Partial Differential Equations Commons^™

Eigenvalue Bound Preservation: Numerical Experiments On The 2d Q-Tensor Flow, Marcel C. Deguzman

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

We study the evolution of nematic liquid crystals in two dimensions using the Q-tensor model, a continuum framework that describes the orientational order of rod-like molecules via symmetric, traceless matrices. Focusing on the Landau-de Gennes energy and its associated gradient flow, we consider a reduced two-dimensional formulation in which the Q-tensor is fully described by two scalar functions. This reduction simplifies the system to a nonlinear, coupled PDE for the scalars, while preserving essential physical features. A key question is whether the eigenvalues of the Q-tensor remain within the physically admissible range under this flow. Building on a theoretical result …

An Introduction To The Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation And Methods To Solve It, Vu Giang, Alex Gnech

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

The Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation is a linear elliptic PDE that describes quantum-mechanical systems. Its significance in the science of submicroscopic phenomena, particularly quantum mechanics, is as central as Newton’s laws of motion are to classical mechanics. This study uses various methods, including novel neural networks and finite difference schemes, to solve the one-dimensional two-body equation.

Asymptotic Expansion Of A Maier-Saupe Type Potential Near The Nematic-Isotropic Transition Point In Liquid Crystals, Ryan P. Oneill, Giangvuthanh Nguyen, Xiang Xu

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

In this paper we study a Maier-Saupe type bulk potential (Maier & Saupe, 1959) in the Landau-de Gennes free energy in the Q-tensor theory modeling nematic liquid crystal configurations. This potential was originally introduced in Katriel et al. (1986), which is considered as a natural enforcement of a physical constraint on the eigenvalues of symmetric, traceless Q-tensors. More specifically, we present a rigorous derivation of the asymptotic expansion of this singular potential near the nematic-isotropic transition point up to the 4-th order.

A Spatially And Temporally Second Order Method For Solving Parabolic Interface Problems, Kumudu Gamage, Yan Peng

College of Sciences Posters

Parabolic interface problems have many applications in physics and biology, such as hyperthermia treatment of cancer, underground water flow, and food engineering. Here we present an algorithm for solving two-dimensional parabolic interface problems where the coefficient and the forcing term have a discontinuity across the interface. The Crank-Nicolson scheme is used for time discretization, and the direct immersed interface method is used for spatial discretization. The proposed method is second order in both space and time for both solution and gradients in maximum norm.

A Direct Method For Modeling And Simulations Of Elliptic And Parabolic Interface Problems, Kumudu Gamage, Yan Peng

College of Sciences Posters

Interface problems have many applications in fluid dynamics, molecular biology, electromagnetism, material science, heat distribution in engines, and hyperthermia treatment of cancer. Mathematically, interface problems commonly lead to partial differential equations (PDE) whose in- put data are discontinuous or singular across the interfaces in the solution domain. Many standard numerical methods designed for smooth solutions poorly work for interface problems as solutions of the interface problems are mostly non-smoothness or discontinuous. Moving interface problems depends on the accuracy of the gradient of the solution at the interface. Therefore, it became essential to derive a method for interface problems that gives …

A Wasserstein Gradient Flow Approach To Poisson-Nernst-Planck Equations, David Kinderlehrer, Leinard Monsaingeon, Xiang Xu

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

The Poisson-Nernst-Planck system of equations used to model ionic transport is interpreted as a gradient flow for the Wasserstein distance and a free energy in the space of probability measures with finite second moment. A variational scheme is then set up and is the starting point of the construction of global weak solutions in a unified framework for the cases of both linear and non-linear diffusion. The proof of the main results relies on the derivation of additional estimates based on the flow interchange technique developed by Matthes et al. in [D. Matthes, R.J. McCann and G. Savare, Commun. Partial …

Lattice Quantum Algorithm For The Schrodinger Wave Equation In 2+1 Dimensions With A Demonstration By Modeling Soliton Instabilities, Jeffrey Yepez, George Vahala, Linda L. Vahala

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A lattice-based quantum algorithm is presented to model the non-linear Schrödinger-like equations in 2 + 1 dimensions. In this lattice-based model, using only 2 qubits per node, a sequence of unitary collide (qubit-qubit interaction) and stream (qubit translation) operators locally evolve a discrete field of probability amplitudes that in the long-wavelength limit accurately approximates a non-relativistic scalar wave function. The collision operator locally entangles pairs of qubits followed by a streaming operator that spreads the entanglement throughout the two dimensional lattice. The quantum algorithmic scheme employs a non-linear potential that is proportional to the moduli square of the wave function. …

Dynamics And Control Of A Three Dimensional Gantry Crane With Cable Flexibility, Uchendu H. Eke

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The control of payload swing in industrial gantry cranes is a topic of widespread interest. In this thesis, the control of the swing of a payload idealized by a point mass assumption is investigated utilizing s, compact robotics matrix/vector representation of the dynamical model. In this form, this particular system can be viewed as sn underactuated manipulator with equal numbers of active and passive degrees of freedom. The full three dimensional model is developed and linearized by modelling the cable as a single thread of fiexible wire and the degree of dynamic coupling between the active and passive coordinates is …

Parallel Newton-Krylov-Schwarz Solvers For The Full Potential Flow Equation, Jie Zhang

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Newton-Krylov-Schwarz methods are increasingly applied in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). We develop a parallel analysis code based on this method for the full potential flow model. The full potential model consists of a single nonlinear second-order partial differential equation of mixed type (elliptic/hyperbolic), which we solve as a steady boundary-value problem.

