The problem of a bubble rising due to buoyancy in a Hele–Shaw cell filled with a viscous fluid is a classical free-boundary problem first posed and solved by Saffman & Taylor [11]. In fact, due to linearity of the flow equations the problem is reduced to that of a bubble transported by uniform fluid flow. Saffman and Taylor provided explicit expressions for the bubble shape. Steady propagation of bubbles and fingers in a Hele–Shaw cell filled with a nonlinearly-viscous fluid was studied by Alexandrou & Entov [1]. In Alexandrou & Entov [1], it was shown that for a nonlinearly viscous fluid the problem of a rising bubble cannot be reduced to that of a steadily transported bubble, and should be treated separately. This note presents a solution of the problem following the general framework suggested in Alexandrou & Entov [1]. The hodograph transform is used in combination with finite-difference and collocation techniques to solve the problem. Results are presented for the cases of a Bingham and power-law fluids.

We use lubrication theory on the flow equations for nematic liquid crystals to derive a simple model describing the evolution of the film height under gravity, in the case of finite surface “anchoring energy” at the free surface and at the rigid substrate. This means that the molecules of the nematic have a preferred alignment at interfaces, modelled by a single-well potential surface energy (first introduced by Rapini & Papoular [9]). This paper generalises the earlier work of Ben Amar & Cummings, in which the orientation of the nematic liquid crystal molecules is effectively specified at both surfaces (strong anchoring; isotropic surface tension). Additional terms, analogous in some sense to Marangoni terms, are introduced into the PDE governing the film height evolution. The stability of the derived model is considered, and stability criteria are presented and discussed. The existence of static, drop-like solutions to the model is also briefly considered.

The steady-state viscous quantum hydrodynamic model in one space dimension is studied. The model consists of the continuity equations for the particle and current densities, coupled to the Poisson equation for the electrostatic potential. The equations are derived from a Wigner–Fokker–Planck model and they contain a third-order quantum correction term and second-order viscous terms. The existence of classical solutions is proved for “weakly supersonic” quantum flows. This means that a smallness condition on the particle velocity is still needed but the bound is allowed to be larger than for classical subsonic flows. Furthermore, the uniqueness of solutions and various asymptotic limits (semiclassical and inviscid limits) are investigated. The proofs are based on a reformulation of the problem as a fourth-order elliptic equation by using an exponential variable transformation.

We study a one-dimensional continuum model for lipid bilayers. The system consists of water and lipid molecules; lipid molecules are represented by two ‘beads’, a head bead and a tail bead, connected by a rigid rod. We derive a simplified model for such a system, in which we only take into account the effects of entropy and hydrophilic/hydrophobic interactions. We show that for this simple model membrane-like structures exist for certain choices of the parameters, and numerical calculations suggest that they are stable.

We prove short-time well-posedness of a Hele–Shaw system with two fluids and no surface tension (this is also known as the Muskat problem). We restrict our attention here to the stable case of the problem. That is, in order for the motion to be well-posed, the initial data must satisfy a sign condition which is a generalization of a condition of Saffman and Taylor. This sign condition essentially means that the more viscous fluid must displace the less viscous fluid. The proof uses the formulation introduced in the numerical work of Hou, Lowengrub, and Shelley, and relies on energy methods.

We solve the free boundary problem for the dynamics of a cylindrical, axisymmetric viscoelastic filament stretching in a gravity-driven extensional flow for the Upper Convected Maxwell and Oldroyd-B constitutive models. Assuming the axial stress in the filament has a spatial dependence provides the simplest coupling of viscoelastic effects to the motion of the filament, and yields a closed system of ODEs with an exact solution for the stretch rate and filament thickness satisfied by both constitutive models. This viscoelastic solution, which is a generalization of the exact solution for Newtonian filaments, converges to the Newtonian power-law scaling as $t \rightarrow \infty$. Based on the exact solution, we identify two regimes of dynamical behavior called the weakly- and strongly-viscoelastic limits. We compare the viscoelastic solution to measurements of the thinning filament that forms behind a falling drop for several semi-dilute (strongly-viscoelastic) polymer solutions. We find the exact solution correctly predicts the time-dependence of the filament diameter in all of the experiments. As $t \rightarrow \infty$, observations of the filament thickness follow the Newtonian scaling $1/\sqrt{t}$. The transition from viscoelastic to Newtonian scaling in the filament thickness is coupled to a stretch-to-coil transition of the polymer molecules.

We investigate self-similar solutions of the thin film equation in the case of zero contact angle boundary conditions on a finite domain. We prove existence and uniqueness of such a solution and determine the asymptotic behaviour as the exponent in the equation approaches the critical value at which zero contact angle boundary conditions become untenable. Numerical and power-series solutions are also presented.

In this work we describe some aspects of the dynamics of the Cahn–Hilliard equation. In particular, we consider the dynamics of ‘bubble’ solutions that is spherical interfaces which move superslowly towards the boundary without changing their shape. We show for the Cahn–Hilliard that the bubble drifts towards the closest point on the boundary provided it is sufficiently small. This is contrasted with the related mass conserving Allen–Cahn equation where size is not an issue.

We study the dynamics of dissipation and blow-up in a critical-case unstable thin film equation. The governing equation is a nonlinear fourth-order degenerate parabolic PDE derived from a generalized model for lubrication flows of thin viscous fluid layers on solid surfaces. %For a special balance between %destabilizing second-order terms and regularizing fourth-order terms, There is a critical mass for blow-up and a rich set of dynamics including families of similarity solutions for finite-time blow-up and infinite-time spreading. The structure and stability of the steady-states and the compactly-supported similarity solutions is studied.

