Nonlinear instability of Hele-Shaw flows with smooth viscous profiles

We rigorously derive nonlinear instability of Hele-Shaw flows moving with a constant velocity in the presence of smooth viscosity profiles where the viscosity upstream is lower than the viscosity downstream. This is a single-layer problem without any material interface. The instability of the basic flow is driven by a viscosity gradient as opposed to conventional interfacial Saffman-Taylor instability where the instability is driven by a viscosity jump across the interface. Existing analytical techniques are used in this paper to establish nonlinear instability.     

Quenching of flames by fluid advection

We consider a simple scalar reaction‐advection‐diffusion equation with ignition‐type nonlinearity and discuss the following question: What kinds of velocity profiles are capable of quenching any given flame, provided the velocity's amplitude is adequately large? Even for shear flows, the answer turns out to be surprisingly subtle. If the velocity profile changes in space so that it is nowhere identically constant, (or if it is identically constant only in a region of small measure) then the flow can quench any initial data. But if the velocity profile is identically constant in a sizable region, then the ensuing flow is incapable of quenching large enough flames, no matter how much larger is the amplitude of this velocity. The constancy region must be wider across than a couple of laminar propagating front‐widths. The proof uses a linear PDE associated to the nonlinear problem and quenching follows when the PDE is hypoelliptic. The techniques used allow the derivation of new, nearly optimal bounds on the speed of traveling wave solutions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A hybrid level-set/moving-mesh interface tracking method

An approach for combining Arbitrary–Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) moving-mesh and level-set interface tracking methods is presented that allows the two methods to be used in different spatial regions and coupled across the region boundaries. The coupling allows interface shapes to be convected from the ALE method to the level-set method and vice-versa across the ALE/level-set boundary. The motivation for this is to allow high-order ALE methods to represent interface motion in regions where there is no topology change, and the level-set function to be used in regions where topology change occurs. The coupling method is based on the characteristic directions of information propagation and can be implemented in any geometrical configuration. In addition, an iterative method for the hybrid formulation has been developed that can be combined with pre-existing solution methods. Tests of a propagating interface in a uniform flow show that the hybrid approach provides accuracy equivalent to what one is able to obtain with either of the methods individually.     

On invariant volumes of codimension-one Anosov flows and the Verjovsky conjecture

We show that any topologically transitive codimension-one Anosov flow on a closed manifold is topologically equivalent to a smooth Anosov flow that preserves a smooth volume. By a classical theorem due to Verjovsky, any higher-dimensional codimension-one Anosov flow is topologically transitive. Recently, Simić showed that any higher-dimensional codimension-one Anosov flow that preserves a smooth volume is topologically equivalent to the suspension of an Anosov diffeomorphism. Therefore, our result gives a complete classification of codimension-one Anosov flows up to topological equivalence in higher dimensions.     

Discontinuous solutions to hyperbolic systems under operator splitting

Two-dimensional systems of linear hyperbolic equations are studied with regard to their behavior under a solution strategy that in alternate time-steps exactly solves the component one-dimensional operators. The initial data is a step function across an oblique discontinuity. The manner in which this discontinuity breaks up under repeated applications of the split operator is analyzed, and it is shown that the split solution will fail to match the true solution in any case where the two operators do not share all their eigenvectors. The special case of the fluid flow equations is analyzed in more detail, and it is shown that arbitrary initial data gives rise to “pseudo acoustic waves” and a nonphysical stationary wave. The implications of these findings for the design of high-resolution computing schemes are discussed.     

