Single‐cell compact finite‐difference discretization of order two and four for multidimensional triharmonic problems

In this article, we discuss finite‐difference methods of order two and four for the solution of two‐and three‐dimensional triharmonic equations, where the values of u,(?²u/?n²) and (?⁴u/?n⁴) are prescribed on the boundary. For 2D case, we use 9‐ and for 3D case, we use 19‐ uniform grid points and a single computational cell. We introduce new ideas to handle the boundary conditions and do not require to discretize the boundary conditions at the boundary. The Laplacian and the biharmonic of the solution are obtained as byproduct of the methods. The resulting matrix system is solved by using the appropriate block iterative methods. Computational results are provided to demonstrate the fourth‐order accuracy of the proposed methods. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2010     

The Weyl-type asymptotic formula for biharmonic Steklov eigenvalues on Riemannian manifolds

Let Ω be a bounded domain with C²-smooth boundary in an n-dimensional oriented Riemannian manifold. It is well known that for the biharmonic equation Δ²u=0 in Ω with the condition u=0 on ∂Ω, there exists an infinite set {uk} of biharmonic functions in Ω with positive eigenvalues {λk} satisfying on ∂Ω. In this paper, by a new method we establish the Weyl-type asymptotic formula for the counting function of the biharmonic Steklov eigenvalues λk.     

Local and parallel finite element method for solving the biharmonic eigenvalue problem of plate vibration

In this paper, we establish a new local and parallel finite element discrete scheme based on the shifted‐inverse power method for solving the biharmonic eigenvalue problem of plate vibration. We prove the local error estimation of finite element solution for the biharmonic equation/eigenvalue problem and prove the error estimation of approximate solution obtained by the local and parallel scheme. When the diameters of three grids satisfy H⁴ = ?(w²) = ?(h), the approximate solutions obtained by our schemes can achieve the asymptotically optimal accuracy. The numerical experiments show that the computational schemes proposed in this paper are effective to solve the biharmonic eigenvalue problem of plate vibration.     

A fast finite difference method for biharmonic equations on irregular domains and its application to an incompressible Stokes flow

Biharmonic equations have many applications, especially in fluid and solid mechanics, but is difficult to solve due to the fourth order derivatives in the differential equation. In this paper a fast second order accurate algorithm based on a finite difference discretization and a Cartesian grid is developed for two dimensional biharmonic equations on irregular domains with essential boundary conditions. The irregular domain is embedded into a rectangular region and the biharmonic equation is decoupled to two Poisson equations. An auxiliary unknown quantity Δu along the boundary is introduced so that fast Poisson solvers on irregular domains can be used. Non-trivial numerical examples show the efficiency of the proposed method. The number of iterations of the method is independent of the mesh size. Another key to the method is a new interpolation scheme to evaluate the residual of the Schur complement system. The new biharmonic solver has been applied to solve the incompressible Stokes flow on an irregular domain.      

New boundary element formulas for the biharmonic equation

We propose two new boundary integral equation formulas for the biharmonic equation with the Dirichlet boundary data that arises from plate bending problems in ℝ². Two boundary conditions, u and ∂u/∂n, usually yield a 2 × 2 non-symmetric matrix system of integral equations. Our new formulas yield scalar integral equations that can be handled more efficiently for theoretical and numerical purposes. In this paper we supply complete ellipticity and solvability analyses of our new formulas. Numerical experiments for simple Galerkin methods are also provided. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High accuracy nonconforming biharmonic element over n-rectangular meshes

This work gives the high accuracy analysis of a rectangular biharmonic element in arbitrarily high-dimensional cases. Given an n-rectangle, we construct the nonconforming finite element and show its explicit standard basis representation. We prove that, if the n-rectangular mesh is uniform, this element can achieve a second order convergence rate in energy norm when applied to biharmonic problems. Numerical examples for n = 3 are also presented.     

