Existence of a Fixed Point of a Nonsmooth Function Arising in Numerical Mechanics

A recent work (Acary et al. 2010) introduces a formulation as a nonsmooth fixed-point problem of a basic problem in numerical mechanics (namely the dynamical Coulomb friction problem in finite dimension with discretized time). Using this new formulation, the existence of a solution to the problem and its numerical resolution are then guaranteed under a strong assumption on the data of this problem. In this paper, we show that the fixed point problem admits solution under a natural, weaker assumption. This existence proof uses a perturbation argument combined with continuity properties of a set-valued mapping associated with the constraints of the problem.     

Eigenfrequencies of a tube bundle immersed in a fluid

In this paper we study a simplified version of a mathematical model that describes the eigenfrequencies and eigenmotions of a coupled system consisting of a set of tubes (or a tube bundle) immersed in an incompressible perfect fluid. The fluid is assumed to be contained in a rectangular cavity, and the tubes are assumed to be identical, and periodically distributed in the cavity. The mathematical model that governs this physical problem is an elliptic differential eigenvalue problem consisting of the Laplace equation with a nonlocal boundary condition on the holes, and a homogeneous Neumann boundary condition on the boundary of the cavity. In the simplified model that we study in this paper, the Neumann condition is replaced by a periodic boundary condition. Our goal in studying this simple version is to derive some basic properties of the problem that could serve as a guide to envisage similar properties for the original model. In practical situations, this kind of problem needs to be solved for tube bundles containing a very large number of tubes. Then the numerical analysis of these problems is in practice very expensive. Several approaches to overcome this difficulty have been proposed in the last years using homogenization techniques. Alternatively, we propose in this paper an approach that consists in obtaining an explicit decomposition of the problem into a finite family of subproblems, which can be easily solved numerically. Our study is based on a generalized notion of periodic function, and on a decomposition theorem for periodic functions that we introduce in the paper. Our results rely on the theory of almost periodic functions, and they provide a simple numerical method for obtaining approximations of all the eigenvalues of the problem for any number of tubes in the cavity. We also discuss a numerical example.     

Solvability of a multivalued filtering problem in a heterogeneous environment with a distributed source

In this paper we formulate a generalized filtering problem in a heterogeneous environment in the presence of a source distributed along a line. Incompressible fluids obey a multivalued law with a linear growth at infinity. In this study we use the additive singularity extraction in the right-hand side of the problem constraint. We represent the pressure field as the sum of a known solution to a certain linear problem and an unknown “additive term”. We reduce the problem under consideration to a variational inequality of the second kind in a Hilbert space (with respect to the mentioned “additive term”) and prove its solvability.     

Upper Bounds on Height of Terms in a Solution of a Semiunification Problem

In this paper, we investigate a decidable case of the term semiunification problem. In our case, the arity of any functional symbol in terms equals one (with a possible exception for outer symbols of terms, for which no restrictions are imposed). We propose an algorithm constructing the most general solution of the semiunification problem. In addition, we prove an upper bound on the height of this solution; this upper bound is linear with respect to heights of terms in the initial problem. Our method reduces the problem for terms to a special system of equations in free semigroups and solves the latter system. Bibliography: 10 titles.     

一类一维的辐射流体力学方程组激波的存在性

该文主要讨论一维空间中一类辐射流体力学方程组的激波. 由Rankine-Hugoniot条件及熵条件得此问题可表述为关于辐射流体力学方程组带自由边界的初边值问题. 首先通过变量代换, 将其自由边界转换为固定边界, 然后研究关于此非线性方程组的一个初边值问题解的存在唯一性. 为此先构造了此问题的一个近似解, 然后分别通过Picard迭代与Newton迭代对此非线性问题构造近似解序列. 通过一系列估计与紧性理论得到此近似解序列的收敛性, 其极限即为原辐射热力学方程组的一个激波.     

Iterative approximation of a common solution of a split equilibrium problem,a variational inequality problem and a fixed point problem

In this paper, we introduce an iterative method to approximate a common solution of a split equilibrium problem, a variational inequality problem and a fixed point problem for a nonexpansive mapping in real Hilbert spaces. We prove that the sequences generated by the iterative scheme converge strongly to a common solution of the split equilibrium problem, the variational inequality problem and the fixed point problem for a nonexpansive mapping. The results presented in this paper extend and generalize many previously known results in this research area.     

