Ronney and Sivashinsky [2] and Buckmaster and Lee [1] have proposed a certain non-autonomous first order ordinary differential equation as a simple model for an expanding spherical flame front in a zero-gravity environment. Here we supplement their preliminary numerical calculations with some analysis and further numerical work. The results show that the solutions either correspond to quenching, or to steady flame front propagation, or to rapid expansion of the flame front, depending on two control parameters. A crucial component of our analysis is the construction of a barrier orbit which divides the phase plane into two parts. The location of this barrier orbit then determines the fate of orbits in the phase plane.

A simple model for underground mineral leaching is considered, in which liquor is injected into the rock at one point and retrieved from the rock by being pumped out at another point. In its passage through the rock, the liquor dissolves some of the ore of interest, and this is therefore recovered in solution. When the injection and recovery points lie on a vertical line, the region of wetted rock forms an axi-symmetric plume, the surface of which is a free boundary. We present an accurate numerical method for the solution of the problem, and obtain estimates for the maximum possible recovery rate of the liquor, as a fraction of the injected flow rate. Limiting cases are discussed, and other geometries for fluid recovery are considered.

The effectiveness of four techniques for producing wide sense stationary data with exponential semivariograms is examined. Comparison is made primarily on the basis of the observed semivariograms. The LU decomposition of the covariance matrix appears to most accurately model specified semivariograms, whilst the more computationally efficient Matrix Polynomial approximation and Turning Bands methods may be more useful in practice.

The heart of the Lanczos algorithm is the systematic generation of orthonormal bases of invariant subspaces of a perturbed matrix. The perturbations involved are special since they are always rank-1 and are the smallest possible in certain senses. These minimal perturbation properties are extended here to more general cases.

Rank-1 perturbations are also shown to be closely connected to inverse iteration, and thus provide a novel explanation of the global convergence phenomenon of Rayleigh quotient iteration.

Finally, we show that the restriction to a Krylov subspace of a matrix differs from the restriction of its inverse by a rank-1 matrix.

In this paper a class of optimal control problems with distributed parameters is considered. The governing equations are nonlinear first order partial differential equations that arise in the study of heterogeneous reactors and control of chemical processes. The main focus of the present paper is the mathematical theory underlying the algorithm. A conditional gradient method is used to devise an algorithm for solving such optimal control problems. A formula for the Fréchet derivative of the objective function is obtained, and its properties are studied. A necessary condition for optimality in terms of the Fréchet derivative is presented, and then it is shown that any accumulation point of the sequence of admissible controls generated by the algorithm satisfies this necessary condition for optimality.

It is usually stated that the Laplace transform cannot be applied to most superexponential functions; indeed this limitation is sometimes represented as a deficiency of the technique. It is shown here that a generalisation serves to overcome much of the force of this objection. The generalisation is based on one first proposed over fifty years ago, but which is not widely known, nor was it ever worked out in detail.

The laser Lorenz equations are studied by reducing them to a form suitable for application of an extension of a method developed by Kuzmak. The method generates a flow in a Poincaré section from which it is inferred that a certain Hopf bifurcation is always subcritical.

Jensen's inequality for the expectation of a convex function of a random variable is proved for a wide class of convex functions defined on a space of probability measures. The result is applied to statistical experiments using the concept of Blackwell-sufficiency. In particular, we show a monotonicity result for the expected information of Poisson-experiments. As an application to economics we consider the introduction of new production technologies.

An N-map Iterated Fuzzy Set System (IFZS), introduced in [4] and to be denoted as (w, Φ), is a system of N contraction maps wi: X → X over a compact metric space (X, d), with associated “grey level” maps øi: [0, 1] → [0, 1]. Associated with an IFZS (w, Φ) is a fixed point u ∈ f*(X), the class of normalized fuzzy sets on X, u: X → [0, 1]. We are concerned with the continuity properties of u with respect to changes in the wi, and the φi. Establishing continuity for the fixed points of IFZS is more complicated than for traditional Iterated Function Systems (IFS) with probabilities since a composition of functions is involved. Continuity at each specific attractor u may be established over a suitably restricted domain of φi maps. Two applications are (i) animation of images and (ii) the inverse problem of fractal construction.

We study certain types of composite nonsmooth minimization problems by introducing a general smooth approximation method. Under various conditions we derive bounds on error estimates of the functional values of original objective function at an approximate optimal solution and at the optimal solution. Finally, we obtain second-order necessary optimality conditions for the smooth approximation prob lems using a recently introduced generalized second-order directional derivative.