A highly accurate numerical solution of a biharmonic equation

The coefficients for a nine–point high–order accuracy discretization scheme for a biharmonic equation ∇ ⁴u = f(x, y) (∇² is the two–dimensional Laplacian operator) are derived. The biharmonic problem is defined on a rectangular domain with two types of boundary conditions: (1) u and ∂²u/∂n² or (2) u and ∂u/part;n (where ∂/part;n is the normal to the boundary derivative) are specified at the boundary. For both considered cases, the truncation error for the suggested scheme is of the sixth-order O(h⁶) on a square mesh (h_x = h_y = h) and of the fourth-order O(h⁴_xh²_xh²_y h⁴_y) on an unequally spaced mesh. The biharmonic equation describes the deflection of loaded plates. The advantage of the suggested scheme is demonstrated for solving problems of the deflection of rectangular plates for cases of different boundary conditions: (1) a simply supported plate and (2) a plate with built-in edges. In order to demonstrate the high–order accuracy of the method, the numerical results are compared with exact solutions. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 13: 375–391, 1997     

Heat Flow for Extrinsic Biharmonic Maps with Small Initial Energy

Let M ^m and N ^{n k} be two compact Riemannian manifolds without boundary. We consider the L ² gradient flow for the energy F(u):= _M |u|². If m 3 or if m= 4 and F(u ₀) is small, we show that the heat flow for extrinsic biharmonic maps exists for all time, and that the solution subconverges to a smooth extrinsic biharmonic map as time goes to infinity.     

Biharmonic extensions on trees without positive potentials

Let T be a tree rooted at e endowed with a nearest-neighbor transition probability that yields a recurrent random walk. We show that there exists a function K biharmonic off e whose Laplacian has potential theoretic importance and, in addition, has the following property: Any function f on T which is biharmonic outside a finite set has a representation, unique up to addition of a harmonic function, of the form f=βK+B+L, where β a constant, B is a biharmonic function on T, and L is a function, subject to certain normalization conditions, whose Laplacian is constant on all sectors sufficiently far from the root. We obtain a characterization of the functions biharmonic outside a finite set whose Laplacian has 0 flux similar to one that holds for a function biharmonic outside a compact set in Rn for n=2,3, and 4 proved by Bajunaid and Anandam. Moreover, we extend the definition of flux and, under certain restrictions on the tree, we characterize the functions biharmonic outside a finite set that have finite flux in this extended sense.     

Free vibrations for a nonlinear wave equation and a theorem of P. Rabinowitz

A new and simpler proof is given of the result of P. Rabinowitz for nontrivial time periodic solutions of a vibrating string equation u_u - u_xx + g(u) = 0 and Dirichlet boundary conditions on a finite interval. We assume essentially that g is nondecreasing, and g(u)/u→∞ as |u|→∞. The proof uses a modified form (PS)_c of the Palais-Smale condition (PS).     

A new coupled approach high accuracy numerical method for the solution of 3D non-linear biharmonic equations

In this paper, we derive a new fourth order finite difference approximation based on arithmetic average discretization for the solution of three-dimensional non-linear biharmonic partial differential equations on a 19-point compact stencil using coupled approach. The numerical solutions of unknown variable u(x,y,z) and its Laplacian ∇²u are obtained at each internal grid point. The resulting stencil algorithm is presented which can be used to solve many physical problems. The proposed method allows us to use the Dirichlet boundary conditions directly and there is no need to discretize the derivative boundary conditions near the boundary. We also show that special treatment is required to handle the boundary conditions. The new method is tested on three problems and the results are compared with the corresponding second order approximation, which we also discuss using coupled approach.     

On the structure of biharmonic functions satisfying the clamped plate conditions on a right angle

Let u(r,θ) be biharmonic and bounded in the circular sector ¦θ¦ < π/4, 0 < r < ρ (ρ > 1) and vanish together with δu/δθ when ¦θ¦ = π/4. We consider the transform û(p,θ) = ∝₀¹r^{p − 1}u(r,θ)dr. We show that for any fixed θ₀ u(p,θ₀) is meromorphic with no real poles and cannot be entire unless u(r, θ₀) ≡ 0. It follows then from a theorem of Doetsch that u(r, θ₀) either vanishes identically or oscillates as r → 0.     

