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Modeling and analysis of reactive solute transport in deformable channels with wall adsorption–desorption
Author(s) -
Mabuza Sibusiso,
Čanić Sunčica,
Muha Boris
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
mathematical methods in the applied sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1099-1476
pISSN - 0170-4214
DOI - 10.1002/mma.3601
Subject(s) - uniqueness , galerkin method , context (archaeology) , mathematics , compressibility , domain (mathematical analysis) , eulerian path , nonlinear system , weak formulation , weak solution , mechanics , mathematical analysis , thermodynamics , physics , finite element method , lagrangian , boundary value problem , paleontology , quantum mechanics , biology
We show well posedness for a model of nonlinear reactive transport of chemical in a deformable channel. The channel walls deform due to fluid–structure interaction between an unsteady flow of an incompressible, viscous fluid inside the channel and elastic channel walls. Chemical solutes, which are dissolved in the viscous, incompressible fluid, satisfy a convection–diffusion equation in the bulk fluid, while on the deforming walls, the solutes undergo nonlinear adsorption–desorption physico‐chemical reactions. The problem addresses scenarios that arise, for example, in studies of drug transport in blood vessels. We show the existence of a unique weak solution with solute concentrations that are non‐negative for all times. The analysis of the problem is carried out in the context of semi‐linear parabolic PDEs on moving domains. The arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian approach is used to address the domain movement, and the Galerkin method with the Picard–Lindelöf theorem is used to prove existence and uniqueness of approximate solutions. Energy estimates combined with the compactness arguments based on the Aubin–Lions lemma are used to prove convergence of the approximating sequences to the unique weak solution of the problem. It is shown that the solution satisfies the positivity property, that is, that the density of the solute remains non‐negative at all times, as long as the prescribed fluid domain motion is ‘reasonable’. This is the first well‐posedness result for reactive transport problems defined on moving domains of this type. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.