International Journal of Modern Physics C

A numerical study on incompressible laminar flow in symmetric channel with sudden expansion is conducted. In this work, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids are considered, where non-Newtonian fluids are described by the power-law model. Three different computational methods are employed, namely a semi-implicit Chorin projection method (SICPM), an explicit algorithm based on fourth-order Runge–Kutta method (ERKM) and a Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The aim of the work is to investigate on the capabilities of the LBM for the solution of complex flows through the comparison with traditional computational methods. In the range of Reynolds number investigated, excellent agreement with the literature results is found. In particular, the LBM is found to be accurate in the prediction of the fluid flow behavior for the problem under consideration.

A-phases consist of transient cortical events that normally occur during NREM sleep and can be observed directly in the EEG signals. One particular kind of A-phases, namely, A3-phases are related to arousals from sleep during which increased activity in other systems (such as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems) can also be observed. This study aims to characterize disruptions in the oscillations of the airflow signal during A3-phases of sleep. Spectral entropy was used to quantify the bandwidth of the airflow signal, which under baseline conditions (prior to an A3-phase) resembles a sinusoidal wave with a frequency of about 0.25 Hz and has low spectral entropy values. It was found that during most A3-phases the spectral entropy increases significantly in 70% of the test subjects. These changes occur with higher probability during A3-phases that are longer than 10s, suggesting a delay between the onset of an A3-phase and the effect it has on the respiratory system.

We propose a probabilistic growth model for transport networks which employs a balance between popularity of nodes and the physical distance between nodes. By comparing the degree of each node in the model network and the World Airline Network (WAN), we observe that the difference between the two is minimized for $\alpha \approx 2$. Interestingly, this is the value obtained for the node–node correlation function in the WAN. This suggests that our model explains quite well the growth of airline networks.

The shapes of rotating drops of liquid bound by gravitation is a classical subject of study. Inspired by this classical theory, we have simulated numerically a related problem, the rotating rigid configurations of a finite number of point particles. Two particles at a distance $r$ have a long range attractive potential $-1∕r$ and a short range repulsive potential $1∕r^2$ preventing collapse. We take the angular momentum to be conserved, but not the energy.This system has a variable density, unlike the classical liquid drops. When the number of particles is small, it is more rigid than a liquid drop, implying that many different stable equilibrium configurations may exist with the same angular momentum but different energies. When the number of particles becomes large, our system should resemble a self-gravitating polytropic gas.We present here the results of a preliminary study with only 3, 4, and 5 particles. The methods used could be applied to the study of rotating molecules.

Dengue is a complex public health problem that is common in tropical and subtropical regions. This disease has risen substantially in the last three decades, and the physical symptoms depict the self-affine behavior of the occurrences of reported dengue cases in Bahia, Brazil. This study uses detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to verify the scale behavior in a time series of dengue cases and to evaluate the long-range correlations that are characterized by the power law $\alpha$ exponent for different cities in Bahia, Brazil. The scaling exponent ($\alpha$) presents different long-range correlations, i.e. uncorrelated, anti-persistent, persistent and diffusive behaviors. The long-range correlations highlight the complex behavior of the time series of this disease. The findings show that there are two distinct types of scale behavior. In the first behavior, the time series presents a persistent $\alpha$ exponent for a one-month period. For large periods, the time series signal approaches subdiffusive behavior. The hypothesis of the long-range correlations in the time series of the occurrences of reported dengue cases was validated. The observed self-affinity is useful as a forecasting tool for future periods through extrapolation of the $\alpha$ exponent behavior. This complex system has a higher predictability in a relatively short time (approximately one month), and it suggests a new tool in epidemiological control strategies. However, predictions for large periods using DFA are hidden by the subdiffusive behavior.

We propose a novel scheme to handle moving boundaries, both straight and curved, within the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). In this scheme, which is broadly based on the Chapman–Enskog expansion, the fictitious distributions are constructed exactly on the moving boundary. This is in contrast to existing methods where such distributions are constructed on neighboring nodes which may not lie on the moving boundary. The post-collisional distributions on the fluid nodes near the moving boundary are then constructed using first- or second-order interpolations. The proposed scheme also overcomes the requirement to have separate interpolation formulations for different values of the intersection parameter. Several validation tests presented here indicate improved accuracy and numerical stability, compliance with Galilean invariance principle, an ability to preserve the geometric fidelity of curved surfaces.

Taking urban public transit network as research perspective, this work introduces the influences of adjacent stations on definition of station initial load, the connected edge transit capacity, and the coupled capacity to modify traditional load-capacity cascading failures (CFs) model. Furthermore, we consider the coupled effect of lower layered public transit network on the CFs of upper layered public transit network, and construct CFs coupled model of double layered public transit network with “interdependent relationship”. Finally, taking Jinan city’s public transit network as example, we give the dynamics simulation analysis of CFs under different control parameters based on measurement indicator of station cascading failures ratio (abbreviated as CF) and the scale of time-step cascading failures (abbreviated as ${\mathrm{\text{TCF}}}_l$), get the influencing characteristics of various control parameters, and verify the feasibility of CFs coupled model of double layered public transit network.

