We generalize the known collision results for a solid in a 3D compressible Newtonian fluid to compressible non-Newtonian ones, and to Newtonian fluids with temperature-depending viscosities.

In this paper, we look for minimizers of the energy functional for isotropic compressible elasticity taking into consideration the effect of a gravitational field induced by the body itself. We consider two types of problems: the displacement problem in which the outer boundary of the body is subjected to a Dirichlet-type boundary condition, and the one with zero traction on the boundary but with an internal pressure function. For a spherically symmetric body occupying the unit ball $\mathcal {B}\in \mathbb {R}^3$, the minimization is done within the class of radially symmetric deformations. We give conditions for the existence of such minimizers, for satisfaction of the Euler–Lagrange equations, and show that for large displacements or large internal pressures, the minimizer must develop a cavity at the centre. We discuss a numerical scheme for approximating the minimizers for the displacement problem, together with some simulations that show the dependence of the cavity radius and minimum energy on the displacement and mass density of the body.

Mathematical models of polyelectrolyte gels are often simplified by assuming the gel is electrically neutral. The rationale behind this assumption is that the thickness of the electric double layer (EDL) at the free surface of the gel is small compared to the size of the gel. Hence, the thin-EDL limit is taken, in which the thickness of the EDL is set to zero. Despite the widespread use of the thin-EDL limit, the solutions in the EDL are rarely computed and shown to match to the solutions for the electrically neutral bulk. The aims of this paper are to study the structure of the EDL and establish the validity of the thin-EDL limit. The model for the gel accounts for phase separation, which gives rise to diffuse interfaces with a thickness described by the Kuhn length. We show that the solutions in the EDL can only be asymptotically matched to the solutions for an electrically neutral bulk, in general, when the Debye length is much smaller than the Kuhn length. If the Debye length is similar to or larger than the Kuhn length, then phase separation can be initiated in the EDL. This phase separation spreads into the bulk of the gel and gives rise to electrically charged layers with different degrees of swelling. Thus, the thin-EDL limit and the assumption of electroneutrality only generally apply when the Debye length is much smaller than the Kuhn length.

Double-masking may be used to reduce the transmission of a virus. If additionally the masks are compressible, with different permeabilities and behaviour under compression, then it may be possible to design a mask that allows for easy breathing under normal breathing conditions, but is relatively impermeable under coughing or sneezing conditions. Such a mask could be both comfortable to wear and effective. We obtain analytical solutions for the steady-state flow-through behaviour of such a double mask under flow-out conditions. The results show that the reduction in permeability required to produce a relatively impermeable mask under high flux expulsion (sneezing) conditions could be achieved using either a single filter compressible mask or two filters with different poroelastic parameters. The parameters can be more easily adjusted using a double mask. For both single- and double-mask cases, there is an abrupt cut off, whereby through-flux levels reduce from a maximum value to zero as pressure drop levels increase beyond a critical value. Additionally, in the double-mask case, there exists a second steady-state solution for particular parameter ranges. This second solution is unlikely to occur under normal circumstances.

In this paper, we consider the time decay of the solutions to some problems arising in strain gradient thermoelasticity. We restrict to the two-dimensional case, and we assume that two dissipative mechanisms are introduced, the temperature and the mass dissipation. First, we show that this problem is well-posed proving that the operator defining it generates a contractive semigroup of linear operators. Then, assuming that the function involving the coupling terms is elliptic, the exponential decay of the solutions is concluded as well as the analyticity of the solutions. Finally, we describe how to obtain the exponential stability in the case of hyperbolic dissipation.

Understanding the generation of mechanical stress in drying, particle-laden films is important for a wide range of industrial processes. One way to study these stresses is through the cantilever experiment, whereby a thin film is deposited onto the surface of a thin plate that is clamped at one end to a wall. The stresses that are generated in the film during drying are transmitted to the plate and drive bending. Mathematical modelling enables the film stress to be inferred from measurements of the plate deflection. The aim of this paper is to present simplified models of the cantilever experiment that have been derived from the time-dependent equations of continuum mechanics using asymptotic methods. The film is described using nonlinear poroelasticity and the plate using nonlinear elasticity. In contrast to Stoney-like formulae, the simplified models account for films with non-uniform thickness and stress. The film model reduces to a single differential equation that can be solved independently of the plate equations. The plate model reduces to an extended form of the Föppl-von Kármán (FvK) equations that accounts for gradients in the longitudinal traction acting on the plate surface. Consistent boundary conditions for the FvK equations are derived by resolving the Saint-Venant boundary layers at the free edges of the plate. The asymptotically reduced models are in excellent agreement with finite element solutions of the full governing equations. As the Péclet number increases, the time evolution of the plate deflection changes from $t$ to $t^{1/2}$, in agreement with experiments.

In this work, we study a high order derivative in time problem. First, we show that there exists a sequence of elements of the spectrum which tends to infinity and therefore, it is ill posed. Then, we prove the uniqueness of solutions for this problem by adapting the logarithmic arguments to this situation. Finally, the results are applied to the backward in time problem for the generalized linear Burgers’ fluid, a couple of heat conduction problems and a viscoelastic model.

