A finite-volume scheme for dynamic reliability models

^** Email: christiane.cocozza{at}univ-mlv.fr^*** Email: robert.eymard{at}univ-mlv.fr^**** Email: sophie.mercier{at}univ-mlv.fr In a model arising in the dynamic reliability study of a system,the probability of the state of the system is completely describedby the Chapman–Kolmogorov equations, which are scalarlinear hyperbolic partial differential equations coupled bytheir right-hand side, the solution of which are probabilitymeasures. We propose in this paper a finite-volume scheme toapproximate these measures. We show, thanks to the proof ofthe tightness of the approximate solution, that the conservationof the probability mass leads to a compactness property. Theconvergence of the scheme is then obtained in the space of continuousfunctions with respect to the time variable, valued in the setof probability measures on [graphic: see PDF] . We finally show on a numerical example the accuracy and efficiencyof the approximation method.     

Post-processing with computable error bounds for the finite element approximation of a nonlinear heat conduction problem

Email: ain{at}mcs.le.ac.uk Email: D.Kelly{at}unsw.edu.au^* Email: I.Sloan{at}unsw.edu.au^** Email: swang{at}cs.curtin.edu.au It is shown how the finite element approximation of a nonlinearheat conduction problem may be post-processed to yield enhancedapproximations to the solution and the flux at any point inthe domain. Sharp computable bounds on the accuracy of the post-processedapproximations are derived. A criterion is identified for guidingadaptive refinements of the finite element discretization. Anumerical example is given illustrating the theoretical results.     

On a modified version of ILDM approach: asymptotic analysis based on integral manifolds

^** Email: vbykov{at}cs.bgu.ac.il^*** Email: goldfarb{at}cs.bgu.ac.il^**** Email: vladimir{at}bgumail.bgu.ac.il^***** Email: umaas{at}itt.mach.uni-karlsruhe.de Using the method of integral (invariant) manifolds, the intrinsiclow-dimensional manifolds (ILDM) method is analysed. This isa method for identifying invariant manifolds of a system's slowdynamics and has proven to be an efficient tool in modellingof laminar and turbulent combustion. It allows treating multi-scalesystems by revealing their hidden hierarchy and decomposingthe system dynamics into fast and slow motions. The performedanalysis shows that the original ILDM technique can be interpretedas one of the many possible realizations of the general framework,which is based on a special transformation of the original coordinatesin the state space. A modification of the ILDM is proposed basedon a new definition of the transformation matrix. The proposednumerical procedure is demonstrated on linear examples and highlynon-linear test problems of mathematical theory of combustionand demonstrates in some cases better performance with respectto the existing one.     

A unified framework for the numerical solution of general quadratic matrix equations

^** Email: vassilios.tsachouridis{at}ieee.org^*** Email: N.karcanias{at}city.ac.uk^**** Email: ixp{at}le.ac.uk Algebraic quadratic equations are special cases of a singlegeneralized algebraic quadratic matrix equation (GQME). Thispaper focuses on the numerical solution of the GQME using probability-1homotopy methods. A synoptic review of these methods and theirapplication to algebraic matrix equations is provided as background.A large variety of analysis and design problems in systems andcontrol are reported as special cases of the presented frameworkand some of them are illustrated via numerical examples fromthe literature.     

Improving the accuracy of the mini-element approximation to Navier-Stokes equations

^** Email: blanca{at}imati.cnr.it^*** Email: frutos{at}mac.cie.uva.es^**** Corresponding author. Email: julia.novo{at}uam.es A technique to improve the accuracy of the mini-element approximationto incompressible the Navier–Stokes equations is introduced.Once the mini-element approximation has been computed at a fixedtime, the linear part of this approximation is postprocessedby solving a discrete Stokes problem. The bubble functions neededto stabilize the approximation to the Navier–Stokes equationsare not used at the postprocessing step. This postprocessingprocedure allows us to increase by one unit (up to a logarithmicterm) the H¹ norm rate of convergence of the velocity and correspondinglythe L² norm of the pressure. An error analysis of the algorithmis performed.     

A cell-centred finite-volume approximation for anisotropic diffusion operators on unstructured meshes in any space dimension

^** Email: eymard{at}math.univ-mlv.fr^*** Email: gallouet{at}cmi.univ-mrs.fr^**** Corresponding author. Email: herbin{at}cmi.univ-mrs.fr Finite-volume methods for problems involving second-order operatorswith full diffusion matrix can be used thanks to the definitionof a discrete gradient for piecewise constant functions on unstructuredmeshes satisfying an orthogonality condition. This discretegradient is shown to satisfy a strong convergence property forthe interpolation of regular functions, and a weak one for functionsbounded in a discrete H¹-norm. To highlight the importance ofboth properties, the convergence of the finite-volume schemefor a homogeneous Dirichlet problem with full diffusion matrixis proven, and an error estimate is provided. Numerical testsshow the actual accuracy of the method.     

