with a nonlocal additional condition. This problem is formulated as an identification/optimal control problem, where the sludge concentration is assumed to be a control. For the case of constant (“average”) velocity, as a characterization of the optimal control problem two necessary conditions are obtained. These conditions permit reducing the nonlinear coupled two-dimensional problem to the two-point boundary value problem for the second order nonlinear ordinary differential equation, and then, to a nonlinear equation, with respect to sludge concentration. For the solution of the problem an iteration algorithm is derived. Convergence of the iteration algorithm is analyzed theoretically, as well as on test examples. The numerical procedure for the considered problem is demonstrated on concrete examples.     

Optimization of Fishing Strategies in Space and Time as a Non-convex Optimal Control Problem

The behavior of a fishing fleet and its impact onto the biomass of fish can be described by a nonlinear parabolic diffusion–reaction equation. Looking for an optimal fishing strategy leads to a non-convex optimal control problem with a bilinear control action. In this work, we present such an optimal control formulation, prove its well-posedness and derive first- and second-order optimality conditions. These results provide a basis for tailored finite element discretization as well as for Newton type optimization algorithms. First numerical test problems show typical features as so-called No-Take-Zones and maximal fishing quota (total allowable catches) as parts of an optimal fishing strategy.     

An epidemiology model suggested by yellow fever

In this work, we construct and analyze a nonlinear reaction–diffusion epidemiology model consisting of two integral‐differential equations and an ordinary differential equation, which is suggested by various insect borne diseases, for example, Yellow Fever. We begin by defining a nonlinear auxiliary problem and establishing the existence and uniqueness of its solution via a priori estimates and a fixed point argument, from which we prove the existence and uniqueness of the classical solution to the analytic problem. Next, we develop a finite‐difference method to approximate our model and perform some numerical experiments. We conclude with a brief discussion of some subsequent extensions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positive solutions and dynamics of a finite difference reaction–diffusion system

We investigate the dynamics and methods of computation for some nonlinear finite difference systems that are the discretized equations of a time-dependent and a steady-state reaction–diffusion problem. The formulation of the discrete equations for the time-dependent problem is based on the implicit method for parabolic equations, and the computational algorithm is based on the method of monotone iterations using upper and lower solutions as the initial iterations. The monotone iterative method yields improved upper and lower bounds of the solution in each iteration, and the sequence of iterations converges monotonically to a solution for both the time-dependent and the steady-state problems. An important consequence of this method is that it leads to a bifurcation point that determines the dynamic behavior of the time-dependent problem in relation to the corresponding steady-state problem. This bifurcation point also determines whether the steady-state problem has one or two non-negative solutions, and is explicitly given in terms of the physical parameters of the system and the type of boundary conditions. Numerical results are presented for both the time-dependent and the steady-state problems under various boundary conditions, including a test problem with known analytical solution. These numerical results exhibit the predicted dynamic behavior of the time-dependent solution given by the theoretical analysis. Also discussed are the numerical stability of the computational algorithm and the convergence of the finite difference solution to the corresponding continuous solution of the reaction–diffusion problem. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A discrete maximum principle for the weak Galerkin finite element method on nonuniform rectangular partitions

This article establishes a discrete maximum principle (DMP) for the approximate solution of convection–diffusion–reaction problems obtained from the weak Galerkin (WG) finite element method on nonuniform rectangular partitions. The DMP analysis is based on a simplified formulation of the WG involving only the approximating functions defined on the boundary of each element. The simplified weak Galerkin (SWG) method has a reduced computational complexity over the usual WG, and indeed provides a discretization scheme different from the WG when the reaction terms are present. An application of the SWG on uniform rectangular partitions yields some 5- and 7-point finite difference schemes for the second order elliptic equation. Numerical experiments are presented to verify the DMP and the accuracy of the scheme, particularly the finite difference scheme.