In this paper we consider a pair of horizontal conducting loops in the air above a horizontally layered ground. The transmitting loop is driven by a current source which rises from zero at time zero to a final constant value at time τ. We first compute the e.m.f. induced in the receiving loop and derive an asymptotic series for the e.m.f. at late times. Secondly, we estimate the error in truncating the asymptotic series at N terms and design a reliable numerical algorithm for summing the asymptotic series.

The foliage density equation is the means by which the foliage density g in a leaf canopy, as a function of the angle of inclination of the leaves, is to be estimated from discrete data gathered using photometric methods or point quadrats. It is an integral equation relating f, a function of angle estimated from measurements, to the unknown function g. The explicit formula for g is known and depends upon f and its first three derivatives; the operator f →, g is unbounded, and the problem is ill posed.

In this paper we give the form of g when f is a trigonometric polynomial, extending earlier results due to J. R. Philip. This provides a means of estimating g without directly estimating the derivatives of f from numerical data. To assess the reliability of the method we discuss the convergence of Fourier series representations of f and g.

In this paper we consider a simple, nonlinear optimal control problem with sufficient convexity to enable us to formulate its dual problem. Both primal and dual problems will include constraints on both the states and controls. The constraints in one problem may cause the “optimal” dual states to be discontinuous. However, we will look at conditions under which the presence of constraints does not force discontinuities and the optimal states and costates are absolutely continuous.

The asymptotic properties of solutions of the non-linear eigenvalue problem, associated with the homogeneoud Dirichlet problem for

are investigated. Here f and g are smooth functions of position in a finite plane region with a smooth boundary. The results for the positive solution are well established, but knowledge of other branches of solutions is scarce. Here positive solutions are pieced together across lines partitioning the domain, and variational arguments are framed, as an effective means of locating the lines, so that the composite function is everywhere a solution of *. Heuristic arguments suggest strongly that there is a close relationship between the nodal lines of * and certain classes of weighted geodesic lines defined by the classical variational problem for the functional

which provides an effective basis for computation. Some results are proved but others remain conjectures. Analogous results are proved for the associated ordinary differential equation. The geometry of the solutions is surprisingly restricted when the coefficients are spatially variable. The arguments are extended to a class of reactive, diffusive systems. It is possible to predict the pattern of domains of different outcomes in terms of properties of the surface on which the reactions occur, without a knowledge of the chemical kinetics. The results appear to provide a basis for stringent testing of the postulated role of reactive-diffusive mechanisms in the formation of complex patterns in biological species.

The paper discusses solutions of period 4 for the difference equation

where k and m are real parameters, with k > 0. For given values of k and m there are at most three solutions with period 4 and equations are set up to determine the elements of these solutions and the stability of each solution. Only real solutions are considered. The procedure that is used to find these solutions allows unstable solutions to be identified as well as stable solutions.

In a previous paper, solutions of period 2 and period 3 were examined for this equation and there was evidence of anomalous behaviour in the way the stability intervals occurred. Some preliminary information about solutions of period 4 was mentioned in the discussion. The present paper provides more complete results, which confirm the anomalous behaviour and give a better idea of how the stability criterion changes for different families of solutions. These results are used to indicate the variety of behaviour that can be found for one-parameter systems by imposing suitable conditions on m and k.

We prove the existence of solutions of Maxwell's equations for a conducting medium whose constitutive parameters are piecewise constant on R3, and then examine the convergence of these solutions in the quasi-static limit in which displacement currents are neglected. Secondly, we examine the regularity of the limiting solution and the sense in which the classical boundary conditions hold, namely, continuity of the tangential electric field and the normal current density.

Using a semi-inverse method proposed by Wright the reflection of a finite elastic plane shock wave at a plane boundary of a special elastic incompressible material is examined. Three types of boundary conditions are considered. In the case of frictionless-rigid boundary the reflected wave is a single simple wave. For clamped boundary the solution indicates a possibility of irregular reflection as well. There is no reflection solution in the case of a free boundary.

The dual integral equations describing heat flow about a circular Heat Flux Sensor on the surface of a layered medium are derived and discussed, together with the extent to which the Heat Flux Sensor measures the heat flow which would occur in the absence of a Heat Flux Sensor. An asymptotic analysis provides new analytical results supporting those derived previously by numerical methods.

It is suggested that some properties of the general problem of a Heat Flux Sensor on the surface of a multiply-layered medium can be approximated by a lumped-parameter model depending on only four non-dimensional numbers: namely, two non-dimensional linear heat transfer coefficients, and essentially two non-dimensional thermal resistances. Some support for the lumped parameter model is provided.