Local quasi-interpolation by cubic C1 splines on type-6 tetrahedral partitions

^** Email: sorokina{at}math.uga.edu^*** Corresponding author. Email: zeilfeld{at}euklid.math.uni-mannheim.de We describe an approximating scheme based on cubic C¹ splineson type-6 tetrahedral partitions using data on volumetric grids.The quasi-interpolating piecewise polynomials are directly determinedby setting their Bernstein–Bézier coefficientsto appropriate combinations of the data values. Hence, eachpolynomial piece of the approximating spline is immediatelyavailable from local portions of the data, without using prescribedderivatives at any point of the domain. The locality of themethod and the uniform boundedness of the associated operatorprovide an error bound, which shows that the approach can beused to approximate and reconstruct trivariate functions. Simultaneously,we show that the derivatives of the quasi-interpolating splinesyield nearly optimal approximation order. Numerical tests withup to 17 x 10⁶ data sites show that the method can be used forefficient approximation.     

An a posteriori error indicator for discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of H(curl)-elliptic partial differential equations

^** Email: paul.houston{at}nottingham.ac.uk^*** Corresponding author. Email: ilaria.perugia{at}unipv.it^**** Email: schoetzau{at}math.ubc.ca We introduce a residual-based a posteriori error indicator fordiscontinuous Galerkin discretizations of H(curl; )-ellipticboundary value problems that arise in eddy current models. Weshow that the indicator is both reliable and efficient withrespect to the approximation error measured in terms of a naturalenergy norm. We validate the performance of the indicator withinan adaptive mesh refinement procedure and show its asymptoticexactness for a range of test problems.     

A thermoelastic contact problem with a phase transition

^** Email: hoemberg{at}wias-berlin.de^*** Email: khlud{at}hydro.nsc.ru We investigate a thermomechanical contact problem with phasetransitions. The system of equations consists of a quasistaticmomentum balance and a semilinear energy balance. The phasetransition is described by an ordinary differential equation.Different mechanical properties of the respective phases aretaken care of by a mixture ansatz. We prove the existence ofa weak solution and a uniqueness result, the latter only beingvalid in one space dimension.     

Error estimates for stochastic differential games: the adverse stopping case

^** Email: frederic.bonnans{at}inria.fr^*** Email: stefania.maroso{at}inria.fr^**** Email: zidani{at}ensta.fr We obtain error bounds for monotone approximation schemes ofa particular Isaacs equation. This is an extension of the theoryfor estimating errors for the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellmanequation. To obtain the upper error bound, we consider the ‘Krylovregularization’ of the Isaacs equation to build an approximatesub-solution of the scheme. To get the lower error bound, weextend the method of Barles & Jakobsen (2005, SIAM J. Numer.Anal.) which consists in introducing a switching system whosesolutions are local super-solutions of the Isaacs equation.     

On radiation conditions for rough surface scattering problems

^** Email: arens{at}numathics.com^*** Email: hohage{at}math.uni-goettingen.de It is well known that Sommerfeld's radiation condition is nota valid characterization of outgoing waves for scattering problemsat rough surfaces. Instead, a radiation condition called upwardpropagating radiation condition (UPRC) is commonly used. Recently,a different radiation condition called the pole condition hasbeen investigated for scattering problems at bounded obstacles.In this paper we show the equivalence between the UPRC and thepole condition. In doing so, we give a rigorous interpretationof a formula called the angular spectrum representation forDirichlet data in the space of bounded continuous functions.     

Solving parallel machines scheduling problems with sequence-dependent setup times using variable neighbourhood search

^** Corresponding author. Email: mahdi{at}dcc.ufmg.br^*** Email: martin{at}dcc.ufmg.br^**** Email: mateus{at}dcc.ufmg.br^***** Email: pardalos{at}ufl.edu Variable neighbourhood search (VNS) is a modern metaheuristicbased on systematic changes of the neighbourhood structure withina search to solve optimization problems. The aim of this paperis to propose and analyse a VNS algorithm to solve schedulingproblems with parallel machines and sequence-dependent setuptimes, which are of great importance on the industrial context.Three versions of a greedy randomized adaptive search procedurealgorithm are used to compare with the proposed VNS algorithmto highlight its advantages in terms of generality, qualityand speed for large instances.     

Electrical coupling in proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks: mathematical and computational modelling

^** Corresponding author. Email: wetton{at}math.ubc.ca^*** Email: Peter.Berg{at}uoit.ca^**** Email: caglara{at}uwgb.edu^***** Email: kpromisl{at}math.msu.edu^****** Email: jean.st-pierre{at}ballard.com A mathematical model describing the effects of electrical couplingof proton exchange membrane unit fuel cells through shared bipolarplates is developed. Here, the unit cells are described by simple,steady-state, 1D models appropriate for straight reactant gaschannel designs. A linear asymptotic version of the model isused to give analytic insight into the effect of the coupling,including estimates of the extent of the coupling in terms ofthe number of adjacent cells affected. An efficient numericalmethod is developed to solve the non-linear coupled system.Numerical results showing the effects on stack voltage due toa single cell with anomalous oxidant flow rate are given. Theeffects on stack performance due to end plate effects are alsogiven. It is shown that electrical coupling has a significanteffect on fuel cell performance.     

