The next APDE seminar will be given by Suncica Canic in Evans 740 from 4:10 to 5pm.

Title: A mathematical framework for proving existence of weak solutions to a class of nonlinear parabolic-hyperbolic moving boundary problems

Abstract: The focus of this talk will be on nonlinear moving-boundary problems involving incompressible, viscous fluids and elastic structures. The fluid and structure are coupled via two sets of coupling conditions, which are imposed on a deformed fluid-structure interface. The main difficulty in studying this class of problems stems from the strong geometric nonlinearity due to the nonlinear fluid-structure coupling. We have recently developed a robust framework for proving existence of weak solutions to this class of problems, allowing the treatment of various structures (Koiter shell, multi-layered composite structures, mesh-supported structures), and various coupling conditions (no-slip and Navier slip). The existence proofs are constructive: they are based on Rothe’s method (semi- discretization in time), and on our generalization of the Lions-Aubin-Simon’s compactness lemma to moving boundary problems. Applications of this strategy to the simulations of real-life problems will be shown. A new problem involving a design of bioartificial pancreas (together with Dr. Roy of UCSD Bioengineering) will be discussed.