scholarly journals A polymer–solvent model of biofilm growth

Author(s):  
H. F. Winstanley ◽  
M. Chapwanya ◽  
M. J. McGuinness ◽  
A. C. Fowler

We provide and analyse a model for the growth of bacterial biofilms based on the concept of an extracellular polymeric substance as a polymer solution, whose viscoelastic rheology is described by the classical Flory–Huggins theory. We show that one-dimensional solutions exist, which take the form at large times of travelling waves, and we characterize their form and speed in terms of the describing parameters of the problem. Numerical solutions of the time-dependent problem converge to the travelling wave solutions.

2018 ◽  
Vol 856 ◽  
pp. 984-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Oliveras ◽  
C. W. Curtis

In this work, we study the nonlinear travelling waves in density stratified fluids with piecewise-linear shear currents. Beginning with the formulation of the water-wave problem due to Ablowitz et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 562, 2006, pp. 313–343), we extend the work of Ashton & Fokas (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 689, 2011, pp. 129–148) and Haut & Ablowitz (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 631, 2009, pp. 375–396) to examine the interface between two fluids of differing densities and varying linear shear. We derive a systems of equations depending only on variables at the interface, and numerically solve for periodic travelling wave solutions using numerical continuation. Here, we consider only branches which bifurcate from solutions where there is no slip in the tangential velocity at the interface for the trivial flow. The spectral stability of these solutions is then determined using a numerical Fourier–Floquet technique. We find that the strength of the linear shear in each fluid impacts the stability of the corresponding travelling wave solutions. Specifically, opposing shears may amplify or suppress instabilities.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Aiyong Chen ◽  
Yong Ding ◽  
Wentao Huang

The qualitative theory of differential equations is applied to the osmosis K(2, 2) equation. The parametric conditions of existence of the smooth periodic travelling wave solutions are given. We show that the solution map is not uniformly continuous by using the theory of Himonas and Misiolek. The proof relies on a construction of smooth periodic travelling waves with small amplitude.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valaire Yatat ◽  
Yves Dumont

This paper deals with the problem of travelling wave solutions in a scalar impulsive FKPP-like equation. It is a first step of a more general study that aims to address existence of travelling wave solutions for systems of impulsive reaction-diffusion equations that model ecological systems dynamics such as fire-prone savannas. Using results on scalar recursion equations, we show existence of populated vs. extinction travelling waves invasion and compute an explicit expression of their spreading speed (characterized as the minimal speed of such travelling waves). In particular, we find that the spreading speed explicitly depends on the time between two successive impulses. In addition, we carry out a comparison with the case of time-continuous events. We also show that depending on the time between two successive impulses, the spreading speed with pulse events could be lower, equal or greater than the spreading speed in the case of time-continuous events. Finally, we apply our results to a model of fire-prone grasslands and show that pulse fires event may slow down the grassland vs. bare soil invasion speed.


Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 950 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Luz Gandarias ◽  
María Rosa Durán ◽  
Chaudry Masood Khalique

In this article, we investigate two types of double dispersion equations in two different dimensions, which arise in several physical applications. Double dispersion equations are derived to describe long nonlinear wave evolution in a thin hyperelastic rod. Firstly, we obtain conservation laws for both these equations. To do this, we employ the multiplier method, which is an efficient method to derive conservation laws as it does not require the PDEs to admit a variational principle. Secondly, we obtain travelling waves and line travelling waves for these two equations. In this process, the conservation laws are used to obtain a triple reduction. Finally, a line soliton solution is found for the double dispersion equation in two dimensions.


Author(s):  
Shangbing Ai ◽  
Wenzhang Huang

The existence and uniqueness of travelling-wave solutions is investigated for a system of two reaction–diffusion equations where one diffusion constant vanishes. The system arises in population dynamics and epidemiology. Travelling-wave solutions satisfy a three-dimensional system about (u, u′, ν), whose equilibria lie on the u-axis. Our main result shows that, given any wave speed c > 0, the unstable manifold at any point (a, 0, 0) on the u-axis, where a ∈ (0, γ) and γ is a positive number, provides a travelling-wave solution connecting another point (b, 0, 0) on the u-axis, where b:= b(a) ∈ (γ, ∞), and furthermore, b(·): (0, γ) → (γ, ∞) is continuous and bijective


2014 ◽  
Vol 745 ◽  
pp. 682-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Camassa ◽  
H. Reed Ogrosky ◽  
Jeffrey Olander

AbstractThe gravity-driven flow of a viscous liquid film coating the inside of a tube is studied both theoretically and experimentally. As the film moves downward, small perturbations to the free surface grow due to surface tension effects and can form liquid plugs. A first-principles strongly nonlinear model based on long-wave asymptotics is developed to provide simplified governing equations for the motion of the film flow. Linear stability analysis on the basic solution of the model predicts the speed and wavelength of the most unstable mode, and whether the film is convectively or absolutely unstable. These results are found to be in remarkable agreement with the experiments. The model is also solved numerically to follow the time evolution of instabilities. For relatively thin films, these instabilities saturate as a series of small-amplitude travelling waves, while thicker films lead to solutions whose amplitude becomes large enough for the liquid surface to approach the centre of the tube in finite time, suggesting liquid plug formation. Next, the model’s periodic travelling wave solutions are determined by a continuation algorithm using the results from the time evolution code as initial seed. It is found that bifurcation branches for these solutions exist, and the critical turning points where branches merge determine film mean thicknesses beyond which no travelling wave solutions exist. These critical thickness values are in good agreement with those for liquid plug formations determined experimentally and numerically by the time-evolution code.