The error analysis of an algorithm for generating an approximation of degree n − 1 to an nth degree Bézier curve is presented. The algorithm is based on observations of the geometric properties of Bézier curves which allow the development of detailed error analysis. By combining subdivision with a degree reduction algorithm, a piecewise approximation can be generated, which is within some preset error tolerance of the original curve. The number of subdivisions required can be determined a priori and a piecewise approximation of degree m can be generated by iterating the scheme.

Methods for integral equations are used to derive upper and lower pointwise bounds for the solution of a nonlinear boundary value problem arising in the steady-state finite cable model of cell membranes. Test calculations are performed to illustrate the results and the accuracy achieved is significantly better than that obtained previously by other methods.

A class of linear systems subject to sudden jumps in parameter values is considered. To solve this class of stochastic control problem, we try to seek the best feedback control law depending only on the measurable output. Based on this idea, we convert the original problem into an approximate constrained deterministic optimization problem, which can be easily solved by any existing nonlinear programming technique. An example is solved to illustrate the efficiency of the method.

How should a vehicle he driven to minimise fuel consumption? In this paper we consider the case where a train is to be driven along a straight, level track, but where speed limits may apply over parts of the track. The journey is to be completed within a specified time using as little fuel as possible.

For a journey without speed limits, the optimal driving strategy typically requires full power, speed holding, coasting and full braking, in that order. The holding speed and braking speed can be determined from the vehicle characteristics and the time available to complete the journey. If the vehicle has discrete control settings, the holding phase should be approximated by alternate coast and power phases between two critical speeds.

For a journey with speed limits, a similar strategy applies. For each given journey time there is a unique holding speed. On intervals of track where the speed limit is below the desired holding speed, the speed must be held at the limit. If braking is necessary on an interval, the speed at which braking commences is determined in part by the holding speed for the interval. For vehicles with discrete control, speed-holding is approximated by alternate coast and power phases between two critical speeds, or between a lower critical speed and the speed limit.

In this paper we resolve the problem of controllability of nonlinear interconnected systems of neutral type. We consider two types of systems, a general one, and one in which some control appears linearly. In each case we insist that each isolated system of the interconnected problem is controlled by its own variables while taking into account the interacting effects. Controllability is proved by assuming some controllability criteria of each isolated system and some growth condition of the interconnecting function. Fixed point and open mapping theorems are used. Examples from economics and engineering are presented.

An optimal control problem governed by a class of delay semilinear differential equations is studied. The existence of an optimal control is proven, and the maximum principle and approximating schemes are found. As applications, three examples are discussed.

A new numerical method is applied to the problem of inviscid irrotational flow past a semi-infinite stern-like body of general shape. Both smooth-detachment and stagnant-detachment flows are considered, in the context of varying the geometry of the stern to generate very small waves, with the eventual aim of eliminating waves altogether. The results of this work confirm previously published results for the smooth-detachment case, but cast doubt on the existence of waveless solutions for stagnant detachment.

We present analytical methods to investigate the Cauchy problem for the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation u1 = (v + iα)Δu − (κ + iβ) |u|2qu + γu in 2 spatial dimensions (here all parameters are real). We first obtain the local existence for v > 0, κ ≥ 0. Global existence is established in the critical case q = 1. In addition, we prove the global existence when .

If a constrained minimization problem, under Lipschitz or uniformly continuous hypotheses on the functions, has a strict local minimum, then a small perturbation of the functions leads to a minimum of the perturbed problem, close to the unperturbed minimum. Conditions are given for the perturbed minimum point to be a Lipschitz function of a perturbation parameter. This is used to study convergence rate for a problem of continuous programming, when the variable is approximated by step-functions. Similar conclusions apply to computation of optimal control problems, approximating the control function by step-functions.

DeVore-Gopengauz-type operators have attracted some interest over the recent years. Here we investigate their relationship to shape preservation. We construct certain positive convolution-type operators Hn, s, j which leave the cones of j-convex functions invariant and give Timan-type inequalities for these. We also consider Boolean sum modifications of the operators Hn, s, j show that they basically have the same shape preservation behavior while interpolating at the endpoints of [−1, 1], and also satisfy Telyakovskiῐ- and DeVore-Gopengauz-type inequalities involving the first and second order moduli of continuity, respectively. Our results thus generalize related results by Lorentz and Zeller, Shvedov, Beatson, DeVore, Yu and Leviatan.