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Advanced Fluid Mechanics Coursework

This coursework assignment contains two questions regarding fluid mechanics and partial differential equations. Question 1 involves finding the path that minimizes travel time between two points for a particle moving with a speed dependent on its y coordinate. Question 2 examines the stability of the steady state solution of a nonlinear partial differential equation, using linear analysis and the nonlinear energy method. It requires determining stability thresholds for a parameter in the equation and discussing the steady state solution in a particular parameter range.

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George Hunter-Brown
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91 views1 page

Advanced Fluid Mechanics Coursework

This coursework assignment contains two questions regarding fluid mechanics and partial differential equations. Question 1 involves finding the path that minimizes travel time between two points for a particle moving with a speed dependent on its y coordinate. Question 2 examines the stability of the steady state solution of a nonlinear partial differential equation, using linear analysis and the nonlinear energy method. It requires determining stability thresholds for a parameter in the equation and discussing the steady state solution in a particular parameter range.

Uploaded by

George Hunter-Brown
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

University of Nottingham

School of Mathematical Sciences

G14AFM/MATH4048 Advanced Fluid Mechanics

Assessed Coursework, Spring Semester 2018-19


This coursework contributes 10% towards your mark for the module, and must be entirely your own
effort.
Hand in at a Student Service Centre by 3pm on Friday 8th March, 2019, firmly attached to a
completed coursework submission sheet, which can be downloaded from
[Link]
Submissions up to five working days late will be subject to a penalty of 5% per day.
The maximum mark for each part is given below in square brackets, [∗].

1. A particle moves in the (x, y)-plane with speed v(y).


(a) If the particle travels from the origin to (x1 , y1 ), with x1 > 0 and y1 > 0, on a path that
minimizes its travel time, show that, on this path, v 2 (1 + y 02 ) is constant. [10]
(b) If v ≡ y, show that the path is a circle and find its centre and radius. [25]
(c) If v ≡ y, sketch the path (i) when x1  y1 , (ii) when x1  y1 . [10]
2. Consider the nonlinear partial differential equation for u(x, t),

∂u ∂u ∂ 2u u2 (1−u2 )
+ = + aue ,
∂t ∂x ∂x2
for 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, subject to the boundary conditions u(0, t) = u(1, t) = 0.
1
(a) Show that the steady state u = 0 is linearly unstable for a > π 2 + 4
and linearly stable
for a < π 2 + 41 . [20]
(b) Use the nonlinear energy method to show that:
i. The energy, E = 21 kuk2 , satisfies

dE 1
2 2 2

= − kux k2 + a ue 2 u (1−u ) ,

dt
and hence, based on the results for Example 2 in the Lecture Notes, that the steady
1
state solution u = 0 is nonlinearly stable for a < e− 4 π 2 . [10]
2
1 2 2
ii. By using the calculus of variations to maximise ue 2 u (1−u ) / kux k2 , demonstrate

that this application of the nonlinear energy method shows that the steady state
1
solution u = 0 is nonlinearly stable for a < kπ 2 , where k < e− 4 is a constant whose
approximate value you should determine numerically. Note that this, at first sight,
more sophisticated method produces a weaker bound than the simple method you
used in part (b) (i). [20]
Here are some hints for this part:
• You should find that the ordinary differential equation that you obtain after using
the calculus of variations is nonlinear, and you will find it helpful to study its
properties in the phase plane.
• This ordinary differential equation can be integrated once and used to obtain an
integral that gives the period of limit cycle solutions, which you can evaluate
numerically using, for example, MATLAB.
1
(c) What can you say about the steady state solution u = 0 when e− 4 π 2 < a < π 2 + 14 ? [5]

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