Hypersonic flow past a sphere

The effects of dissociation or ionization of air on the analytical solution for hypersonic flow past a sphere are considered here, under certain assumptions. It has been assumed that the shock wave is in the shape of a sphere, that the density ratio across the shock is constant, that the flow behind the shock is at constant density and that dissociation or ionization only occurs behind the shock wave. Thus the effects of the compressibility of the air, variation of density ratio along the shock, and the department of the shock shape from being circular are not taken into account. Here the velocity, pressure, temperature, pressure coefficient and vorticity, etc., at any point between the shock and the surface of the sphere in the presence of dissociation or ionization are obtained. In addition, shock detachment distance, drag coefficient, stagnation point velocity gradient and sonic points on the shock and the surface have also been obtained. The results have been compared with the corresponding results obtained in the case when dissociation or ionization does not occur behind the shock.     

Optimal Two-commodity Flows with Non-linear Cost Functions

We consider networks in which two different commodities have to be transported across undirected arcs, subject to a shared capacity on the arcs. For each arc and commodity there is an associated non-linear cost that depends on the amount of the commodity transported across the arc. The aim is to minimize the sum of the costs over all arcs and commodities. Efficient algorithms for solving this problem for two types of objective functions will be presented: in the first the cost depends on the absolute value of the flow and in the second the cost is a quadratic function of the flow. Previous work on multi-commodity flow has concentrated on linear cost problems or tackled non-linear cost problems with Lagrangian relaxation methods and other more general techniques. The algorithms in this paper, on the other hand, provide a very efficient way of dealing with two types of non-linear two-commodity optimal flow problems.     

The Ricci flow in a class of solvmanifolds

In this paper, we study the Ricci flow of solvmanifolds whose Lie algebra has an abelian ideal of codimension one, by using the bracket flow. We prove that solutions to the Ricci flow are immortal, the ω-limit of bracket flow solutions is a single point, and that for any sequence of times there exists a subsequence in which the Ricci flow converges, in the pointed topology, to a manifold which is locally isometric to a flat manifold. We give a functional which is non-increasing along a normalized bracket flow that will allow us to prove that given a sequence of times, one can extract a subsequence converging to an algebraic soliton, and to determine which of these limits are flat. Finally, we use these results to prove that if a Lie group in this class admits a Riemannian metric of negative sectional curvature, then the curvature of any Ricci flow solution will become negative in finite time.     

Heuristics for Distribution Network Design in Telecommunication

A distribution network problem arises in a lower level of an hierarchical modeling approach for telecommunication network planning. This paper describes a model and proposes a lagrangian heuristic for designing a distribution network. Our model is a complex extension of a capacitated single commodity network design problem. We are given a network containing a set of sources with maximum available supply, a set of sinks with required demands, and a set of transshipment points. We need to install adequate capacities on the arcs to route the required flow to each sink, that may be an intermediate or a terminal node of an arborescence. Capacity can only be installed in discrete levels, i.e., cables are available only in certain standard capacities. Economies of scale induce the use of a unique higher capacity cable instead of an equivalent set of lower capacity cables to cover the flow requirements of any link. A path from a source to a terminal node requires a lower flow in the measure that we are closer to the terminal node, since many nodes in the path may be intermediate sinks. On the other hand, the reduction of cable capacity levels across any path is inhibited by splicing costs. The objective is to minimize the total cost of the network, given by the sum of the arc capacity (cables) costs plus the splicing costs along the nodes. In addition to the limited supply and the node demand requirements, the model incorporates constraints on the number of cables installed on each edge and the maximum number of splices at each node. The model is a NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem because it is an extension of the Steiner problem in graphs. Moreover, the discrete levels of cable capacity and the need to consider splicing costs increase the complexity of the problem. We include some computational results of the lagrangian heuristics that works well in the practice of computer aided distribution network design.     

Interval exchange transformations and some special flows are not mixing

An interval exchange transformation (I.E.T.) is a map of an interval into itself which is one-to-one and continuous except for a finite set of points and preserves Lebesgue measure. We prove that any I.E.T. is not mixing with respect to any Borel invariant measure. The same is true for any special flow constructed by any I.E.T. and any “roof” function of bounded variation. As an application of the last result we deduce that in any polygon with the angles commensurable with π the billiard flow is not mixing on two-dimensional invariant manifolds. The author is partially supported by grant NSF MCS 78-15278.     