A coupled multivalued model for ice streams and its numerical simulation

^** Email: nati{at}dma.uvigo.es^*** Email: durany{at}dma.uvigo.es^**** Email: anaisabel.munoz{at}urjc.es^***** Email: emanuele.schiavi{at}urjc.es^****** Email: carlosv{at}udc.es This paper deals with the numerical solution of a non-linearmodel describing a free-boundary problem arising in modern glaciology.Considering a shallow, viscous ice sheet flow along a soft,deformable bed, a coupled non-linear system of differentialequations can be obtained. Particularly, an obstacle problemis then deduced and solved in the framework of its complementarityformulation. We present the numerical solution of the resultingmultivalued system modelling the ice sheet non-Newtonian dynamicsdriven by the underlying drainage system. Our numerical resultsshow the existence of fast ice streams when positive wave-likeinitial conditions are considered. The solutions are numericallycomputed with a decoupling iterative method and finite-elementtechnique. A duality algorithm and a projected Gauss–Seidelmethod are the alternatives used to cope with the resultingvariational inequality while the explicit treatment, Newtonmethod or a duality method are proposed to deal with the non-linearsource term. Finally, the numerical solutions are physicallyinterpreted and some comparisons among the numerical methodsare then discussed.     

A stabilized finite-element method for the Stokes problem including element and edge residuals

^** Email: raraya{at}ing-mat.udec.cl^*** Corresponding author. Email: gbarrene{at}ing-mat.udec.cl^**** Email: valentin{at}lncc.br A new stabilized finite-element method is presented for theStokes problem. The method is of a Douglas–Wang type,and includes a positive jump term controlling the residual ofthe Cauchy stress tensor on the internal edges of the triangulation.A priori error estimates are obtained in the natural norms ofthe unknowns and an a posteriori error estimator is proposed,analysed and tested through numerical experiments.     

The Helmholtz equation in a locally perturbed half-plane with passive boundary

^** Email: mduran{at}ing.puc.cl^*** Email: ignacio.muga{at}ucv.cl^**** Email: nedelec{at}cmapx.polytechnique.fr In this article, we study the existence and uniqueness of outgoingsolutions for the Helmholtz equation in locally perturbed half-planeswith passive boundary. We establish an explicit outgoing radiationcondition which is somewhat different from the usual Sommerfeld'sone due to the appearance of surface waves. We work with thehelp of Fourier analysis and a half-plane Green's function framework.This is an extended and detailed version of the previous articleDurán et al. (2005, The Helmholtz equation with impedancein a half-plane. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I, 340, 483–488).     

On the numerical solution of involutive ordinary differential systems: enhanced linear algebra

^** Email: jukka.tuomela{at}joensuu.fi^*** Corresponding author. Email: arponen{at}maths.warwick.ac.uk^**** Email: villesamuli.normi{at}joensuu.fi We analyse some Runge–Kutta type methods for computing1D integral manifolds, i.e. solutions to ordin-ary differentialequations and differential-algebraic equations. We show thatwe can compute the solutions which respect all the constraintsof the problem reliably and reasonably quickly. Moreover, weshow that the so-called impasse points are regular points inour approach and hence require no special attention.     

Finite element approximation of the Neumann eigenvalue problem in domains with multiple cracks

^** Email: belhach{at}poncelet.univ-metz.fr^*** Email: bucur{at}math.univ-metz.fr^**** Email: jmse{at}math.univ-metz.fr We study the Neumann–Laplacian eigenvalue problem in domainswith multiple cracks. We derive a mixed variational formulationwhich holds on the whole geometric domain (including the cracks)and implements efficient finite-element discretizations forthe computation of eigenvalues. Optimal error estimates aregiven and several numerical examples are presented, confirmingthe efficiency of the method. As applications, we numericallyinvestigate the behaviour of the low eigenvalues in domainswith a large number of cracks.     

An explicit expression for the surface-impedance tensor of a compressible monoclinic material in a state of plane strain

^** Email: y.fu{at}keele.ac.uk^*** Email: d.w.brookes{at}keele.ac.uk We present an explicit expression for the surface-impedancetensor associated with a compressible monoclinic elastic materialin a state of plane strain. Among a wide range of applications,such an explicit expression can, for instance, be used to writedown an explicit secular equation for the surface or interfacialwave speed, and an explicit bifurcation condition for surfaceor interfacial wrinkling. A previously known quartic secularequation for the surface-wave speed is recovered as a by-product.     

Numerical stabilization of polynomial and matrix

Email: jdhan{at}sia.cn Email: zhjiang{at}sia.cn Corresponding author Email: nyy{at}sia.cn Received on March 6, 2006; Accepted on September 4, 2006 In this paper, the conception of numerical stabilization, whichis related to mantissa digits of computer and dimensions ofsystem, is described; and several strategies for the numericalstabilization of polynomial and matrix are presented.