Reconstruction of solutions to a generalized Moisil-Theodorescu system in a spatial domain from their values on a part of the boundary

In this paper we consider the problem of reconstructing solutions to a generalized Moisil-Theodorescu system in a spatial domain from their values on a part of the domain boundary, i.e., the Cauchy problem. We construct an approximate solution to this problem with the help of the Carleman matrix method.     

Motion of a rigid body in a viscous fluid

We introduce a concept of weak solution for a boundary value problem modelling the motion of a rigid body immersed in a viscous fluid. The time variation of the fluid's domain (due to the motion of the rigid body) is not known a priori, so we deal with a free boundary value problem. Our main theorem asserts the existence of at least one weak solution for this problem. The result is global in time provided that the rigid body does not touch the boundary.     

Minimizing total tardiness in a scheduling problem with a learning effect

Minimizing of total tardiness is one of the most studied topics on single machine problems. Researchers develop a number of optimizing and heuristic methods to solve this NP-hard problem. In this paper, the problem of minimizing total tardiness is examined in a learning effect situation. The concept of learning effects describes the reduction of processing times arising from process repetition. A 0–1 integer programming model is developed to solve the problem. Also, a random search, the tabu search and the simulated annealing-based methods are proposed for the problem and the solutions of the large size problems with up to 1000 jobs are found by these methods. To the best of our knowledge, no works exists on the total tardiness problem with a learning effect tackled in this paper.     

Optimal implementation of selectors in a data-base

The records of a data base can be accessed from other records or from a set of data items (inverted access, primary and secondary index of IMS, search keys of CODASYL etc.) which we call selectors. The implementation of this selectors can use different techniques as hash coding, inverted lists or hierarchical index (indexed sequential, B-trees etc…) We consider here the last one and we search for a given set of selectors an optimal index structure. We show how this problem can be put as the search of an optimal rooted tree among the partial subgraphs of a given graph G (this problem is known in graph theory as Steiner problem) and we give several properties which allow the graph G to be notabily reduced. Then we present a branch and bound algorithm to solve this problem.     

Free Cavitational Deceleration of a Circular Cylinder in a Liquid after Impact

The problem is considered about the vertical continuous impact and subsequent free deceleration of a circular cylinder semi-immersed in a liquid. The specificity of this problem is that, under certain conditions, some areas of low pressure near the body appear and the attached cavities are formed. The separation zones and the motion law of the cylinder are unknown in advance and have to be determined in solving the problem. The study of the problem is conducted by a direct asymptotic method effective for small spans of time. Some nonlinear problem with unilateral constraints is formulated that is solved together with the equation defining the law of motion of the cylinder. In the case when the space above the external free surface of a liquid is filled with a gas with low pressure (vacuum), an analytical solution of the problem is constructed. To determine the main hydrodynamic characteristics (the separation point and acceleration of the cylinder), we derive a system of transcendental equations with elementary functions. The solution of this system agrees well with the results obtained by the direct numerical method.     

Recovery of the unknown coefficients in a two-dimensional hyperbolic equation

In this paper, an inverse boundary value problem for a two-dimensional hyperbolic equation with overdetermination conditions is studied. To investigate the solvability of the original problem, we first consider an auxiliary inverse boundary value problem and prove its equivalence to the original problem in a certain sense. We then use the Fourier method to reduce such an equivalent problem to a system of integral equations. Furthermore, we prove the existence and uniqueness theorem for the auxiliary problem by the contraction mappings principle. Based on the equivalency of these problems, the existence and uniqueness theorem for the classical solution of the original inverse problem is proved. Some discussions on the numerical solutions for this inverse problem are presented including some numerical examples.     

Study of a Numerical Approach for a Transient Flow Problem in Porous Media

In this work, we deal with the numerical study of the new approximation method proposed in [7] for a transient flow problem in porous media. The stationary problem, obtained from a time discretization of this transient problem, is considered as an optimal shape design formulation. We prove the existence of the solution of the discrete optimal shape problem obtained from finite element discretization. We study the convergence and give numerical results showing the efficiency of the proposed approach.     

Decomposition through formalization in a product space

When an optimization problem is posed in a product space it is classical to decompose this problem. The goal of this paper is to show how such an approach can be used when the problem to be solved is not naturally posed in a product space. By associating systematically to this problem an equivalent one posed in ann-fold cartesian product space, we obtain by decomposition of the latter both a splitting of operators and a desintegration of constraints for the former. Applications to three rather classical mathematical programming problems are given.     