Metal nanoalloys on oxide surface are a widely studied topic in surface science and technology. In this study, the structures of CoPd nanoalloys adsorbed on MgO(001) have been searched by basin-hopping global optimization method within an atomistic model. Two different sizes (34 and 38 atom) have been considered for all compositions of CoPd/MgO(001) nanoalloys. Co and Pd atoms, for all the compositions, have cube-on-cube (001) epitaxy with substrate at interface. For both sizes, we have found that Pd rich composition nanoalloys have three layers, Co rich composition nanoalloys have four layers in morphology. Excess energy and second difference in energy analyzes have been performed to investigate the relative stability of nanoalloys with respect to their size and composition.

The Nagel–Schreckenberg model with overtaking strategy (NSOS) is proposed, and numerical simulations are performed for both closed and open boundary conditions. The fundamental diagram, space-time diagram and spatial-temporal distribution of speed are investigated. In order to identify the synchronized flow state, both the correlation functions (autocorrelation and cross-correlation) and the one-minute average flow rate versus density diagram are studied. All the results verify that synchronized flow does occur in our model.

We discuss the systemic risk implied by the interbank exposures reconstructed with the maximum entropy (ME) method. The ME method severely underestimates the risk of interbank contagion by assuming a fully connected network, while in reality the structure of the interbank network is sparsely connected. Here, we formulate an algorithm for sparse network reconstruction, and we show numerically that it provides a more reliable estimation of the systemic risk.

In this paper, taking the traffic of Beijing city as an instance, we study city traffic states, especially traffic congestion, based on the concept of network community structure. Concretely, using the floating car data (FCD) information of vehicles gained from the intelligent transport system (ITS) of the city, we construct a new traffic network model which is with floating cars as network nodes and time-varying. It shows that this traffic network has Gaussian degree distributions at different time points. Furthermore, compared with free traffic situations, our simulations show that the traffic network generally has more obvious community structures with larger values of network fitness for congested traffic situations, and through the GPSspg web page, we show that all of our results are consistent with the reality. Then, it indicates that network community structure should be an available way for investigating city traffic congestion problems.

The symmetry group of MHD boundary layer flow and heat transfer of a non-Newtonian power-law fluid over a stretching surface under the effects of variable fluid properties is investigated. The similarity equations with the corresponding boundary conditions are solved numerically by using a shooting method with the fourth order Runge–Kutta integration scheme. Comparisons of the numerical method with the existing results in the literature are made and obtained an excellent agreement. It is observed that the heat transfer rate diminishes with an increase in magnetic parameter and variable thermal conductivity parameter. Further, the opposite influence is found with an increase in variable viscosity parameter.

Coarse-grained analysis enhances our understanding of complex processes such as physical procedures, economic complexity. We collect the data sets from 31 regions of China in terms of the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and the expense invested in Education and R&D between 1998 and 2013, then employ the coarse-grained method to analyze the causal direction according to the cross-section data with time-series information. Specifically, the empirical results suggest that the share of the GRDP invested in Education and R&D in large time scale reveals a dynamical process due to economic complexity, but limits around to base lines.

This paper studies a two-dimensional incompressible viscous flow past a circular cylinder with in-line oscillation close to a free-surface. The sub-particle scale (SPS) turbulence model of a Lagrangian particle-based smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method has been used to solve the full Navier–Stokes equations together with the continuity equation. The accuracy of numerical code has been verified using two cases consisting of an oscillating cylinder placed in the stationary fluid, and flow over a fixed cylinder close to a free-surface. Simulations are conducted for the Froude number of 0.3, the Reynolds numbers of 40 and 80, various gap ratios for fully-submerged and half-submerge cylinders. The dimensionless frequency and amplitude of oscillating have been chosen as 0.5, 0.8 and 10, 15, respectively. The selection of such a high oscillating frequency causes the flow regime to become turbulent. It is seen that the gap ratio defined as the ratio of cylinder distance from free-surface and its diameter, strongly affects the flow pattern and the magnitude of the drag and lift coefficients. The jet-like flow (the region above the cylinder and beneath the free-surface) creation is discussed in detail and showed that the strength of this jet-like flow is weakened when the gap ratio shrinks. It is seen that by decreasing the gap ratio, the lift and drag coefficients increase and decrease, respectively. It is found that the Reynolds number has an inverse effect on the drag and lift coefficients. Also, it is concluded that by increasing the amplitude of oscillation the drag coefficient increases.