Implicit-explicit methods for a class of nonlinear nonlocal gradient flow equations modelling collective behaviour

Abstract The numerical solution of nonlinear convection-diffusion equations with nonlocal flux by explicit finite difference methods is costly due to the local spatial convolution within the convective numerical flux and the disadvantageous Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition caused by the diffusion term. More efficient numerical methods are obtained by applying second-order implicit-explicit (IMEX) Runge-Kutta time discretizations to an available explicit scheme for such models in Carrillo et al. (2015) [13] . The resulting IMEX-RK methods require solving nonlinear algebraic systems in every time step. It is proven, for a general number of space dimensions, that this method is well def…

Simulation and control of dissolved air flotation and column froth flotation with simultaneous sedimentation.

Abstract Flotation is a separation process where particles or droplets are removed from a suspension with the aid of floating gas bubbles. Applications include dissolved air flotation (DAF) in industrial wastewater treatment and column froth flotation (CFF) in wastewater treatment and mineral processing. One-dimensional models of flotation have been limited to steady-state situations for half a century by means of the drift-flux theory. A newly developed dynamic one-dimensional model formulated in terms of partial differential equations can be used to predict the process of simultaneous flotation of bubbles and sedimentation of particles that are not attached to bubbles. The governing model…

Spectral WENO schemes with Adaptive Mesh Refinement for models of polydisperse sedimentation

The sedimentation of a polydisperse suspension with particles belonging to N size classes (species) can be described by a system of N nonlinear, strongly coupled scalar first-order conservation laws. Its solutions usually exhibit kinematic shocks separating areas of different composition. Based on the so-called secular equation [J. Anderson, Lin. Alg. Appl. 246, 49–70 (1996)], which provides access to the spectral decomposition of the Jacobian of the flux vector for this class of models, Burger et al. [J. Comput. Phys. 230, 2322–2344 (2011)] proposed a spectral weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme for the numerical solution of the model. It is demonstrated that the efficiency …

Implicit–explicit schemes for nonlinear nonlocal equations with a gradient flow structure in one space dimension

Linearly implicit-explicit schemes for the equilibrium dispersive model of chromatography

Abstract Numerical schemes for the nonlinear equilibrium dispersive (ED) model for chromatographic processes with adsorption isotherms of Langmuir type are proposed. This model consists of a system of nonlinear, convection-dominated partial differential equations. The nonlinear convection gives rise to sharp moving transitions between concentrations of different solute components. This property calls for numerical methods with shock capturing capabilities. Based on results by Donat, Guerrero and Mulet (Appl. Numer. Math. 123 (2018) 22–42), conservative shock capturing numerical schemes can be designed for this chromatography model. Since explicit schemes for diffusion problems can pose seve…

Approximate Lax–Wendroff discontinuous Galerkin methods for hyperbolic conservation laws

Abstract The Lax–Wendroff time discretization is an alternative method to the popular total variation diminishing Runge–Kutta time discretization of discontinuous Galerkin schemes for the numerical solution of hyperbolic conservation laws. The resulting fully discrete schemes are known as LWDG and RKDG methods, respectively. Although LWDG methods are in general more compact and efficient than RKDG methods of comparable order of accuracy, the formulation of LWDG methods involves the successive computation of exact flux derivatives. This procedure allows one to construct schemes of arbitrary formal order of accuracy in space and time. A new approximation procedure avoids the computation of ex…

A system of conservation laws with discontinuous flux modelling flotation with sedimentation

Abstract The continuous unit operation of flotation is extensively used in mineral processing, wastewater treatment and other applications for selectively separating hydrophobic particles (or droplets) from hydrophilic ones, where both are suspended in a viscous fluid. Within a flotation column, the hydrophobic particles are attached to gas bubbles that are injected and float as aggregates forming a foam or froth at the top that is skimmed. The hydrophilic particles sediment and are discharged at the bottom. The hydrodynamics of a flotation column is described in simplified form by studying three phases, namely the fluid, the aggregates and solid particles, in one space dimension. The relat…

On the hyperbolicity of certain models of polydisperse sedimentation

The sedimentation of a polydisperse suspension of small spherical particles dispersed in a viscous fluid, where particles belong to N species differing in size, can be described by a strongly coupled system of N scalar, nonlinear first-order conservation laws for the evolution of the volume fractions. The hyperbolicity of this system is a property of theoretical importance because it limits the range of validity of the model and is of practical interest for the implementation of numerical methods. The present work, which extends the results of R. Burger, R. Donat, P. Mulet, and C.A. Vega (SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics 2010; 70:2186–2213), is focused on the fluxes corresponding to the …