‘Parametric dependence of exponents and eigenvalues in focusing porous media flows’ by D. G. Aronson, J. B. Van den Berg and J. Hulshof, European Journal of Applied Mathematics, Vol. 14 No. 4 August 2003, pp. 485–512

The aim of this paper is to develop a theory for the growth of multiple crystals in a polymer melt. This leads to nonlinear moving boundary problems for the temperature, with normal growth speed of the crystal boundaries determined by a nonlinear Gibbs-Thompson relation. Particular attention is paid to the effect of impingement, i.e., the event of two crystals hitting each other, which stops the growth on the contact interface. In one space dimension, the well-posedness of the growth model coupled to the heat equation is shown for an arbitrary number of crystals, both in a quasi-stationary and in an instationary situation. The resulting evolution of a fixed crystal in presence of other crystals is compared to the pure single crystal case. Finally, some basic features of the model in higher spatial dimensions and the main problems encountered in the attempt to prove a general well-posedness result are discussed.

We examine a number of initial boundary value problems for a paradigm sixth-order degenerate parabolic equation of the form $h_t=(h^n h_{xxxxx})_x$ which arises when considering the motion of a thin film of viscous fluid driven by an overlying elastic plate. Analytical and numerical methods are exploited to characterise the solutions, which turn out to be rather sensitive to the value of $n$.

For a large class of vorticities we prove that a steady periodic deep-water wave must be symmetric if its profile is monotone between crests and troughs.

This paper examines the effect of anisotropic growth on the evolution of mechanical stresses in a linear-elastic model of a growing, avascular tumour. This represents an important improvement on previous linear-elastic models of tissue growth since it has been shown recently that spatially-varying isotropic growth of linear-elastic tissues does not afford the necessary stress-relaxation for a steady-state stress distribution upon reaching a nutrient-regulated equilibrium size. Time-dependent numerical solutions are developed using a Lax-Wendroff scheme, which show the evolution of the tissue stress distributions over a period of growth until a steady-state is reached. These results are compared with the steady-state solutions predicted by the model equations, and key parameters influencing these steady-state distributions are identified. Recommendations for further extensions and applications of this model are proposed.

We consider the dynamics of multi-component heat-conducting viscous incompressible flow in a plane domain when the viscosity and thermal conductivity of the medium depend on temperature. The dynamics of the flow is governed by an initial-boundary value problem for the Navier–Stokes system with heat conduction and heat transfer taken into account. The existence of a generalized global solution with velocity field and temperature of Hopf's class has been established in conjunction with the estimate of fractional smoothness of the order 1/2 in the time variable.

We consider two-dimensional bubbles in a corner flow in a Hele–Shaw cell of a viscous incompressible fluid that occupies the complement to a bubble. We discuss the governing equations, some basic properties of the free interface of the bubbles, their geometry, and construct explicit solutions that present asymmetric long bubbles analogous to the famous Saffman–Taylor fingers in a wedge of arbitrary angle $\alpha\in (0,2\pi)$.

We consider short-time existence, uniqueness, and regularity for a moving boundary problem describing Stokes flow of a free liquid drop driven by surface tension. The surface tension coefficient is assumed to be a nonincreasing function of the surfactant concentration, and the surfactant is insoluble and moves by convection along the boundary. The problem is reformulated as a fully nonlinear, nonlocal Cauchy problem for a vector-valued function on a fixed reference manifold. This problem is, in general, degenerate parabolic. Existence and uniqueness results are obtained via energy estimates in Sobolev spaces of sufficiently high order. In the two-dimensional case, the problem is strictly parabolic, and we prove instantaneous smoothing of the free boundary, using maximal regularity results in little Hölder spaces.

Mathematical models for the prediction of the hydrodynamic pressure distribution and the force on a body entering liquid are investigated. Particular attention is paid to analytical models which are based on the velocity potential given by the classical Wagner theory. Formal use of the Wagner theory provides the loads on an entering body, which are higher than the measured ones. To improve the predictions, the higher order terms in the Bernoulli equation are taken into account within the generalized Wagner model and the Logvinovich model. It is shown that the Logvinovich model corresponds better to the experimental data than the generalized Wagner model. A rational derivation of the Logvinovich model is given in the paper for the two-dimensional case. The analytical models are tested against both numerical and experimental results.

A free boundary problem arising in a model for inviscid, incompressible shallow water entry at small deadrise angles is derived and analysed. The relationship between this novel free boundary problem and the well-known viscous squeeze film problem is described. An inverse method is used to construct explicit solutions for certain body profiles and to find criteria under which the splash sheet can ‘split’. A variational inequality formulation, conservation of certain generalized moments and the Schwarz function formulation are introduced.

The effects of the thin air layer entering play when a water droplet impacts on otherwise still water or on a fixed solid are studied theoretically with special attention on surface tension and on post-impact behaviour. The investigation is based on the small density and viscosity ratios of the two fluids. In certain circumstances, and in particular for droplet Reynolds numbers below a critical value which is about ten million, the air-water interaction depends to leading order on lubricating forces in the air coupled with potential flow dynamics in the water. The nonlinear integro-differential system for the evolution of the interface and induced pressure is studied for pre-impact surface tension effects, which significantly delay impact, and for post-impact interaction phenomena which include significant decrease of the droplet spread rate. Above-critical Reynolds numbers are also considered.