Let L, T, S, and R be closed densely defined linear operators from a Hubert space X into X where L can be factored as L = TS + R. The equation Lu = f is equivalent to the linear system Tv + Ru = f and Su = v. If Lu = f is a two-point boundary value problem, numerical solution of the split system admits cruder approximations than the unsplit equations. This paper develops the theory of such splittings together with the theory of the Methods of Least Squares and of Collocation for the split system. Error estimates in both L2 and L∞ norms are obtained for both methods.

The method of Coullet and Spiegel [3], which derives ordinary differential equations describing the time evolution of a system of partial differential equations when the system is near critical, is applied to some simple problems. These problems serve to illustrate simply many features of the method.

A central problem in the theory of combustion, consisting of a nonlinear parbolic equation together with initial and boundary conditions, is considered. The influence of the initial and boundary data examined. In the main part of the study, a two-step linearization is developed such that the interesting features of the original problem are given by the solution of a non-liner and ordinary differential equation. Approximate solutions are obtained and upper and lower solutions are used to assess the validity of the approximations. Whenever possible, results are compared with those obtained previously and there is good agreement in all cases.

Line distributions of Stokes flow singularities are used to model the flow around a slender body which is straddling a flat interface between two viscous fluids. Motion of the slender body parallel to the interface and normal to the interface is considered where the axis of symmetry of the slender body is always perpendicular to the undisturbed interface. Asymptotic approximations to the force distributions on the slender body are evaluated and the relative contributions of that part of the slender body in one fluid to the force distribution in the other fluid and of the interface interaction to the force distribution are examined. It is observed that a shielding region exists about the interface which is due to the interaction with that part of the slender body in the other fluid. Finally, for parallel motion, the first order interface deformation is calculated.

In two-dimensional bow-like flows past a semi-infinite body, one must in general expect a free-surface discontinuity, in the form of a splash or spray jet. However, there is numerical evidence that special body shapes do exist for which this splash is absent. In this study, we first establish conditions on the geometry of the bow in order that it should be splash-free at zero gravity, by solving the mathematical problem exactly. We then obtain solutions for finite non-zero gravity, by solving a non-linear integral equation numerically. A class of splashless body geometries with a downward directed segment at the extreme of the bow, to which the free surface attaches tangentially, is demonstrated in detail.

A set of easily verifiable sufficient conditions are obtained for the existence of a globally asymptotically stable periodic solution in a Lotka-Volterra system with periodic coefficients.

Strong system equivalence is defined for polynomial realizations of a rational matrix. It is shown that any polynomial realization is strongly system equivalent to a generalized state-space realization, and two generalized state-space realizations are strongly system equivalent if and only if they are constant system equivalent.

Exact wave-height solutions are presented for trapped waves over two new three-parameter depth topographies. Dispersive properties are calculated for both a semi-infinite and a truncated convex exponential profile, as well as for a semi-infinite concave profile. The analysis in all three cases is general in that both horizontal divergence and rotational effects are included. These solutions may be used for either high-frequency edge wave or low-frequency shelf wave studies by taking appropriate limits (f → 0 for edge wave and ε = f2L2/gH ≪ 1 for shelf waves).

A general discrete multi-dimensional and multi-state random walk model is proposed to describe the phenomena of diffusion in media with multiple diffusivities. The model is a generalization of a two-state one-dimensional discrete random walk model (Hill [8]) which gives rise to the partial differential equations of double diffusion. The same partial differential equations are shown to emerge as a special case of the continuous version of the present general model. For two states a particular generalization of the model given in [8] is presented which is not restricted to nearest neighbour transitions. Under appropriate circumstances this two-state model still yields the partial differential equations of double diffusion in the continuum limit, but an example of circumstances leading to a radically different continuum limit is presented.

Steady potential flow about a thin wing, flying in air above a dynamic water surface, is analysed in the asymptotic limit as the clearance-to-length ratio tends to zero. This leads to a non-linear integral equation for the one-dimensional pressure distribution beneath the wing, which is solved numerically. Results are compared with established “rigid-ground” and “hydrostatic” theories. Short waves lead to complications, including non-uniqueness, in some parameter ranges.

The notion of strong system equivalence, which was defined and studied in Anderson, Coppel and Cullen [1], is here given a module-theoretic characterization and a dynamical interpretation.

In this paper, we consider the hyperbolic partial differential equation wrr = wrr + 1/r wr − ν2 /r2w, where v ≥ 1/2 or ν = 0 is aprameter, with the Dirichlet, Neumann and mixed boundary conditions. The boundary controllability for such problems is investigated. The main resutl is that all “finite energy” intial states can be steered to the zero state in time T, using a control f ∈ L2 (0, T), provided T > 2. Furthermore, necessary conditions for controllability are also presented.