Numerical methods for multidisciplinary free boundary problems: numerical analysis and computing

• Autores: Miguel Ángel Piqueras García
• Directores de la Tesis: Lucas Antonio Jódar Sánchez (dir. tes.) , Rafael Company Rossi (dir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universitat Politècnica de València ( España ) en 2018
• Idioma: español
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Juan Carlos Cortés López (presid.) , Fernando Casas Pérez (secret.) , Adrian Muntean (voc.)
• Enlaces
  • Tesis en acceso abierto en: RiuNet
• Resumen

  • Many problems in science and engineering are formulated as partial differential equations (PDEs). If the boundary of the domain where these equations are to be solved is not known a priori, we face "Free-boundary problems", which are characteristic of non-time dependent stationary systems; besides, we have "Moving-boundary problems" in temporal evolution processes, where the border changes over time. The solution to these problems is given by the expression of the dependent variable(s) of PDE(s), together with the function that determines the position of the boundary. Since the analytical solution of this type of problems is lacked in most cases, it is necessary to resort to numerical methods that allow an accurate enough solution to be obtained, and which also maintain the qualitative properties of the solution(s) of the continuous model.

    This work approaches the numerical study of some moving-boundary problems that arise in different disciplines. The applied methodology consists of two successive steps: firstly, the so-called Landau transformation, or "Front-fixing transformation", which is used in the PDE(s) model to maintain the boundary of the domain immobile; later, we proceed to its discretization with a finite difference scheme. Different numerical schemes are obtained and implemented through the MATLAB computational tool. Properties of the scheme and the numerical solution (positivity, stability, consistency, monotonicity, etc.) are studied by an exhaustive numerical analysis.

    The first chapter of this work reports the state of the art of the field under study, justifies the need to adapt numerical methods to this type of problem, and briefly describes the methodology used in our approach.

    Chapter 2 presents a problem in Mathematical Biology that consists in determining over time the evolution of an invasive species population that spreads in a habitat. This problem is modelled by a diffusion-reaction equation linked to a Stefan-type condition. The results of the numerical analysis confirm the existence of a spreading-vanishing dichotomy in the long-term evolution of the population density of the invasive species. In particular, it is possible to determine the value of the coefficient of the Stefan condition that separates the propagation behaviour from extinction.

    Chapters 3 and 4 focus on a problem of Concrete Chemistry with an interest in Civil Engineering: the carbonation of concrete, an evolutionary phenomenon that leads to the progressive degradation of the affected structure and its eventual ruin if preventive measures are not taken. Chapter 3 considers a system of two parabolic type PDEs with two unknowns. For its resolution, the initial and boundary conditions have to be considered together with the Stefan conditions on the carbonation front. The numerical analysis results agree with those obtained in a previous theoretical study. The dynamics of the concentrations and the moving boundary confirm the long-term behaviour of the evolution law for the moving boundary as a "square root of time". Chapter 4 considers a more general model than the previous one, which includes six chemical species, defined in both the carbonated and non-carbonated zones, whose concentrations have to be found.

    Chapter 5 addresses a heat transfer problem that appears in various industrial processes; in this case, the solidification of metals in casting processes, where the solid phase advances and liquid reduces until it is depleted. The moving boundary (the solidification front) separates both phases. Its position in each instant is the variable to be determined together with the temperature profiles in both phases. After suitable transformation, discretization is carried out to obtain a finite difference scheme to be implemented. The process was subdivided into three temporal stages to deal with the singularities associated with the moving boundary position in the initialisation and depletion stages.