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Fan, Yiyun (2023) Asymptotic Solutions and Numerical Methods for some Free-boundary Problems in Fluid Mechanics. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

Free-boundary problems are encountered in a wide range of applications in fluid mechanics, such as the interaction of a ship with the surface of the ocean, and the failure of a dam. Since the free boundary is unknown and part of the solution, such problems are nonlinear and rarely have analytical solutions. In this thesis, we formulate and solve some free-boundary problems in inviscid fluid mechanics using asymptotic and numerical methods. We construct new asymptotic solutions for the two-fluid dam-break problem and a solid/two-fluid interaction problem with an inclined accelerating plate, and develop the numerical methods based on the finite element method for generic free-boundary problems.

The main outcomes of this research are as follows. The small-time outer asymptotic solutions have a singularity at the intersection point between the interface and the solid boundary for both problems, which can be resolved by rescaling into an inner region. A numerical approach based on the finite element method and Newton’s method is developed to resolve the inner problem of the solid/single fluid inner region problem, which agrees with the results obtained by the boundary integral method in earlier work. Furthermore, we derive a Shape-Newton method as a fast nonlinear numerical solver to solve the generic free-boundary problem with Bernoulli-type boundary conditions on the free surface, which is tested on the problem of flow over a triangular obstacle. The application of this method can be extended to a range of more complicated free-boundary problems in fluid mechanics.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Billingham, John van der Zee, Kris
Keywords:	Free-boundary problems, partial differential operators, fluid mechanics
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA299 Analysis Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA801 Analytic mechanics
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Science > School of Mathematical Sciences
Item ID:	76824
Depositing User:	FAN, YIYUN
Date Deposited:	10 Jan 2024 14:55
Last Modified:	10 Jan 2024 14:55
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/76824

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