Some Aspects of Stability for Semigroup Actions and Control Systems

The present paper introduces both the notions of Lagrange and Poisson stabilities for semigroup actions. Let \(S\) be a semigroup acting on a topological space \(X\) with mapping \(\sigma :S\times X\rightarrow X\) , and let \(\mathcal {F}\) be a family of subsets of \(S\) . For \(x\in X\) the motion \(\sigma _{x}:S\rightarrow X\) is said to be forward Lagrange stable if the orbit \(Sx\) has compact closure in \(X\) . The point \(x\) is forward \(\mathcal {F}\) -Poisson stable if and only if it belongs to the limit set \(\omega \left( x,\mathcal {F}\right) \) . The concept of prolongational limit set is also introduced and used to describe nonwandering points. It is shown that a point \(x\) is \( \mathcal {F}\) -nonwandering if and only if \(x\) lies in its forward \(\mathcal {F} \) -prolongational limit set \(J\left( x,\mathcal {F}\right) \) . The paper contains applications to control systems.     

Expansivity and Cone-fields in Metric Spaces

Due to the results of Lewowicz and Tolosa expansivity can be characterized with the aid of Lyapunov function. In this paper we study a similar problem for uniform expansivity and show that it can be described using generalized cone-fields on metric spaces. We say that a function \(f:X\rightarrow X\) is uniformly expansive on a set \(\varLambda \subset X\) if there exist \(\varepsilon >0\) and \(\alpha \in (0,1)\) such that for any two orbits \(\hbox {x}:\{-N,\ldots ,N\} \rightarrow \varLambda \) , \(\hbox {v}:\{-N,\ldots ,N\} \rightarrow X\) of \(f\) we have $$\begin{aligned} \sup _{-N\le n\le N}d(\hbox {x}_n,\hbox {v}_n) \le \varepsilon \implies d(\hbox {x}_0,\hbox {v}_0) \le \alpha \sup _{-N\le n\le N}d(\hbox {x}_n,\hbox {v}_n). \end{aligned}$$ It occurs that a function is uniformly expansive iff there exists a generalized cone-field on \(X\) such that \(f\) is cone-hyperbolic.     

Regularization of Point Vortices Pairs for the Euler Equation in Dimension Two

In this paper, we construct stationary classical solutions of the incompressible Euler equation approximating singular stationary solutions of this equation. This procedure is carried out by constructing solutions to the following elliptic problem $$\left\{\begin{array}{l@{\quad}l} -\varepsilon^2 \Delta u = \sum\limits_{i=1}^m \chi_{\Omega_i^{+}} \left(u - q - \frac{\kappa_i^{+}}{2\pi} {\rm ln} \frac{1}{\varepsilon}\right)_+^p\\ \quad - \sum_{j=1}^n \chi_{\Omega_j^{-}} \left(q - \frac{\kappa_j^{-}}{2\pi} {\rm \ln} \frac{1}{\varepsilon} - u\right)_+^p , \quad \quad x \in \Omega,\\ u = 0, \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad \quad x \in \partial \Omega,\end{array}\right.$$ where p > 1, ${\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^2}$ is a bounded domain, ${\Omega_i^{+}}$ and ${\Omega_j^{-}}$ are mutually disjoint subdomains of Ω and ${\chi_{\Omega_i^{+}} ({\rm resp}.\; \chi_{\Omega_j^{-}})}$ are characteristic functions of ${\Omega_i^{+}({\rm resp}. \;\Omega_j^{-}})$ , q is a harmonic function. We show that if Ω is a simply-connected smooth domain, then for any given C ¹-stable critical point of Kirchhoff–Routh function ${\mathcal{W}\;(x_1^{+},\ldots, x_m^{+}, x_1^{-}, \ldots, x_n^{-})}$ with ${\kappa^{+}_i > 0\,(i = 1,\ldots, m)}$ and ${\kappa^{-}_j > 0\,(j = 1,\ldots,n)}$ , there is a stationary classical solution approximating stationary m + n points vortex solution of incompressible Euler equations with total vorticity ${\sum_{i=1}^m \kappa^{+}_i -\sum_{j=1}^n \kappa_j^{-}}$ . The case that n = 0 can be dealt with in the same way as well by taking each ${\Omega_j^{-}}$ as an empty set and set ${\chi_{\Omega_j^{-}} \equiv 0,\,\kappa^{-}_j=0}$ .     

