Global existence of a strong solution to the one-dimensional full model for irreversible phase transitions

This paper deals with the analysis of a model proposed by M. Frémond in order to describe some irreversible phase transition phenomena resulting as macroscopic effects of the microscopic movements of molecules. This model consists in a nonlinear system of partial differential equations of parabolic type and several simplifications have been studied recently. Nevertheless, up to now the question of the existence of a solution to the full problem was still open. This paper answers affirmatively to this question in the one-dimensional setting by exploiting a regularization—a priori estimates—passage to the limit procedure.     

Slow motion in the gradient theory of phase transitions via energy and spectrum

We describe some aspects of the Cahn-Hilliard and related equations. In particular we consider the dynamics of almost spherical interfaces and establish that almost spherical interfaces either persist forever or until they reach the boundary, a phenomenon which happens superslowly. Received June 23, 1996 / Accepted October 28, 1996     

Existence of multidimensional phase transitions in a non-isothermal van der Waals fluid

In this paper, we prove the existence of multidimensional subsonic phase transitions in a non-isothermal van der Waals fluid. The argument is based on the result of the existence of travelling waves given in [S.-Y. Zhang, Existence of travelling waves in non-isothermal phase dynamics, J. Hyperbolic Differ. Equ. 4 (3) (2007) 391–400] and the result of multidimensional stability given in [S.-Y. Zhang, Stability of multidimensional subsonic phase transition in a non-isothermal van der Waals fluid, Preprint]. An iteration technique [A. Majda, The existence of multi-dimensional shock fronts, Mem. Amer. Math. Soc. 281 (1983) 1–93] is applied to achieve the result.     

Mathematical analysis of the motion of a rigid body in a compressible Navier–Stokes–Fourier fluid

We study an initial and boundary value problem modelling the motion of a rigid body in a heat conducting gas. The solid is supposed to be a perfect thermal insulator. The gas is described by the compressible Navier–Stokes–Fourier equations, whereas the motion of the solid is governed by Newton's laws. The main results assert the existence of strong solutions, in an ‐ setting, both locally in time and globally in time for small data. The proof is essentially using the maximal regularity property of associated linear systems. This property is checked by proving the ‐sectoriality of the corresponding operators, which in turn is obtained by a perturbation method.     

Unsteady motion of a spherical bubble in a complex fluid: Mathematical modelling and simulation

The nonlinear response of an oscillatory bubble in a complex fluid is studied. The bubble is immersed in a Newtonian liquid, which may have a dilute volume fraction of anisotropic additives such as fibers or few ppm of macromolecules. The constitutive equation for the fluid is based on a Maxwell model with an extensional viscosity for the viscous contribution. The model is considered new in the study of bubble dynamics in complex fluids. The numerical computation solves a system of three first order ordinary differential equations, including the one associated with the solution of the convolution integral, using a fifth order Runge–Kutta scheme with appropriated time steps. Asymptotic solutions of governing equation are developed for small values of the pressure forcing amplitude and for small values of the elastic parameter. A study of the bubble collapse radius is also presented. We compare the results predicted by our model with other model in the literature and a good agreement is observed. The calculated asymptotic solutions are also used to test the results of the numerical simulations. In addition, the orientation of the additives is considered. The angular probability density function is assumed to be a normal distribution. The results show that the model based on the fully aligned additives with the radial direction overestimates the tendency of the additives to stabilize the bubble motion, since the effect of extensional viscosity occurs due to the particle resistance to the movement throughout its longitudinal direction.     

A two-gradient approach for phase transitions in thin films

Motivated by solid-solid phase transitions in elastic thin films, we perform a Γ-convergence analysis for a singularly perturbed energy related to second order phase transitions in a domain of vanishing thickness. Under a two-wells assumption, we derive a sharp interface model with an interfacial energy depending on the asymptotic ratio between the characteristic length scale of the phase transition and the thickness of the film. In each case, the interfacial energy is determined by an explicit optimal profile problem. This asymptotic problem entails a nontrivial dependance on the thickness direction when the phase transition is created at the same rate as the thin film, while it shows a separation of scales if the thin film is created at a faster rate than the phase transition. The last regime, when the phase transition is created at a faster rate than the thin film, is more involved. Depending on growth conditions of the potential and the compatibility of the two phases, we either obtain a sharp interface model with scale separation, or a trivial situation driven by rigidity effects.     