On the implementation of weno schemes for a class of polydisperse sedimentation models

The sedimentation of a polydisperse suspension of small rigid spheres of the same density, but which belong to a finite number of species (size classes), can be described by a spatially one-dimensional system of first-order, nonlinear, strongly coupled conservation laws. The unknowns are the volume fractions (concentrations) of each species as functions of depth and time. Typical solutions, e.g. for batch settling in a column, include discontinuities (kinematic shocks) separating areas of different composition. The accurate numerical approximation of these solutions is a challenge since closed-form eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the flux Jacobian are usually not available, and the characte…

A degenerating convection-diffusion system modelling froth flotation with drainage

Abstract Froth flotation is a common unit operation used in mineral processing. It serves to separate valuable mineral particles from worthless gangue particles in finely ground ores. The valuable mineral particles are hydrophobic and attach to bubbles of air injected into the pulp. This creates bubble-particle aggregates that rise to the top of the flotation column where they accumulate to a froth or foam layer that is removed through a launder for further processing. At the same time, the hydrophilic gangue particles settle and are removed continuously. The drainage of liquid due to capillarity is essential for the formation of a stable froth layer. This effect is included into a previous…

Modelling the spatial-temporal progression of the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic in Chile

A spatial-temporal transmission model of 2009 A/H1N1 pandemic influenza across Chile, a country that spans a large latitudinal range, is developed to characterize the spatial variation in peak timing of that pandemic as a function of local transmission rates, spatial connectivity assumptions for Chilean regions, and the putative location of introduction of the novel virus into the country. Specifically, a metapopulation SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infected-removed) compartmental model that tracks the transmission dynamics of influenza in 15 Chilean regions is calibrated. The model incorporates population mobility among neighboring regions and indirect mobility to and from other regions via th…

Numerical solution of a spatio-temporal gender-structured model for hantavirus infection in rodents.

In this article we describe the transmission dynamics of hantavirus in rodents using a spatio-temporal susceptible-exposed-infective-recovered (SEIR) compartmental model that distinguishes between male and female subpopulations [L.J.S. Allen, R.K. McCormack and C.B. Jonsson, Bull. Math. Biol. 68 (2006), 511--524]. Both subpopulations are assumed to differ in their movement with respect to local variations in the densities of their own and the opposite gender group. Three alternative models for the movement of the male individuals are examined. In some cases the movement is not only directed by the gradient of a density (as in the standard diffusive case), but also by a non-local convolution…

Flotation with sedimentation: Steady states and numerical simulation of transient operation

Abstract A spatially one-dimensional model of the hydrodynamics of a flotation column is based on one continuous phase, the fluid, and two disperse phases: the aggregates, that is, bubbles with attached hydrophobic valuable particles, and the solid particles that form the gangue. A common feed inlet for slurry mixture and gas is considered and the bubbles are assumed to be fully aggregated with hydrophobic particles as they enter the column. The conservation law of the three phases yields a model expressed as a system of partial differential equations where the nonlinear constitutive flux functions come from the drift-flux and solids-flux theories. In addition, the total flux functions are …

WENO Schemes for Multi-Dimensional Porous Media Flow Without Capillarity

In this work we derive a numerical technique based on finite-difference WENO schemes for the simulation of multi-dimensional multiphase flows in a homogeneous porous medium. The key idea is to define a compatible discretization for the fluxes of the convective term in order to maintain their divergence-free character not only in the continuous setting but also in the discrete setting, ensuring the conservation of the sum of the saturations through time evolution. The one-dimensional numerical technique is derived in detail for the case of neglected capillarity effects. Numerical results obtained with one-dimensional and two-dimensional standard tests of multiphase flow in a homogeneous poro…

Numerical solution of a multi-class model for batch settling in water resource recovery facilities

In Torfs et al. (2017) a new unified framework to model settling tanks in water resource recovery facilities was proposed providing a set of partial differential equations (PDEs) modelling different settling unit processes in wastewater treatment such as primary and secondary settling tanks (PSTs and SSTs). The extension to a multi-class framework to deal with the distributed properties of the settling particles leads to a system of non-linear hyperbolic-parabolic PDEs whose solutions may contain very sharp transitions. This necessitates the use of a consistent and robust numerical method to obtain well-resolved and reliable approximations to the PDE solutions. The use of implicit–explicit …