Semianalytical Solution for \text{ CO}_{2} Plume Shape and Pressure Evolution During \text{ CO}_{2} Injection in Deep Saline Formations

The injection of supercritical carbon dioxide ( $\text{ CO}_{2})$ in deep saline aquifers leads to the formation of a $\text{ CO}_{2}$ rich phase plume that tends to float over the resident brine. As pressure builds up, $\text{ CO}_{2}$ density will increase because of its high compressibility. Current analytical solutions do not account for $\text{ CO}_{2}$ compressibility and consider a volumetric injection rate that is uniformly distributed along the whole thickness of the aquifer, which is unrealistic. Furthermore, the slope of the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ pressure with respect to the logarithm of distance obtained from these solutions differs from that of numerical solutions. We develop a semianalytical solution for the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume geometry and fluid pressure evolution, accounting for $\text{ CO}_{2}$ compressibility and buoyancy effects in the injection well, so $\text{ CO}_{2}$ is not uniformly injected along the aquifer thickness. We formulate the problem in terms of a $\text{ CO}_{2}$ potential that facilitates solution in horizontal layers, with which we discretize the aquifer. Capillary pressure is considered at the interface between the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ rich phase and the aqueous phase. When a prescribed $\text{ CO}_{2}$ mass flow rate is injected, $\text{ CO}_{2}$ advances initially through the top portion of the aquifer. As $\text{ CO}_{2}$ is being injected, the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume advances not only laterally, but also vertically downwards. However, the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume does not necessarily occupy the whole thickness of the aquifer. We found that even in the cases in which the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume reaches the bottom of the aquifer, most of the injected $\text{ CO}_{2}$ enters the aquifer through the layers at the top. Both $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume position and fluid pressure compare well with numerical simulations. This solution permits quick evaluations of the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume position and fluid pressure distribution when injecting supercritical $\text{ CO}_{2}$ in a deep saline aquifer.     

Regularity and Asymptotic Behavior of Nonlinear Stefan Problems

We study the following nonlinear Stefan problem $$\left\{\begin{aligned}\!\!&u_t\,-\,d\Delta u = g(u) & &\quad{\rm for}\,x\,\in\,\Omega(t), t > 0, \\ & u = 0 \, {\rm and} u_t = \mu|\nabla_{x} u|^{2} &&\quad {\rm for}\,x\,\in\,\Gamma(t), t > 0, \\ &u(0, x) = u_{0}(x) &&\quad {\rm for}\,x\,\in\,\Omega_0,\end{aligned} \right.$$ where ${\Omega(t) \subset \mathbb{R}^{n}}$ ( ${n \geqq 2}$ ) is bounded by the free boundary ${\Gamma(t)}$ , with ${\Omega(0) = \Omega_0}$ , μ and d are given positive constants. The initial function u ₀ is positive in ${\Omega_0}$ and vanishes on ${\partial \Omega_0}$ . The class of nonlinear functions g(u) includes the standard monostable, bistable and combustion type nonlinearities. We show that the free boundary ${\Gamma(t)}$ is smooth outside the closed convex hull of ${\Omega_0}$ , and as ${t \to \infty}$ , either ${\Omega(t)}$ expands to the entire ${\mathbb{R}^n}$ , or it stays bounded. Moreover, in the former case, ${\Gamma(t)}$ converges to the unit sphere when normalized, and in the latter case, ${u \to 0}$ uniformly. When ${g(u) = au - bu^2}$ , we further prove that in the case ${\Omega(t)}$ expands to ${{\mathbb R}^n}$ , ${u \to a/b}$ as ${t \to \infty}$ , and the spreading speed of the free boundary converges to a positive constant; moreover, there exists ${\mu^* \geqq 0}$ such that ${\Omega(t)}$ expands to ${{\mathbb{R}}^n}$ exactly when ${\mu > \mu^*}$ .     