This work, motivated by the rapid developments in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) structures, especially actuators and grippers, analyses the dynamics of a thermo-mechanical system consisting of a horizontal beam joined at one end to a vertical rod. As a result of thermal expansion or vibration of the rod, the other end may come into contact with another part of the MEMS device and that closes an electrical circuit, which is the actuating or switching function of such a beam–rod system. The interaction between the rod's contacting end and the supporting device is described by a normal compliance contact law for the displacements and by an inclusion-type Barber's heat exchange condition for the temperature. The heat-exchange coefficient is a multi-function taking into account the air resistance in the gap when there is no contact and the contact pressure when contact occurs. The model consists of a nonlinear variational inclusion for the temperature coupled with a nonlinear variational equation for the displacements. The existence of a weak solution to the problem is proved by using the Galerkin method, a regularization of Barber's condition with the Yosida approximation of a maximal monotone operator, and a priori estimates.

If a body enters a viscous-inviscid fluid layer near a wall, then significant effects can be felt from the presence of incident vorticity, viscous forces and nonlinear forces. The focus here is on the response in the outer edge of such a wall layer. Nonlinear two-dimensional unsteady behaviour is examined through modelling, computation and analysis applied for a thin body travelling streamwise upstream or downstream or staying still relative to the wall. The wall layer with its balance between inviscid and viscous effects interacts freely with the body movement, causing relatively high magnitudes of pressure on top of the body and nonlinear responses in the gap between the body and the wall. The study finds explicit solutions for the motion of the body, separation of the flow arising near the wall and possible instabilities occurring over the length scale of any short body.

Steady two-dimensional fluid flow over an obstacle is solved using complex variable methods. We consider the cases of rectangular obstacles, such as large boulders, submerged in a potential flow. These may arise in geophysics, marine and civil engineering. Our models are applicable to initiation of motion that may result in subsequent transport. The local flow depends on the obstacle shape, slowing down in confining corners and speeding up in expanding corners. The flow generates hydrodynamic forces, drag and lift, and their associated moments, which differ around each face. Our model replaces the need for ill-defined drag and lift coefficients with geometry-dependent functions. We predict smaller flow velocities to initiate motion. We show how a joint-bound boulder can be transported against gravity, and analyse the influence of a wake region behind an isolated boulder.

The immersed boundary method is a widely used mixed Eulerian/Lagrangian framework for simulating the motion of elastic structures immersed in viscous fluids. In this work, we consider a poroelastic immersed boundary method in which a fluid permeates a porous, elastic structure of negligible volume fraction, and extend this method to include stress relaxation of the material. The porous viscoelastic method presented here is validated for a prescribed oscillatory shear and for an expansion driven by the motion at the boundary of a circular material by comparing numerical solutions to an analytical solution of the Maxwell model for viscoelasticity. Finally, an application of the modelling framework to cell biology is provided: passage of a cell through a microfluidic channel. We demonstrate that the rheology of the cell cytoplasm is important for capturing the transit time through a narrow channel in the presence of a pressure drop in the extracellular fluid.

In this work, a robust, consistent, and coherent approach, termed as Modified Ghost Method (MGM), is developed to deal with the multi-medium interaction with elastic-plastic solid. This approach is simple to implement and keeps the solvers intact, and can handle multi-medium problems which involve various media including gas, liquid and solid. The MGM is first validated by two-dimensional (2D) cases and then is applied to study the interaction between elastic-plastic solid structure and the underwater explosion. The development of the wave system is described and analyzed. Furthermore, two kinds of complex solid structure subjected to underwater explosion are simulated. Finally, a complex solid structure immersed in water subjected to underwater explosion is simulated and analyzed. The numerical experiments show the viability, effectiveness and versatility of the proposed method which is able to accurately predict the wave pattern at various interfaces.

For 2D elastic-plastic flows with the hypo-elastic constitutive model and von Mises’ yielding condition, the non-conservative character of the hypo-elastic constitutive model and the von Mises’ yielding condition make the construction of the solution to the Riemann problem a challenging task. In this paper, we first analyze the wave structure of the Riemann problem and develop accordingly a Four-Rarefaction wave approximate Riemann Solver with Elastic waves (FRRSE). In the construction of FRRSE one needs to use an iterative method. A direct iteration procedure for four variables is complex and computationally expensive. In order to simplify the solution procedure we develop an iteration based on two nested iterations upon two variables, and our iteration method is simple in implementation and efficient. Based on FRRSE as a building block, we propose a 2nd-order cell-centered Lagrangian numerical scheme. Numerical results with smooth solutions show that the scheme is of second-order accuracy. Moreover, a number of numerical experiments with shock and rarefaction waves demonstrate the scheme is essentially non-oscillatory and appears to be convergent. For shock waves the present scheme has comparable accuracy to that of the scheme developed by Maire et al., while it is more accurate in resolving rarefaction waves.