CONVEXITY AND SYMMETRY OF TRANSLATING SOLITONS IN MEAN CURVATURE FLOWS

This paper proves that any rotationally symmetric translating soliton of mean curvature flow in R3 is strictly convex if it is not a plane and it intersects its symmetric axis at one point. The authors also study the symmetry of any translating soliton of mean curvature flow in Rn.     

Asymptotic study of turbulent Poiseuille flow with wall transpiration

An incompressible, pressure–driven, fully developed turbulent flow between two parallel walls, with an extra constant transverse velocity component, is considered. A closure condition is formulated, which relates the shear stress to the first and second derivatives of the longitudinal mean velocity. The closure condition is derived without invoking any special hypotheses on the nature of turbulent motion, only taking advantage of the fact that the flow depends on a finite number of governing parameters. By virtue of the closure condition, the momentum equation is reduced to the boundary–value problem for a second–order differential equation, which is solved by the method of matched asymptotic expansions at high values of the logarithm of the Reynolds number based on the friction velocity. A limiting transpiration velocity is obtained, such that the shear stress at the injection wall vanishes, while the maximum point on the velocity profile approaches the suction wall. In this case, a sublayer near the suction wall appears where the mean velocity is proportional to the square root of the distance from the wall. A friction law for Poiseuille flow with transpiration is found, which makes it possible to describe the relation between the wall shear stress, the Reynolds number, and the transpiration velocity by a function of one variable. A velocity defect law, which generalizes the classical law for the core region in a channel with impermeable walls to the case of transpiration, is also established. In similarity variables, the mean velocity profiles across the whole channel width outside viscous sublayers can be described by a one–parameter family of curves. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The effect of osmotic pressure on the flow of solutions through semi-permeable hollow fibers

We study the laminar flow of binary liquid mixture, whose components are a Newtonian fluid (solvent) and a solute, in a hollow fiber. The fiber walls are porous, but the pores size is small enough preventing the solute molecules to be transported across the membrane. This produces an osmotic pressure that offers resistance (in many cases non negligible) to the fluid cross flow.     

Subsonic triple deck flow past a flat plate with an elastic stretch

The steady laminar subsonic flow past a flat plate having a stretch of an elastic membrane, the pressure on the other side of which is adjustable, is studied within the framework of the triple deck theory. The resulting lower deck problem is supplemented with a membrane equation relating the pressure difference across the membrane to its curvature. By pressurizing or depressurizing the membrane, it assumes the form of a hump or a dent that alters the flow characteristics. Numerical solutions obtained, in either case, give plausible account of the interaction between the membrane and the flow.     

Long Eddies in Sheared Flows

The characteristic feature of the wide variety of hydraulic shear flows analyzed in this study is that they all contain a critical level where some of the fluid is turned relative to the ambient flow. One example is the flow produced in a thin layer of fluid, contained between lateral boundaries, during the passage of a long eddy. The boundaries of the layer may be rigid, or flexible, or free; the fluid may be either compressible or incompressible. A further example is the flow produced when a shear layer separates from a rigid boundary producing a region of recirculating flow. The equations used in this study are those governing inviscid hydraulic shear flows. They are similar in form to the classical boundary layer equations with the viscous term omitted. The main result of the study is to show that when the hydraulic flow is steady and contained between lateral boundaries, the variation of vorticity ω(ψ) cannot be prescribed at any streamline which crosses the critical level. This variation is, in fact, determined by (1) the vorticity distribution at all streamlines which do not cross the critical level, by (2) the auxiliary conditions which must be satisfied at the boundaries of the fluid layer, and by (3) the dimensions of the region containing the turned flow. If at some instant the vorticity distribution is specified arbitrarily at all streamlines, generally the subsequent flow will be unsteady. In order to emphasize this point, a class of exact solutions describing unsteady hydraulic flows are derived. These are used to describe the flow produced by the passage of a long eddy which distorts as it is convected with the ambient flow. They are also used to describe the unsteady flow that is produced when a shear layer separates from a boundary. Examples are given both of flows in which the shear layer reattaches after separation and of flows in which the shear layer does not reattach. When the shear layer vorticity distribution has the form ωαyⁿ, where y is a distance measure across the layer, the steady flows are of Falkner-Skan type inside, and adjacent to, the separation region. The unsteady flows described in this paper are natural generalizations of these Falkner-Skan flows. One important result of the analysis is to show that if the unsteady flow inside the separation region is strongly sheared, then the boundary of the separation region moves upstream towards the point of separation, forming large transverse currents. Generally, the assumption of hydraulic flow becomes invalid in a finite time. On the other hand, if the flow inside the separation region is weakly sheared, this region is swept downstream and the flow becomes self-similar.     