Liouville Type Property and Spreading Speeds of KPP Equations in Periodic Media with Localized Spatial Inhomogeneity

The current paper is devoted to the study of semilinear dispersal evolution equations of the form $$\begin{aligned} u_t(t,x)=(\mathcal {A}u)(t,x)+u(t,x)f(t,x,u(t,x)),\quad x\in \mathcal {H}, \end{aligned}$$ where $\mathcal {H}=\mathbb {R}^N$ or $\mathbb {Z}^N,\; \mathcal {A}$ is a random dispersal operator or nonlocal dispersal operator in the case $\mathcal {H}=\mathbb {R}^N$ and is a discrete dispersal operator in the case $\mathcal {H}=\mathbb {Z}^N$ , and $f$ is periodic in $t$ , asymptotically periodic in $x$ (i.e. $f(t,x,u)-f_0(t,x,u)$ converges to $0$ as $\Vert x\Vert \rightarrow \infty $ for some time and space periodic function $f_0(t,x,u)$ ), and is of KPP type in $u$ . It is proved that Liouville type property for such equations holds, that is, time periodic strictly positive solutions are unique. It is also proved that if $u\equiv 0$ is a linearly unstable solution to the time and space periodic limit equation of such an equation, then it has a unique stable time periodic strictly positive solution and has a spatial spreading speed in every direction.     

Resistance Coefficients of Polymer Membrane with Concentration Polarization

The Kedem-Katchalsky equations, modified by means of symmetric transformations of Peusner thermodynamic networks, were applied to interpret the membrane transport in concentration polarization conditions. The results from the study demonstrate that the resistance coefficients counted for membrane transport of aqueous solutions of glucose through Nephrophan membrane in horizontal plane are nonlinearly dependent on mean concentration of glucose in the membrane ${(\bar{C})}$ . It was also shown that the threshold value of concentration ${(\bar{C}_{cr})}$ existed, and for ${\bar{C} > \bar{C}_{cr}}$ , the resistance coefficients depend, while for ${\bar{C} < \bar{C}_{cr}}$ , they do not depend on the membrane system configuration. Increase of mean glucose concentration in the membrane (in the range ${\bar{C} > \bar{C}_{cr})}$ causes decrease of difference between resistance coefficients of the membrane system in homogeneous conditions (solutions mechanically stirred) and in conditions with hydrodynamic instabilities (configuration B). Besides increase of mean glucose concentration in the membrane (in the range ${\bar{C} > \bar{C}_{cr})}$ causes increase of the difference between resistance coefficients for membrane system with concentration polarization without hydrodynamic instabilities (configuration A) and membrane system in homogeneous conditions.     

Drainage of Capillary-Trapped Oil by an Immiscible Gas: Impact of Transient and Steady-State Water Displacement on Three-Phase Oil Permeability

In a previous paper (Dehghanpour et al., Phys Rev E 83:065302, 2011a), we showed that relative permeability of mobilized oil, $k_\mathrm{ro}$ , measured during tertiary gravity drainage, is significantly higher than that of the same oil saturation in other tests where oil is initially a continuous phase. We also showed that tertiary $k_\mathrm{ro}$ strongly correlates to both water saturation, $S_\mathrm{w}$ , water flux (water relative permeability), $k_\mathrm{rw}$ , and the change in water saturation with time, $\mathrm{d}S_\mathrm{w}/\mathrm{d}t$ . To develop a model and understanding of the enhanced oil transport, identifying which of these parameters ( $S_\mathrm{w},\,k_{\mathrm{rw}}$ , or $\mathrm{d}S_\mathrm{w}/\mathrm{d}t$ ) plays the controlling role is necessary, but in the previous experiments these could not be deconvolved. To answer the remaining question, we conduct specific three-phase displacement experiments in which $k_{\mathrm{rw}}$ is controlled by applying a fixed water influx, and $S_\mathrm{w}$ develops naturally. We obtain $k_{\mathrm{ro}}$ by using the saturation data measured in time and space. The results suggest that steady-state water influx, in contrast to transient water displacement, does not enhance $k_{\mathrm{ro}}$ . Instead, reducing water influx rate results in excess oil flow. Furthermore, according to our pore scale hydraulic conductivity calculations, viscous coupling and fluid positioning do not sufficiently explain the observed correlation between $k_{\mathrm{ro}}$ and $S_{\mathrm{w}}$ . We conclude that tertiary $k_{\mathrm{ro}}$ is controlled by the oil mobilization rate, which in turn is linked to the rate of water saturation decrease with time, $\mathrm{d}S_\mathrm{w}/\mathrm{d}t$ . Finally, we develop a simple model which relates tertiary $k_{\mathrm{ro}}$ to transient two-phase gas/water relative permeability.     

