Mathematical and numerical analysis of a simplified time-dependent viscoelastic flow

A time-dependent model corresponding to an Oldroyd-B viscoelastic fluid is considered, the convective terms being disregarded. Global existence in time is proved in Banach spaces provided the data are small enough, using the implicit function theorem and a maximum regularity property for a three fields Stokes problem. A finite element discretization in space is then proposed. Existence of the numerical solution is proved for small data, so as a priori error estimates, using again an implicit function theorem. Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Fellowship PBEL2–114311.     

Possible spectroscopic manifestation of the angular group induced bond alteration (AGIBA) effect in toluene

The most obvious consequence of the concept of aromaticity is the common confidence that in aromatic compounds, bond lengths do not alternate and are between typical to the single and double ones. However, in 1994, performing crystal structure investigations of substituted pyridines and their salts, Krygowski and co‐workers have discovered a very surprising angular group induced bond alteration (AGIBA) effect: It appears that some angular substituents, like methoxy or nitrozo groups, can induce bond alternation in aromatic rings. Crystal studies do not allow one to operate with liquids that are more common in organic chemistry. This paper presents the first possible evidence of spectroscopic manifestations of the AGIBA effect. Raman spectra of the liquid toluene are analyzed. It is found that instead of being single, the line corresponding to the ring breathing vibrations is clearly split by 1.0–1.4 cm^?1, thus indicating the presence of two (cis‐ and trans‐) AGIBA isomers. The energy difference between these isomers estimated in temperature dependent Raman studies is found equal to 6.68 kJ mol^?1. The low‐wavenumber line therefore corresponds to the cis‐AGIBA isomer and the high‐wavenumber line to the trans‐AGIBA isomer stabilized by the AGIBA effect. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On‐line Determination of Particle Size Distributions in Flowing Dispersions

Emulsions are of great importance to industry. They are involved in many engineering operations, including chemical reactions, extraction, emulsification and suspension polymerization, etc. However, an important problem for these processes is how to control the size distribution of the dispersed phase. Indeed, off‐line analysis of the emulsion may generate uncertainties due to sampling and dilution of the product, which are likely to change the dispersion state and physico‐chemical properties. In this work, an on‐line optical method is proposed to characterize dispersed media in real flowing conditions. This method is based on the time‐analysis of back‐scattered light fluctuations. The present paper deals with the development of this method and its application to dispersions of alumina in water. The results obtained with the on‐line optical method are compared with those acquired by classical laser light scattering and microscopy.     

Finite element computations of two-dimensional arterial flow in the presence of a transverse magnetic field

A finite element solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for steady flow under the magnetic effect through a double-branched two-dimensional section of a three-dimensional model of the canine aorta is discussed. The numerical scheme involves transforming the physical co-ordinates to a curvilinear boundary-fitted co-ordinate system. The shear stress at the wall is calculated for a Reynolds number of 1000 with the branch-to-main aortic flow rate ratio as a parameter. The results are compared with earlier works involving experimental data and found to be in reasonable qualitative agreement. The steady flow, shear stress and branch flow under the effect of a magnetic field have been discussed in detail.     

热传导型半导体瞬态问题特征变网格有限元法及其分析

热传导型半导体器件的瞬时状态由四个方程的非线性偏微分方程组的初边值问题所决定，其中电子位势方程是椭圆型的，电子和空穴浓度方程是对流扩散型的，温度方程为热传导型的。本文提出解这类问题的特征变网格有限元法，并进行了理论分析，在一定条件下，得到了某种意义下的最佳L^2误差估计结果。     

Global and exploding solutions in a model of self-gravitating systems

We study asymptotic properties of solutions to an extension to arbitrary dimensions of the astrophysical model proposed by Chavanis et al. to explain phenomena of gravitational collapse in clouds of self-gravitating particles. In particular, we show that in the two-dimensional case the solutions can be continued to global ones, while in three space dimensions large data of negative energy blow up in a finite time. Relations between isothermal, Streater's energy-transport and the present models are also studied.     

热动力学问题的数值计算

 对含热传导的流体动力学方程组，用有限元方法进行数值求解。采用傅里叶热传导计算热流、用热流连续条件计算单元间接触面的温度、用三角形传热法计算体单元表面的热流，考虑各向同性弹塑性流体材料模型、三项式物态方程和导热系数与状态的相关性，给出了傅里叶热传导、接触传热、热应力应变效应、以及混合物冲击压缩特性等算例。对混合物冲击温度的数值模拟表明，小颗粒混合物在冲击压缩过程中，颗粒间的温度有差别、稍有波动，并随时间趋向于一致，以至热平衡。     

On the Patterson–Sullivan Measure for Geometrically Finite Groups Acting on Complex or Quaternionic Hyperbolic Space

The goal of this paper is to provide a tool, the Global Measure Formula, that will facilitate the study of the limit set of discrete geometrically finite groups of isometries of the rank one symmetric spaces. We consider the shadow of a ball from a fixed reference point onto the boundary, and prove a formula that describes the measure of the shadow in terms of the center of the shadowed ball, generalizing a result from real hyperbolic geometry.     

Fluorescence line narrowed spectra of Zn and metal-free cytochrome c

Fluorescence line narrowing (FLN) spectroscopy was used to study the role of the polypeptide chain in influencing the spectrum of Zn-substituted cytochrome c (Zn cyt c) and metal-free cyt c (porphyrin cyt c). For both derivatives the spectra show characteristics of relaxed fluorescence from an inhomogeneously broadened sample. Zero phonon lines and phonon wings can be clearly distinguished, and vibrational frequencies of the ground and excited states were identified. The inhomogeneous distribution width for porphyrin cyt c is slightly wider than that of Zn cyt c and a second population of molecules was apparent in the porphyrin cyt c. The phonon coupling was greater for Zn cyt c than for porphyrin cyt c, which may be due to the extra coupling to the polypeptide chain by metal ligation.This work has been done in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.     

Sparse-grid finite-volume multigrid for 3D-problems

We introduce a multigrid algorithm for the solution of a second order elliptic equation in three dimensions. For the approximation of the solution we use a partially ordered hierarchy of finite-volume discretisations. We show that there is a relation with semicoarsening and approximation by more-dimensional Haar wavelets. By taking a proper subset of all possible meshes in the hierarchy, a sparse grid finite-volume discretisation can be constructed.The multigrid algorithm consists of a simple damped point-Jacobi relaxation as the smoothing procedure, while the coarse grid correction is made by interpolation from several coarser grid levels.The combination of sparse grids and multigrid with semi-coarsening leads to a relatively small number of degrees of freedom,N, to obtain an accurate approximation, together with anO(N) method for the solution. The algorithm is symmetric with respect to the three coordinate directions and it is fit for combination with adaptive techniques.To analyse the convergence of the multigrid algorithm we develop the necessary Fourier analysis tools. All techniques, designed for 3D-problems, can also be applied for the 2D case, and — for simplicity — we apply the tools to study the convergence behaviour for the anisotropic Poisson equation for this 2D case.