Fundamental matrix and two-point boundary-value problems

Theoretically, the solution of all linear ordinary differential equation problems, whether initial-value or two-point boundary-value problems, can be expressed in terms of the fundamental matrix. The examination of well-known two-point boundary-value methods discloses, however, the absence of the fundamental matrix in the development of the techniques and in their applications. This paper reveals that the fundamental matrix is indeed present in these techniques, although its presence is latent and appears in various guises.     

An inexact Newton method for nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems

The method of quasilinearization for nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems is an application of Newton's method to a nonlinear differential operator equation. Since the linear boundary-value problem to be solved at each iteration must be discretized, it is natural to consider quasilinearization in the framework of an inexact Newton method. More importantly, each linear problem is only a local model of the nonlinear problem, and so it is inefficient to try to solve the linear problems to full accuracy. Conditions on size of the relative residual of the linear differential equation can then be specified to guarantee rapid local convergence to the solution of the nonlinear continuous problem. If initial-value techniques are used to solve the linear boundary-value problems, then an integration step selection scheme is proposed so that the residual criteria are satisfied by the approximate solutions. Numerical results are presented that demonstrate substantial computational savings by this type of economizing on the intermediate problems.This work was supported in part by DOE Contract DE-AS05-82-ER13016 and NSF Grant RII-89-17691 and was part of the author's doctoral thesis at Rice University. It is a pleasure to thank the author's thesis advisors, Professor R. A. Tapia and Professor J. E. Dennis, Jr.     

A model trust-region modification of Newton's method for nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems

The method of quasilinearization for nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems is Newton's method for a nonlinear differential operator equation. A model trust-region approach to globalizing the quasilinearization algorithm is presented. A double-dogleg implementation yields a globally convergent algorithm that is robust in solving difficult problems.This work was supported in part by DOE Contract DE-AS05-82-ER13016 and NSF Grant RII-89-17691 and was part of the author's doctoral thesis at Rice University. It is a pleasure to thank the author's thesis advisors, Professor J. E. Dennis, Jr., and Professor R. A. Tapia.     

Parallel algorithms for solving nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems which arise in optimal control

This paper describes a collection of parallel optimal control algorithms which are suitable for implementation on an advanced computer with the facility for large-scale parallel processing. Specifically, a parallel nongradient algorithm and a parallel variablemetric algorithm are used to search for the initial costate vector that defines the solution to the optimal control problem. To avoid the computational problems sometimes associated with simultaneous forward integration of both the state and costate equations, a parallel shooting procedure based upon partitioning of the integration interval is considered. To further speed computations, parallel integration methods are proposed. Application of this all-parallel procedure to a forced Van der Pol system indicates that convergence time is significantly less than that required by highly efficient serial procedures.This research was supported in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Systems Command, USAF, under Grant No. AFOSR-77-3418.     

Numerical solution of unstable two-point boundary-value problems by quasilinearization and orthonormalization

This paper reports on a method of numerical solution of sensitive nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems. The method consists of a modification of the continuation technique in quasilinearization obtained by combination with an orthogonalization procedure for linear boundary-value problems.This work was supported by CNR, Rome, Italy, within the framework of GNAFA.     

Estimate of boundary layer thickness for linear,singularly perturbed two-point boundary-value problems

In this note, the thickness of the boundary layers for linear, homogeneous, singularly perturbed first-order ordinary differential systems is considered. Inequalities concerning this thickness are derived. It is also remarked that the present analysis can be carried over to the nonhomogeneous case.The authors wish to express their sincere thanks to Dr. S. M. Roberts for his comments and valuable suggestions.     

Parameter variation for the solution of two-point boundary-value problems and applications in the calculus of variations

In the parameter variation method, a scalar parameterk, k[0, 1], is introduced into the differential equations. The parameterk is inserted in such a way that, whenk=0, the solution of the boundary-value problem is known or readily calculated and, whenk=1, the problem is identical with the original problem. Thus, bydeforming the solution step-by-step throughk-space fromk=0 tok=1, the original problem may be solved. These solutions then provide good starting values for any convergent, iterative scheme such as the Newton-Raphson method.The method is applied to the solution of problems with various types of boundary-value specifications and is further extended to take account of situations arising in the solution of problems from variational calculus (e.g., total elapsed time not specified, optimum control not a simple function of the variables).     

On the method of complementary functions for nonlinear boundary-value problems

We show that, like the method of adjoints, the method of complementary functions can be effectively used to solve nonlinear boundary-value problems.This work was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The author is thankful to Prof. G. Hämmerlin for providing the facilities and to Miss J. Gumberger for performing numerical tests. The author is also indebted to Dr. S. M. Roberts for his suggestions on the first draft of this paper.     

Existence of solutions with turning points for nonlinear singularly perturbed boundary-value problems

We consider the following singularly perturbed boundary-value problem:

The method of approximate particular solutions to simulate an anomalous mobile-immobile transport process

In the current work, a generalized mathematical model based on the Coimbra time fractional derivative of variable order, which describes an anomalous mobile-immobile transport process in complex systems is investigated numerically. A robust numerical technique based on the meshfree strong form method combined with an efficient time-stepping scheme is performed to compute the approximate solution of the problem with high accuracy. For this purpose, firstly, an effective implicit time discretization approach is used for discretizing the variable-order time fractional problem in the time direction. Then a global meshless technique based on the method of approximate particular solutions is performed to fully discretize the model in the spatial domain. The validity and performance of the procedure to numerically simulate the proposed generalized solute transport model on regular and irregular domains are demonstrated through some numerical examples.     