Hadamard Variational Formula for the Green’s Function of the Boundary Value Problem on the Stokes Equations

For every ${\varepsilon > 0}$ , we consider the Green’s matrix ${G_{\varepsilon}(x, y)}$ of the Stokes equations describing the motion of incompressible fluids in a bounded domain ${\Omega_{\varepsilon} \subset \mathbb{R}^d}$ , which is a family of perturbation of domains from ${\Omega\equiv \Omega_0}$ with the smooth boundary ${\partial\Omega}$ . Assuming the volume preserving property, that is, ${\mbox{vol.}\Omega_{\varepsilon} = \mbox{vol.}\Omega}$ for all ${\varepsilon > 0}$ , we give an explicit representation formula for ${\delta G(x, y) \equiv \lim_{\varepsilon\to +0}\varepsilon^{-1}(G_{\varepsilon}(x, y) - G_0(x, y))}$ in terms of the boundary integral on ${\partial \Omega}$ of ${G_0(x, y)}$ . Our result may be regarded as a classical Hadamard variational formula for the Green’s functions of the elliptic boundary value problems.     

Residual Trapping Beneath Impermeable Barriers During Buoyant Migration of \mathrm{CO}_2

The presence of impermeable barriers in a reservoir can significantly impede the buoyant migration of $\mathrm{CO}_2$ injected deep into a heterogeneous geological formation. An important consequence of the presence of these impermeable barriers in terms of the long-term storage of $\mathrm{CO}_2$ is the residual trapping that takes place beneath the barriers, which acts to both increase the storage potential of the reservoir and improve the storage security of the $\mathrm{CO}_2$ . Analytical results for the total amount of $\mathrm{CO}_2$ trapped in a reservoir with an uncorrelated random distribution of impermeable barriers are obtained for both two and three-dimensional cases. In two dimensions, it is shown that the total amount of $\mathrm{CO}_2$ contained in this fashion scales as $n^{5/4}$ , where $n$ is the number of barriers in the vertical direction. In three dimensions, the trapped amount scales as $n^c$ , where $5/4 \le c \le 2$ depending on the aspect ratio of the barriers. The analytical two-dimensional results are compared with results of detailed numerical simulations, and good agreement is observed.     

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for the Invertibility of the Nonlinear Difference Operator \left( {\mathcal{D}x} \right)\left( t \right) = x\left( {t + 1}\right) - f\left( {x\left( t \right)} \right) in the Space of Functions Bounded and Continuous on the Axis

We find necessary and sufficient conditions for the nonlinear difference operator $\left( {\mathcal{D}x} \right)\left( t \right) = x\left( {t + 1} \right) - f\left( {x\left( t \right)} \right)$ $t \in \mathbb{R}$ , where $f:\mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ is a continuous function, to have the inverse in the space of functions bounded and continuous on $\mathbb{R}$ .     

Global Compensated Compactness Theorem for General Differential Operators of First Order

Let A ₁(x, D) and A ₂(x, D) be differential operators of the first order acting on l-vector functions ${u= (u_1, \ldots, u_l)}$ in a bounded domain ${\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^{n}}$ with the smooth boundary ${\partial\Omega}$ . We assume that the H ¹-norm ${\|u\|_{H^{1}(\Omega)}}$ is equivalent to ${\sum_{i=1}^2\|A_iu\|_{L^2(\Omega)} + \|B_1u\|_{H^{\frac{1}{2}}(\partial\Omega)}}$ and ${\sum_{i=1}^2\|A_iu\|_{L^2(\Omega)} + \|B_2u\|_{H^{\frac{1}{2}}(\partial\Omega)}}$ , where B _i  = B _i (x, ν) is the trace operator onto ${\partial\Omega}$ associated with A _i (x, D) for i = 1, 2 which is determined by the Stokes integral formula (ν: unit outer normal to ${\partial\Omega}$ ). Furthermore, we impose on A ₁ and A ₂ a cancellation property such as ${A_1A_2^{\prime}=0}$ and ${A_2A_1^{\prime}=0}$ , where ${A^{\prime}_i}$ is the formal adjoint differential operator of A _i (i = 1, 2). Suppose that ${\{u_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ and ${\{v_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ converge to u and v weakly in ${L^2(\Omega)}$ , respectively. Assume also that ${\{A_{1}u_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ and ${\{A_{2}v_{m}\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ are bounded in ${L^{2}(\Omega)}$ . If either ${\{B_{1}u_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ or ${\{B_{2}v_m\}_{m=1}^{\infty}}$ is bounded in ${H^{\frac{1}{2}}(\partial\Omega)}$ , then it holds that ${\int_{\Omega}u_m\cdot v_m \,{\rm d}x \to \int_{\Omega}u\cdot v \,{\rm d}x}$ . We also discuss a corresponding result on compact Riemannian manifolds with boundary.     