On the dependence of the reflection operator on boundary conditions for biharmonic functions

The biharmonic equation arises in areas of continuum mechanics including linear elasticity theory and the Stokes flows, as well as in a radar imaging problem. We discuss the reflection formulas for the biharmonic functions u(x,y)∈R² subject to different boundary conditions on a real-analytic curve in the plane. The obtained formulas, generalizing the celebrated Schwarz symmetry principle for harmonic functions, have different structures. In particular, in the special case of the boundary, Γ₀:={y=0}, reflections are point-to-point when the given on Γ₀ conditions are u=n_∂u=0, u=Δu=0 or n_∂u=n_∂Δu=0, and point to a continuous set when u=n_∂Δu=0 or n_∂u=Δu=0 on Γ₀.     

H2 Convergence of Solutions of a Biharmonic Problem on a Truncated Convex Sector Near the Angle π

We consider a biharmonic problem Δ²u_ω = f_ω with Navier type boundary conditions u_ω = Δu_ω = 0, on a family of truncated sectors Ω_ω in ?² of radius r, 0 < r < 1 and opening angle ω, ω ∈ (2π/3, π] when ω is close to π. The family of right-hand sides (f_ω)_{ω∈(2π/3, π]} is assumed to depend smoothly on ω in L²(Ω_ω). The main result is that u_ω converges to u_π when ω → π with respect to the H²-norm. We can also show that the H²-topology is optimal for such a convergence result.

     

Stationary biharmonic maps from Rm into a Riemannian manifold

For m ≥ 5, we prove that a stationary extrinsic (or intrinsic, respectively) biharmonic map u ∈ W^2,2(Ω, N) from Ω ? R^m into a Riemnanian manifold N is smooth away from a closed set of (m ? 4)‐dimensional Hausdorff measure zero. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A fourth-order difference method for elliptic equations with nonlinear first derivative terms

We present a nine-point fourth-order finite difference method for the nonlinear second-order elliptic differential equation Au_xx + Bu_yy = f(x, y, u, u_x, u_y) on a rectangular region R subject to Dirichlet boundary conditions u(x, y) = g(x, y) on ?R. We establish, under appropriate conditions O(h⁴)-convergence of the finite difference scheme. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the method and its fourth-order convergence.     

Sobolev regularity of the second biharmonic problem on a rectangle

Summary It is proved that for any f &esin; L²(Ω) the weak solution of the second biharmonic problem on a rectangle satisfies u&esin; H⁴(Ω). The proof uses the decomposition of the problem into two Poisson equations and a general condition for H⁴-regularity via the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of second order elliptic operators.     

Blow Up in a Nonlinearly Damped Wave Equation

In this paper we consider the nonlinearly damped semilinear wave equation u_tt – Δu + au_t |u_t|^{m – 2} = bu|u|^{p – 2} associated with initial and Dirichlet boundary conditions. We prove that any strong solution, with negative initial energy, blows up in finite time if p > m. This result improves an earlier one in [2].     

Nonlinear equations with unbounded heat conduction and integrable data

We consider a class of quasi-linear diffusion problems involving a matrix A(t,x,u) which blows up for a finite value m of the unknown u. Stationary and evolution equations are studied for L ¹ data. We focus on the case where the solution u can reach the value m. For such problems we introduce a notion of renormalized solutions and we prove the existence of such solutions.      

Waiting-Time Behavior in a Nonlinear Diffusion Equation

We study the nonlinear diffusion equation u_t*=(uⁿu_x)_x, which occurs in the study of a number of problems. Using singular-perturbation techniques, we construct approximate solutions of this equation in the limit of small n. These approximate solutions reveal simply the consequences of this variable diffusion coefficient, such as the finite propagation speed of interfaces and waiting-time behavior (when interfaces wait a finite time before beginning to move), and allow us to extend previous results for this equation.