Author(s):  
Teresa Faria ◽  
Wenzhang Huang ◽  
Jianhong Wu

We develop a new approach to obtain the existence of travelling wave solutions for reaction–diffusion equations with delayed non-local response. The approach is based on an abstract formulation of the wave profile as a solution of an operational equation in a certain Banach space, coupled with an index formula of the associated Fredholm operator and some careful estimation of the nonlinear perturbation. The general result relates the existence of travelling wave solutions to the existence of heteroclinic connecting orbits of a corresponding functional differential equation, and this result is illustrated by an application to a model describing the population growth when the species has two age classes and the diffusion of the individual during the maturation process leads to an interesting non-local and delayed response for the matured population.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (84) ◽  
pp. 20130188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamidreza Marvi ◽  
Jacob Bridges ◽  
David L. Hu

In rectilinear locomotion, snakes propel themselves using unidirectional travelling waves of muscular contraction, in a style similar to earthworms. In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we film rectilinear locomotion of three species of snakes, including red-tailed boa constrictors, Dumeril's boas and Gaboon vipers. The kinematics of a snake's extension–contraction travelling wave are characterized by wave frequency, amplitude and speed. We find wave frequency increases with increasing body size, an opposite trend than that for legged animals. We predict body speed with 73–97% accuracy using a mathematical model of a one-dimensional n -linked crawler that uses friction as the dominant propulsive force. We apply our model to show snakes have optimal wave frequencies: higher values increase Froude number causing the snake to slip; smaller values decrease thrust and so body speed. Other choices of kinematic variables, such as wave amplitude, are suboptimal and appear to be limited by anatomical constraints. Our model also shows that local body lifting increases a snake's speed by 31 per cent, demonstrating that rectilinear locomotion benefits from vertical motion similar to walking.


The possibility of travelling reaction-diffusion waves developing in the isothermal chemical system governed by the cubic autocatalytic reaction A + 2B → 3B (rate k 3 ab 2 ) coupled with either the linear decay step B → C (rate k 2 b ) or the quadratic decay step B + B → C (rate k 4 b 2 ) is examined. Two simple solutions are obtained,namely the well-stirred analogue of the spatially inhomogeneous problem and the solution for small input of the autocatalyst B. Both of these suggest that, for the quadratic decay case, a wave will develop only if the non-dimensional parameter k ═ k 4 / k 3 a 0 < 1 (where a 0 is the initial concentration of the reactant A), with there being no restriction on the initial input of the autocatalyst B. However, for the linear decay case the initiation of a travelling wave depends on the parameter v ═ k 2 / k 3 a 2 0 and that, in addition, there is an input threshold on B before the formation of a wave will occur. The equations governing the fully developed travelling waves are then considered and it is shown that for the quadratic decay case the situation is similar to previous work in quadratic autocatalysis with linear decay, with a necessary condition for the existence of a travelling-wave solution being that K < 1. However, the case of linear decay is quite different, with a necessary condition for the existence of a travelling wave solution now found to be v < 1/4 Numerical solutions of the equations governing this case reveal further that a solution exists only for v < v c , with v c ≈ 0.0465, and that there are two branches of solution for 0 < v < v c . The behaviour of these lower branch solutions as v → 0 is discussed. The initial-value problem is then considered. For the quadratic decay case it is shown that the uniform state a ═ a 0 , b ═ 0 is globally asymptotically stable (i. e. a → a 0 , b → 0 uniformly for large times) for all k > 1. For the linear decay case it is shown that the development of a travelling wave requires β 0 > v (where β 0 is a measure of the initial input of B) for v < v c . These theoretical results are then complemented by numerical solutions of the initial-value problem for both cases, which confirm the various predictions of the theory. The behaviour of the solution of the equations governing the travelling waves is then discussed in the limits K → 0, v → 0 and K → 1. In the first case the solution approaches the solution for K ═ 0 (or v =0) on the length scale of the reaction-diffusion front, with there being a long tail region of length scale O ( K -1 ) (or O ( v -1 )) in which the autocatalyst B decays to zero. In the latter case we find that the concentration of reactant A is 1 + O [(1 - k )] and autocatalyst B is O[(1 - k 2 ] with the thickness of the reaction-diffusion front becoming large, of thickness O [(1- k ) -3/2 ].


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