The uniqueness of solutions to discrete, vector, two-point boundary value problems

Difference equations which may arise as discrete approximations to two-point boundary value problems for systems of second-order, ordinary differential equations are investigated and conditions are formulated under which solutions to the discrete problem are unique. Some existence, uniqueness implies existence, and convergence theorems for solutions to the discrete problem are also presented.     

The method of approximate particular solutions for solving certain partial differential equations

A standard approach for solving linear partial differential equations is to split the solution into a homogeneous solution and a particular solution. Motivated by the method of fundamental solutions for solving homogeneous equations, we propose a similar approach using the method of approximate particular solutions for solving linear inhomogeneous differential equations without the need of finding the homogeneous solution. This leads to a much simpler numerical scheme with similar accuracy to the traditional approach. To demonstrate the simplicity of the new approach, three numerical examples are given with excellent results. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 28: 506–522, 2012     

On comparison of approximate solutions in vector optimization problems

The problem of comparison of approximations (approximate solutions to a vector optimization problem) obtained using different numerical methods is considered. In the absence of a priori information about the set of weakly efficient vectors, a scalar function is introduced that enables pair-wise comparison of approximations and establishes a binary preference relation according to which the approximations close (in the sense of the Hausdorff distance) to the set containing all possible efficient vectors are preferable to other approximations.     

Integral methods for computing solutions of a class of singular two-point boundary value problems

In this paper, we establish three iteration methods to compute solutions for a class of (weakly) singular two-point boundary value problems (xy^′)^′=f(x,y), where x(0,1) and <2. We obtain the sufficient conditions for existence of a unique solution on . Finally, we given some numerical examples.     

Modified quasilinearization algorithm for optimal control problems with nondifferential constraints and general boundary conditions

This paper considers the numerical solution of the problem of minimizing a functionalI, subject to differential constraints, nondifferential constraints, and general boundary conditions. It consists of finding the statex(t), the controlu(t), and the parameter so that the functionalI is minimized while the constraints are satisfied to a predetermined accuracy.The modified quasilinearization algorithm (MQA) is extended, so that it can be applied to the solution of optimal control problems with general boundary conditions, where the state is not explicitly given at the initial point.The algorithm presented here preserves the MQA descent property on the cumulative error. This error consists of the error in the optimality conditions and the error in the constraints.Three numerical examples are presented in order to illustrate the performance of the algorithm. The numerical results are discussed to show the feasibility as well as the convergence characteristics of the algorithm.This work was supported by the Electrical Research Institute of Mexico and by CONACYT, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Mexico City, Mexico.     

Localized method of fundamental solutions for large-scale modeling of two-dimensional elasticity problems

The traditional method of fundamental solutions (MFS) based on the “global” boundary discretization leads to dense and non-symmetric coefficient matrices that, although smaller in sizes, require huge computational cost to compute the system of equations using direct solvers. In this study, a localized version of the MFS (LMFS) is proposed for the large-scale modeling of two-dimensional (2D) elasticity problems. In the LMFS, the whole analyzed domain can be divided into small subdomains with a simple geometry. To each of the subdomain, the traditional MFS formulation is applied and the unknown coefficients on the local geometric boundary can be calculated by the moving least square method. The new method yields a sparse and banded matrix system which makes the method very attractive for large-scale simulations. Numerical examples with up to 200,000 unknowns are solved successfully using the developed LMFS code.     

A penalty optimization technique for a class of regulator problems

This paper describes a function space algorithm for the solution of a class of linear-quadratic optimal control problems.The research of the first author was supported by Senate Research Grant No. 8.187.17, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.The authors thank two anonymous referees for their useful and challenging suggestions and comments which improved the quality of this paper. The authors are also indebted to I. Orisamolu for carrying out the computing work.     

A block monotone iterative method for numerical solutions of nonlinear elliptic boundary value problems

The aim of this article is to develop a new block monotone iterative method for the numerical solutions of a nonlinear elliptic boundary value problem. The boundary value problem is discretized into a system of nonlinear algebraic equations, and a block monotone iterative method is established for the system using an upper solution or a lower solution as the initial iteration. The sequence of iterations can be computed in a parallel fashion and converge monotonically to a maximal solution or a minimal solution of the system. Three theoretical comparison results are given for the sequences from the proposed method and the block Jacobi monotone iterative method. The comparison results show that the sequence from the proposed method converges faster than the corresponding sequence given by the block Jacobi monotone iterative method. A simple and easily verified condition is obtained to guarantee a geometric convergence of the block monotone iterations. The numerical results demonstrate advantages of this new approach. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2011     

Application of the alternating direction method of multipliers to separable convex programming problems

This paper presents a decomposition algorithm for solving convex programming problems with separable structure. The algorithm is obtained through application of the alternating direction method of multipliers to the dual of the convex programming problem to be solved. In particular, the algorithm reduces to the ordinary method of multipliers when the problem is regarded as nonseparable. Under the assumption that both primal and dual problems have at least one solution and the solution set of the primal problem is bounded, global convergence of the algorithm is established.