Reconstruction of boundary regimes in the inverse problem of thermal convection of a high-viscosity fluid

A problem of reconstruction of boundary regimes in a model for free convection of a high-viscosity fluid is considered. A variational method and a quasi-inversion method are suggested for solving the problem in question. The variational method is based on the reduction of the original inverse problem to some equivalent variational minimum problem for an appropriate objective functional and solving this problem by a gradient method. When realizing the gradient method for finding a minimizing element of the objective functional, an iterative process actually reducing the original problem to a series of direct well-posed problems is organized. For the quasi-inversion method, the original differential model is modified by means of introducing special additional differential terms of higher order with small parameters as coefficients. The new perturbed problem is well-posed; this allows one to solve this problem by standard methods. An appropriate choice of small parameters gives an opportunity to obtain acceptable qualitative and quantitative results in solving the inverse problem. A comparison of the methods suggested for solving the inverse problem is made with the use of model examples.     

Optimal detection of a recurring tuple of reference fragments in a quasiperiodic sequence

An a posteriori (off-line) approach to solving the problem of maximum-likelihood detection of a recurring tuple containing reference fragments in a numerical quasiperiodic sequence is studied. The case is analyzed where (1) the total number of fragments in a sequence is unknown; (2) the index of a sequence term corresponding to the beginning of a fragment is a deterministic (not random) value; (3) a sequence distorted by additive uncorrelated Gaussian noise is available for observation. It is shown that the problem under consideration is reduced to testing a set of simple hypotheses about the mean of a random Gaussian vector. The cardinality of this totality grows exponentially as the vector dimension (i.e., the length of the sequence under study) increases. It is established that searching for a maximum-likelihood hypothesis is equivalent to finding arguments that yield a maximum for an auxiliary objective function. It is shown that maximizing the objective function reduces to solving a special optimization problem, which is proved to be solvable in polynomial time. An exact algorithm for solving this problem, which underlies the optimal (maximum-likelihood) detection algorithm for a recurring tuple, is substantiated. The kernel of the exact algorithm is an algorithm for solving a special (basic) optimization problem. Results of numerical simulations are presented.     

On a version of the problem of choosing a vector subset

The NP-completeness is proved of the problem of choosing some subset of “similar” vectors. One of the variants of the a posteriori (off-line) noise-proof detection problem of an unknown repeating vector in a numeric sequence can be reduced to this problem in the case of additive noise. An approximation polynomial algorithm with a guaranteed performance bound is suggested for this problem in the case of a fixed space dimension.     

Optimal streaming of a single job in a two-stage flow shop

Lot streaming is moving some portion of a process batch ahead to begin a downstream operation. The problem to be considered in this paper is the following: a single job consisting of U units is to be processed on two machines in the given order. Given a fixed number of possible transfer batches between the two machines, the problem is to find the timing and the size of the transfer batches (or, sublots) so as to optimize a given criterion. The schedules can be evaluated based on job completion, sublot completion, or item completion times. In the single job lot streaming problem, minimizing job completion time corresponds to minimizing the makespan, for which formulas for optimal sublot sizes are available. In this paper, the results for the sublot and item completion time models are presented.     

Free surface of a drop in a symmetric force field

We investigate the problem of the free surface of a drop in a force field. Under the assumption of a certain symmetry and smallness of the force field, this problem reduces to an equation with a contraction operator from which there follows the existence and uniqueness of a nearly spherical solution.Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov Leningradskogo Otdeleniya Matematicheskogo Instituta im. V. A. Steklova AN SSSR, Vol. 52, pp. 160–174, 1975.In conclusion, the author expresses his deep gratitude to N. N. Ural'tseva for suggesting the problem and for a series of critical remarks as well as to O. A. Ladyzhenskaya for her interest in the paper.     

Properties of the spectrum in the John problem on a freely floating submerged body in a finite basin

We consider a problem on the interaction of surface waves with a freely floating submerged body, which combines a spectral Steklov problem with a system of algebraic equations. We reduce this spectral problem to a quadratic pencil and then to the standard spectral equation for a self-adjoint operator in a certain Hilbert space. In addition to general properties of the spectrum, we investigate the asymptotics of eigenvalues and eigenvectors with respect to an intrinsic small parameter.