Search results for " Fractional calculus"
showing 10 items of 35 documents
A Non-Local Two Dimensional Foundation Model
2012
Classical foundation models such as the Pasternak and the Reissner models have been recently reformulated within the framework of non-local mechanics, by using the gradient theory of elasticity. To contribute to the research effort in this field, this paper presents a two-dimensional foundation model built by using a mechanically based non-local elasticity theory, recently proposed by the authors. The foundation is thought of as an ensemble of soil column elements resting on an elastic base. It is assumed that each column element is acted upon by a local Winkler-like reaction force exerted by the elastic base, by contact shear forces and volume forces due, respectively, to adjacent and non-…
A mechanical approach to fractional non-local thermoelasticity
2010
In recent years fractional di erential calculus applications have been developed in physics, chemistry as well as in engineering elds. Fractional order integrals and derivatives ex- tend the well-known de nitions of integer-order primitives and derivatives of the ordinary di erential calculus to real-order operators. Engineering applications of these concepts dealt with viscoelastic models, stochastic dy- namics as well as with the, recently developed, fractional-order thermoelasticity [3]. In these elds the main use of fractional operators has been concerned with the interpolation between the heat ux and its time-rate of change, that is related to the well-known second sound e ect. In othe…
Dynamics of non-local systems handled by fractional calculus
2007
Mechanical vibrations of non-local systems with long-range, cohesive, interactions between material particles have been studied in this paper by means of fractional calculus. Long-range cohesive forces between material particles have been included in equilibrium equations assuming interaction distance decay with order α . This approach yields as limiting case a partial fractional differential equation of order α involving space-time variables. It has been shown that the proposed model may be obtained by a discrete, mass-spring model that includes non-local interactions by non-adjacent particles and the mechanical vibrations of the particles have been obtained by an approximation fractional …
Laminar flow through fractal porous materials: the fractional-order transport equation
2015
Abstract The anomalous transport of a viscous fluid across a porous media with power-law scaling of the geometrical features of the pores is dealt with in the paper. It has been shown that, assuming a linear force–flux relation for the motion in a porous solid, then a generalized version of the Hagen–Poiseuille equation has been obtained with the aid of Riemann–Liouville fractional derivative. The order of the derivative is related to the scaling property of the considered media yielding an appropriate mechanical picture for the use of generalized fractional-order relations, as recently used in scientific literature.
Fractional characteristic times and dissipated energy in fractional linear viscoelasticity
2016
Abstract In fractional viscoelasticity the stress–strain relation is a differential equation with non-integer operators (derivative or integral). Such constitutive law is able to describe the mechanical behavior of several materials, but when fractional operators appear, the elastic and the viscous contribution are inseparable and the characteristic times (relaxation and retardation time) cannot be defined. This paper aims to provide an approach to separate the elastic and the viscous phase in the fractional stress–strain relation with the aid of an equivalent classical model (Kelvin–Voigt or Maxwell). For such equivalent model the parameters are selected by an optimization procedure. Once …
Fractional mechanical model for the dynamics of non-local continuum
2009
In this chapter, fractional calculus has been used to account for long-range interactions between material particles. Cohesive forces have been assumed decaying with inverse power law of the absolute distance that yields, as limiting case, an ordinary, fractional differential equation. It is shown that the proposed mathematical formulation is related to a discrete, point-spring model that includes non-local interactions by non-adjacent particles with linear springs with distance-decaying stiffness. Boundary conditions associated to the model coalesce with the well-known kinematic and static constraints and they do not run into divergent behavior. Dynamic analysis has been conducted and both…
The finite element method for fractional non-local thermal energy transfer in non-homogeneous rigid conductors
2015
Abstract In a non-local fractional-order model of thermal energy transport recently introduced by the authors, it is assumed that local and non-local contributions coexist at a given observation scale: while the first is described by the classical Fourier transport law, the second involves couples of adjacent and non-adjacent elementary volumes, and is taken as proportional to the product of the masses of the interacting volumes and their relative temperature, through a material-dependent, distance-decaying power-law function. As a result, a fractional-order heat conduction equation is derived. This paper presents a pertinent finite element method for the solution of the proposed fractional…
A physically based connection between fractional calculus and fractal geometry
2014
We show a relation between fractional calculus and fractals, based only on physical and geometrical considerations. The link has been found in the physical origins of the power-laws, ruling the evolution of many natural phenomena, whose long memory and hereditary properties are mathematically modelled by differential operators of non integer order. Dealing with the relevant example of a viscous fluid seeping through a fractal shaped porous medium, we show that, once a physical phenomenon or process takes place on an underlying fractal geometry, then a power-law naturally comes up in ruling its evolution, whose order is related to the anomalous dimension of such geometry, as well as to the m…
Fractional-Order Thermal Energy Transport for Small-Scale Engineering Devices
2014
Fractional-order thermodynamics has proved to be an efficient tool to describe several small-scale and/or high-frequency thermodynamic processes, as shown in many engineering and physics applications. The main idea beyond fractional-order physics and engineering relies on replacing the integer-order operators of classical differential calculus with their real-order counterparts. In this study, the authors aim to extend a recently proposed physical picture of fractional-order thermodynamics to a generic 3D rigid heat conductor where the thermal energy transfer is due to two phenomena: a short-range heat flux ruled by stationary and nonstationary transport equations, and a long-range thermal …
Elastic waves propagation in 1D fractional non-local continuum
2008
Aim of this paper is the study of waves propagation in a fractional, non-local 1D elastic continuum. The non-local effects are modeled introducing long-range central body interactions applied to the centroids of the infinitesimal volume elements of the continuum. These non-local interactions are proportional to a proper attenuation function and to the relative displacements between non-adjacent elements. It is shown that, assuming a power-law attenuation function, the governing equation of the elastic waves in the unbounded domain, is ruled by a Marchaud-type fractional differential equation. Wave propagation in bounded domain instead involves only the integral part of the Marchaud fraction…