Influence of \text{ CF }_{3}\text{ H } and \text{ CCl }_{4} additives on acetylene detonation

The influence of $\text{ CF }_{3}\text{ H }$ and $\text{ CCl }_{4}$ admixtures (known as detonation suppressors for combustible mixtures) on the development of acetylene detonation was experimentally investigated in a shock tube. The time-resolved images of detonation wave development and propagation were registered using a high-speed streak camera. Shock wave velocity and pressure profiles were measured by five calibrated piezoelectric gauges and the formation of condensed particles was detected by laser light extinction. The induction time of detonation development was determined as the moment of a pressure rise at the end plate of the shock tube. It was shown that $\text{ CF }_{3}\text{ H }$ additive had no influence on the induction time. For $\text{ CCl }_{4}$ , a significant promoting effect was observed. A simplified kinetic model was suggested and characteristic rates of diacetylene $\text{ C }_{4}\text{ H }_{2}$ formation were estimated as the limiting stage of acetylene polymerisation. An analysis of the obtained data indicated that the promoting species is atomic chlorine formed by $\text{ CCl }_{4}$ pyrolysis, which interacts with acetylene and produces $\text{ C }_{2}\text{ H }$ radical, initiating a chain mechanism of acetylene decomposition. The results of kinetic modelling agree well with the experimental data.     

Stochastic Variational Inequalities and Applications to the Total Variation Flow Perturbed by Linear Multiplicative Noise

In this work, we introduce a new method to prove the existence and uniqueness of a variational solution to the stochastic nonlinear diffusion equation ${{\rm d}X(t) = {\rm div} \left[\frac{\nabla X(t)}{|\nabla X(t)|}\right]{\rm d}t + X(t){\rm d}W(t) {\rm in} (0, \infty) \times \mathcal{O},}$ where ${\mathcal{O}}$ is a bounded and open domain in ${\mathbb{R}^N, N \geqq 1}$ and W(t) is a Wiener process of the form ${W(t) = \sum^{\infty}_{k = 1}\mu_{k}e_{k}\beta_{k}(t), e_{k} \in C^{2}(\overline{\mathcal{O}}) \cap H^{1}_{0}(\mathcal{O}),}$ and ${\beta_{k}, k \in \mathbb{N}}$ are independent Brownian motions. This is a stochastic diffusion equation with a highly singular diffusivity term. One main result established here is that for all initial conditions in ${L^2(\mathcal{O})}$ , it is well posed in a class of continuous solutions to the corresponding stochastic variational inequality. Thus, one obtains a stochastic version of the (minimal) total variation flow. The new approach developed here also allows us to prove the finite time extinction of solutions in dimensions ${1\leqq N \leqq3}$ , which is another main result of this work.     

Generalized Resolvent Estimates of the Stokes Equations with First Order Boundary Condition in a General Domain

In this paper, we prove unique existence of solutions to the generalized resolvent problem of the Stokes operator with first order boundary condition in a general domain ${\Omega}$ of the N-dimensional Eulidean space ${\mathbb{R}^N, N \geq 2}$ . This type of problem arises in the mathematical study of the flow of a viscous incompressible one-phase fluid with free surface. Moreover, we prove uniform estimates of solutions with respect to resolvent parameter ${\lambda}$ varying in a sector ${\Sigma_{\sigma, \lambda_0} = \{\lambda \in \mathbb{C} \mid |\arg \lambda| < \pi-\sigma, \enskip |\lambda| \geq \lambda_0\}}$ , where ${0 < \sigma < \pi/2}$ and ${\lambda_0 \geq 1}$ . The essential assumption of this paper is the existence of a unique solution to a suitable weak Dirichlet problem, namely it is assumed the unique existence of solution ${p \in \hat{W}^1_{q, \Gamma}(\Omega)}$ to the variational problem: ${(\nabla p, \nabla \varphi) = (f, \nabla \varphi)}$ for any ${\varphi \in \hat W^1_{q', \Gamma}(\Omega)}$ . Here, ${1 < q < \infty, q' = q/(q-1), \hat W^1_{q, \Gamma}(\Omega)}$ is the closure of ${W^1_{q, \Gamma}(\Omega) = \{ p \in W^1_q(\Omega) \mid p|_\Gamma = 0\}}$ by the semi-norm ${\|\nabla \cdot \|_{L_q(\Omega)}}$ , and ${\Gamma}$ is the boundary of ${\Omega}$ . In fact, we show that the unique solvability of such a Dirichlet problem is necessary for the unique existence of a solution to the resolvent problem with uniform estimate with respect to resolvent parameter varying in ${(\lambda_0, \infty)}$ . Our assumption is satisfied for any ${q \in (1, \infty)}$ by the following domains: whole space, half space, layer, bounded domains, exterior domains, perturbed half space, perturbed layer, but for a general domain, we do not know any result about the unique existence of solutions to the weak Dirichlet problem except for q =  2.     