We use a nine-point finite-difference stencil to discretize the equation. A Newtonlike linearization and correction method is used to solve the resulting set of nonlinear algebraic equations. To solve the inner linear equations, we employ a Krylov space method. Preconditioners are used to improve the convergence rate. In order …

Wing-Section Optimization For Supersonic Viscous Flow, Cem Cihan Item

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The recent interest in the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) has resulted in renewed research studies of optimized supersonic cruise transport configurations. Incorporation of flow viscosity effects in the design process of such a supersonic wing is currently under investigation. This may lead to more accurate problem formulations and, in tum, greater aerodynamic efficiency than can be obtained by the traditional, inviscid, linear theories. In this context, for a design code to be a candidate for a complex optimization problem, such as three-dimensional viscous supersonic wing design, it should be validated using simpler building-block shapes.

To optimize the shape of …

Implementation Of A Multiblock Sensitivity Analysis Method In Numerical Aerodynamic Shape Optimization, James Matthew Lacasse

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A multiblock sensitivity analysis method is applied in a numerical aerodynamic shape optimization technique. The Sensitivity Analysis Domain Decomposition (SADD) scheme which is implemented in this study was developed to reduce the computer memory requirements resulting from the aerodynamic sensitivity analysis equations, Discrete sensitivity analysis offers the ability to compute quasi-analytical derivatives in a more efficient manner than traditional finite-difference methods, which tend to be computationally expensive and prone to inaccuracies.

The direct optimization procedure couples CFD analysis based on the two-dimensional thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations with a gradient-based numerical optimization technique. The linking mechanism is the sensitivity equation derived from …

A Direct Numerical Simulation Of Vortex Breakdown Induced Tail Buffet, Steven James Massey

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A simulation of tail buffet is presented for a delta wing-vertical tail configuration. Flow conditions are chosen such that the wing primary-vortex cores experience vortex breakdown and the resulting turbulent wake flow impinges on the vertical tail. The dimensions and material properties of the vertical tail are chosen such that the deflections are large enough to insure interaction with the flow, and the natural frequencies are high enough to facilitate a practical computational solution. This multidisciplinary problem is solved sequentially for the fiuid flow, the elastic deformations and the grid displacements. The fluid flow is simulated by time accurately solving …

A Fast Numerical Solution Of Scattering By A Cylinder: Spectral Method For The Boundary Integral Equations, Fang Q. Hu

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

It is known that the exact analytic solutions of wave scattering by a circular cylinder, when they exist, are not in a closed form but in infinite series which converge slowly for high frequency waves. In this paper, a fast numerical solution is presented for the scattering problem in which the boundary integral equations, reformulated from the Helmholtz equation, are solved using a Fourier spectral method. It is shown that the special geometry considered here allows the implementation of the spectral method to be simple and very efficient. The present method differs from previous approaches in that the singularities of …

The Truncated Cauchy Distribution: Estimation Of Parameters And Application To Stock Returns, Paul G. Staneski

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

The problem addressed in this dissertation is the existence and estimation of the parameters of a truncated Cauchy distribution. It is known that when a number of distributions with infinite support are truncated to a finite interval that the maximum likelihood estimator of the scale parameter fails to exist with positive probability. In particular, necessary and sufficient conditions which give rise to instances of non-existence have been found for the exponential (Deemer and Votaw (1955)), gamma (Broeder (1955), Hegde and Dahiya (1989)), Weibull (Mittal and Dahiya (1989)) and normal distribution (Barndorff-Nielsen (1978), Mittal and Dahiya (1987), Hegde and Dahiya (1989)). …

Viscous Modeling And Computation Of Leading-And Trailing-Edge Vortex Cores Of Delta Wings, Balakrishnan Lakshmanan

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A Finite-Difference method is presented for calculating steady quasi-axisymmetric flow of an incompressible fluid at large Reynolds number. Approximations of the boundary-layer type are employed to reduce the Navier-Stokes equations to a pair of non-linear parabolic equations. Along with the governing equations, initial conditions are specified at some upstream cross section and boundary conditions are specified at the axis of symmetry and on the outer bounding surface.

The governing equations are replaced by a set of quasilinear finite-difference equations. The solution is obtained by a marching technique, which proceeds step-by-step in the axial direction. At each axial station, an iterative …