Understanding the porosity dependence of heat flux through glass fiber insulation

In this paper, we describe the mathematical modeling of heat flow across a glass fiber medium. Using different mathematical models we try to explain the porosity dependence of the heat flow which is observed in experiments.     

Aerodynamic optimisation of a hypersonic reentry vehicle based on solution of the Boltzmann–BGK equation and evolutionary optimisation

Over the past decade there has been a surge in the interest, both academic and commercial, in supersonic and hypersonic passenger transport. This paper outlines an original approach for solving the problem of optimal design and configuration of a space vehicle operating in rarefied hypersonic flow. The approach utilises a novel flow solver based on the solution of the Boltzmann–BGK equation. For the first time this solver has been coupled to an evolutionary optimiser to assist in navigation of the unfamiliar hypersonic design space.The Boltzmann–BGK solver is rigorously tested on a number of examples and is shown to handle rarefied gas dynamics examples across a range of length scales. The examples, presented here for the first time, include: a Riemann-type gas expansion problem, drag prediction of a nano-particle and supersonic flow across an aerofoil. Finally the solver is coupled to the evolutionary optimiser Modified Cuckoo Search approach. The coupled solver-optimiser design tool is then used to explore the optimum configuration of the forebody of a generic space reentry vehicle under a range of design conditions.In all examples considered the flow solver produces valid solutions. It is also found that the evolutionary optimiser is successful in navigating the unfamiliar design space.     

Partial regularity for weak heat flows into riemannian homogeneous spaces

It is proved that any weak flow of harmonic maps into a compact homogeneous manifold satisfying the monotonicity inequality and the energy inequality is regular off a closed set of m-dimensional Hausdorff measure zero (w.r.t parabolic metric), and coincides with a regular flow if the latter one exists. Moreover, it is also shown that the weak limit of a sequence of such weak flows is a weak flow.     

Online scheduling of ordered flow shops

We consider online as well as offline scheduling of ordered flow shops with the makespan as objective. In an online flow shop scheduling problem, jobs are revealed to a decisionmaker one by one going down a list. When a job is revealed to the decision maker, its operations have to be scheduled irrevocably without having any information regarding jobs that will be revealed afterwards. We consider for the online setting the so-called Greedy Algorithm which generates permutation schedules in which the jobs on the machines are at all times processed without any unnecessary delays. We focus on ordered flow shops, in particular proportionate flow shops with different speeds and proportionate flow shops with different setup times. We analyze the competitive ratio of the Greedy Algorithm for such flow shops in the online setting. For several cases, we derive lower bounds on the competitive ratios.     

Discrete Morse Flow for Yamabe Type Heat Flows

In this paper, we study the discrete Morse flow for either Yamabe type heat flow or nonlinear heat flow on a bounded regular domain in the whole space. We show that under suitable assumptions on the initial data $g$ one has a weak approximate discrete Morse flow for the Yamabe type heat flow on any time interval. This phenomenon is very different from the smooth Yamabe flow, where the finite time blow up may exist.