Generalized motion by mean curvature with Neumann conditions and the Allen-Cahn model for phase transitions

We study asharpinterface model for phase transitions which incorporates the interaction of the phase boundaries with the walls of a container Ω. In this model, the interfaces move by their mean curvature and are normal to δΩ. We first establish local-in-time existence and uniqueness of smooth solutions for the mean curvature equation with a normal contact angle condition. We then discuss global solutions by interpreting the equation and the boundary condition in a weak (viscosity) sense. Finally, we investigate the relation of the aforementioned model with atransitionlayer model. We prove that if Ω isconvex, the transition-layer solutions converge to the sharp-interface solutions as the thickness of the layer tends to zero. We conclude with a discussion of the difficulties that arise in establishing this result in nonconvex domains. Communicated by David Kinderlehrer     

A system of evolution equations for non-isothermal phase transitions

We propose and study a system of evolution equations. This is an abstract formulation of problems arising in non-isothermal phase transitions. We consider time-dependent constraints on the unknown functions. Thus the problem yields a system of parabolic variational inequalities. We prove the existence of a solution in a general framework, and then apply the abstract result to some models of phase transitions.     

Asymptotic analysis of a second-order singular perturbation model for phase transitions

We study the asymptotic behavior, as ${\varepsilon}$ tends to zero, of the functionals ${F^k_\varepsilon}$ introduced by Coleman and Mizel in the theory of nonlinear second-order materials; i.e., $$F^k_\varepsilon(u):=\int\limits_{I} \left(\frac{W(u)}{\varepsilon}-k\,\varepsilon\,(u')^2+\varepsilon^3(u'')^2\right)\,dx,\quad u\in W^{2,2}(I),$$ where k?>?0 and ${W:\mathbb{R}\to[0,+\infty)}$ is a double-well potential with two potential wells of level zero at ${a,b\in\mathbb{R}}$ . By proving a new nonlinear interpolation inequality, we show that there exists a positive constant k ₀ such that, for k?<?k ₀, and for a class of potentials W, ${(F^k_\varepsilon)}$ ??(L ¹)-converges to $$F^k(u):={\bf m}_k \, \#(S(u)),\quad u\in BV(I;\{a,b\}),$$ where m _k is a constant depending on W and k. Moreover, in the special case of the classical potential ${W(s)=\frac{(s^2-1)^2}{2}}$ , we provide an upper bound on the values of k such that the minimizers of ${F_\varepsilon^k}$ cannot develop oscillations on some fine scale and a lower bound on the values for which oscillations occur, the latter improving a previous estimate by Mizel, Peletier and Troy.     

Geometry of quasiminimal phase transitions

We consider the quasiminima of the energy functional

Computation of dynamical phase transitions in solids

This paper deals with the dynamics of phase boundaries in a nonlinear elastic two-phase material. We consider the elasticity system in 1D and the equations of anti-plane shear motion in 2D, where effects of viscosity and capillarity are neglected. These first-order conservation laws allow to represent phase boundaries as shock-like sharp interfaces. However, in contrast to what is known for homogeneous materials, the entropy inequality does not select a unique solution, and an additional criterion, the so-called kinetic relation, is required.Based on a scheme introduced by Hou, Rosakis and LeFloch [T. Hou, Ph. Rosakis, P.G. LeFloch, A level-set approach to the computation of twinning and phase-transition dynamics, J. Comput. Phys. 150 (1999) 302–331] we focus on the numerical solution of a specific model system. Using a level-set technique to enforce the kinetic relation on the discrete level leads to a reformulation of the original system in the form of a system of conservation laws coupled to a Hamilton–Jacobi equation for each phase boundary. The numerical method for the reformulated system is constructed for unstructured meshes (in 2D), and a self-adaptive algorithm is introduced.In the 1D-case we show that the reformulated system has a solution that corresponds to exact dynamical phase boundaries of the elasticity system which obey the kinetic relation. To validate the method in 2D, we present computations on the interaction of a plane wave with a phase boundary. The efficiency of the adaptation mechanism is demonstrated by an example showing the development of microstructures by twinning.     

Evolution of phase transitions in methane hydrate

We consider a simplified model of methane hydrates which we cast as a nonlinear evolution problem. For its well-posedness we extend the existing theory to cover the case in which the problem involves a measurable family of graphs. We represent the nonlinearity as a subgradient and prove a useful comparison principle, thus optimal regularity results follow. For the numerical solution we apply a fully implicit scheme without regularization and use the semismooth Newton algorithm for a solver, and the graph is realized as a complementarity constraint (CC). The algorithm is very robust and we extend it to define an easy and superlinearly convergent fully implicit scheme for the Stefan problem and other multivalued examples.     

A mathematical model for the phase transitions in eutectoid carbon steel

A mathematical model for the austenite-pearlite-martensite phasechange in eutectoid carbon steel is presented. The model isbased on Scheil's additivity rule and the Koistinen-Marburgerformula. Existence and uniqueness results are established. Toconfirm the validity of the model, the Jominy end quench testhas been simulated numerically for the carbon steels C 1080and C 100 W1. The results are in good agreement with measurements.