Solving nonclassical symmetry of partial differential equations (PDEs) is a challenging problem in applications of symmetry method. In this paper, an alternative method is proposed for computing the nonclassical symmetry of PDEs. The method consists of the following three steps: firstly, a relationship between the classical and nonclassical symmetries of PDEs is established; then based on the link, we give three principles to obtain additional equations (constraints) to extend the system of the determining equations of the nonclassical symmetry. The extended system is more easily solved than the original one; thirdly, we use Wu’s method to solve the extended system. Consequently, the nonclassical symmetries are determined. Due to the fact that some constraints may produce trivial results, we name the candidate constraints as “potential” ones. The method gives a new way to determine a nonclassical symmetry. Several illustrative examples are given to show the efficiency of the presented method.
A mechanical algorithm for constructing structural constants of the Lie algebra of symmetry of differential equations based on Wu's method