Besov Space Regularity Conditions for Weak Solutions of the Navier–Stokes Equations

Consider a bounded domain ${{\Omega \subseteq \mathbb{R}^3}}$ with smooth boundary, some initial value ${{u_0 \in L^2_{\sigma}(\Omega )}}$ , and a weak solution u of the Navier–Stokes system in ${{[0,T) \times\Omega,\,0 < T \le \infty}}$ . Our aim is to develop regularity and uniqueness conditions for u which are based on the Besov space $$B^{q,s}(\Omega ):=\left\{v\in L^2_{\sigma}(\Omega ); \|v\|_{B^{q,s}(\Omega )} := \left(\int\limits^{\infty}_0 \left\|e^{-\tau A}v\right\|^s_q {\rm d} \tau\right)^{1/s}<\infty \right\}$$ with ${{2 < s < \infty,\,3 < q <\infty,\,\frac2{s}+\frac{3}{q} = 1}}$ ; here A denotes the Stokes operator. This space, introduced by Farwig et al. (Ann. Univ. Ferrara 55:89–110, 2009 and J. Math. Fluid Mech. 14: 529–540, 2012), is a subspace of the well known Besov space ${{{\mathbb{B}}^{-2/s}_{q,s}(\Omega )}}$ , see Amann (Nonhomogeneous Navier–Stokes Equations with Integrable Low-Regularity Data. Int. Math. Ser. pp. 1–28. Kluwer/Plenum, New York, 2002). Our main results on the regularity of u exploits a variant of the space ${{B^{q,s}(\Omega )}}$ in which the integral in time has to be considered only on finite intervals (0, δ ) with ${{\delta \to 0}}$ . Further we discuss several criteria for uniqueness and local right-hand regularity, in particular, if u satisfies Serrin’s limit condition ${{u\in L^{\infty}_{\text{loc}}([0,T);L^3_{\sigma}(\Omega ))}}$ . Finally, we obtain a large class of regular weak solutions u defined by a smallness condition ${{\|u_0\|_{B^{q,s}(\Omega )} \le K}}$ with some constant ${{K=K(\Omega, q)>0}}$ .     

On the effect of non-smooth Coulomb damping on flutter-type self-excitation in a non-gyroscopic circulatory 2-DoF-system

This article deals with self-excited vibrations, attractivity of stationary solutions, and the corresponding bifurcation behavior of two-dimensional differential inclusions of the type $\mathbf{M}\mathbf{q}'' + \mathbf{D}\mathbf{q}' + (\mathbf{K} + \bar{\mu}\mathbf{N})\mathbf{q} \in-\mathbf{R}\operatorname{Sign}(\mathbf{q}')$ . For the smooth case R=0, the equilibrium may become unstable due to non-conservative positional forces stemming from the circulatory matrix N. This type of instability is usually referred to as flutter instability and the loss of stability is related to a Hopf bifurcation of the steady state, which occurs for a critical parameter $\bar{\mu}= \bar{\mu}_{\mathrm{crit}}$ . For R≠0, the steady state is a set of equilibria, which turns out to be attractive for all values of the bifurcation parameter $\bar{\mu}$ . Depending on $\bar{\mu}$ , the basin of attraction of the equilibrium set can be infinite or finite. The transition from an infinite to a finite basin of attraction occurs at the stability threshold $\bar{\mu}_{\mathrm{crit}}$ of the underlying smooth problem. For the finite basin of attraction, its size is proportional to the Coulomb friction and inverse-proportional to $(\bar{\mu}- \bar{\mu}_{\mathrm{crit}})$ . By adding Coulomb damping the notion of steady state stability for the smooth problem is replaced by the question whether the basin of attraction of the steady state is infinite or finite. Simultaneously, the local Hopf-bifurcation is replaced by a global bifurcation. This implies that in the presence of Coulomb damping the occurrence of self-excited vibrations can only be investigated with regard to the perturbation level.