We present a moving-least-square immersed boundary method for solving viscous incompressible flow involving deformable and rigid boundaries on a uniform Cartesian grid. For rigid boundaries, noslip conditions at the rigid interfaces are enforced using the immersed-boundary direct-forcing method. We propose a reconstruction approach that utilizes moving least squares (MLS) method to reconstruct the velocity at the forcing points in the vicinity of the rigid boundaries. For deformable boundaries, MLS method is employed to construct the interpolation and distribution operators for the immersed boundary points in the vicinity of the rigid boundaries instead of using discrete delta functions. The MLS approach allows us to avoid distributing the Lagrangian forces into the solid domains as well as to avoid using the velocity of points inside the solid domains to compute the velocity of the deformable boundaries. The present numerical technique has been validated by several examples including a Poiseuille flow in a tube, deformations of elastic capsules in shear flow and dynamics of red-blood cell in microfluidic devices.

Many biological settings involve complex fluids that have non-Newtonian mechanical responses that arise from suspended microstructures. In contrast, Newtonian fluids are liquids or mixtures of a simple molecular structure that exhibit a linear relationship between the shear stress and the rate of deformation. In modeling complex fluids, the extra stress from the non-Newtonian contribution must be included in the governing equations.

In this study we compare Lagrangian mesh and Oldroyd-B formulations of fluid-structure interaction in an immersed boundary framework. The start-up phase of planar Poiseuille flow between two parallel plates is used as a test case for the fluid models. For Newtonian and Oldroyd-B fluids there exist analytical solutions which are used in the comparison of simulation and theoretical results. The Lagrangian mesh results are compared with Oldroyd-B using comparable parameters. A regridding algorithm is introduced for the Lagrangian mesh model. We show that the Lagrangian mesh model simulations with regridding produce results in close agreement with the Oldfoyd-B model.

We analyze in this paper the pressure splitting scheme of a partitioned semi-implicit coupling algorithm for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulation. The semi-implicit coupling algorithm is developed on the ground of the artificial compressibility characteristic-based split (AC-CBS) scheme that serves not only for the fluid subsystem but also for the global FSI system. As the dual-time stepping procedure recommended for quasi-incompressible flows is incorporated into the implicit coupling stage, the fluctuating pressure may be unusually susceptible to the AC coefficient. Moreover, it is not trivial to devise an optimal AC formulation for pressure estimation. Instead, we consider a stabilized second-order pressure splitting scheme in the AC-CBS-based partitioned semi-implicit coupling algorithm. Computer simulation of a benchmark FSI experiment demonstrates that good agreement is exposed between the available and present data.

How to effectively simulate the interaction between fluid and solid elements of different sizes remains to be challenging. The discrete element method (DEM) has been used to deal with the interactions between solid elements of various shapes and sizes, while the material point method (MPM) has been developed to handle the multiphase (solid-liquid-gas) interactions involving failure evolution. A combined MPM-DEM procedure is proposed to take advantage of both methods so that the interaction between solid elements and fluid particles in a container could be better simulated. In the proposed procedure, large solid elements are discretized by the DEM, while the fluid motion is computed using the MPM. The contact forces between solid elements and rigid walls are calculated using the DEM. The interaction between solid elements and fluid particles are calculated via an interfacial scheme within the MPM framework. With a focus on the boundary condition effect, the proposed procedure is illustrated by representative examples, which demonstrates its potential for a certain type of engineering problems.

We consider a mathematical model which describes the quasi-static evolution of a thermo-viscoelastic linear body with taking into account the effects of internal forces which generate a non linear viscous dissipative function. We derive a variational formulation of the system of equilibrium equation and energy equation. An existence result of weak solutions was obtained in an appropriate function space.

The equation of state (EOS) plays a crucial role in hyperbolic conservation laws for the compressible fluid. Whereas, the solid constitutive model with elastic-plastic phase transition makes the analysis of the solid Riemann problem more difficult. In this paper, one-dimensional elastic-perfectly plastic solid Riemann problem is investigated and its exact Riemann solver is proposed. Different from previous works treating the elastic and plastic phases integrally, we resolve the elastic wave and plastic wave separately to understand the complicate nonlinear waves within the solid and then assemble them together to construct the exact Riemann solver for the elastic-perfectly plastic solid. After that, the exact solid Riemann solver is associated with the fluid Riemann solver to decouple the fluid-solid multi-material interaction. Numerical tests, including gas-solid, water-solid high-speed impact problems are simulated by utilizing the modified ghost fluid method (MGFM).

In this paper, we propose a new partitioned approach to compute fluid-structure interaction (FSI) by extending the original direct-forcing technique and integrating it with the immersed boundary method. The fluid and structural equations are calculated separately via their respective disciplinary algorithms, with the fluid motion solved by the immersed boundary method on a uniform Cartesian mesh and the structural motion solved by a finite element method, and their solution data only communicate at the fluid-structure interface. This computational framework is capable of handling FSI problems with sophisticated structures described by detailed constitutive laws. The proposed methods are thoroughly tested through numerical simulations involving viscous fluid flow interacting with rigid, elastic solid, and elastic thin-walled structures.