A characteristic based numerical method with tracking for nonlinear wave equations (Q1912861)

The numerical method to solve \(u_t+ g(u, x, t)\cdot u_x= w(u, x, t)\) involves an adaptive grid of points which moves along the characteristic curves satisfying \(dx/dt= g(u, x, t)\). Along these curves, the partial differential equation to be solved becomes an ordinary one, \(du/dt= w(u, x, t)\). The fourth-order Runge-Kutta method is used to advance both the position \(x_i\) of the grid points, and the values of the function \(u_i\). Adjacent characteristics can collide to form shock waves. The numerical method detects these collisions (by a proper, careful choice of the time steps). After a shock wave forms, its motion is determined by the Rankine-Hugoniot jump condition given by a flux function \(\int g(u, x, t) du\). Further, there are rarefactions where the characteristics are diverging, and the density of interior grid points decreases. Here new points are created by an analytic point insertion. The method is fit also for situations where a combination of shocks and expansion regions occurs because the flux function is not convex. The method has been validated -- impressively! -- against analytical solutions [cf. \textit{J. D. Murray}, SIAM J. Appl. Math. 19, 273-298 (1970; Zbl 0207.10300)] to a class of special model equations, and the errors have been compared e.g. to those resulting from applying methods which utilize fixed grids (and consequently suffer from smearing of discontinuous solutions and spurious oscillatory behavior). The method gives high quality results for the time of formation of shocks and rarefaction waves, for the decay rate of solutions, a.o. (The shock speeds are calculated accurately). Further, the method has been applied to solve problems from fluid mechanics (axisymmetric thin liquid films on the surface of a horizontally rotating disk, one-dimensional flow of two immiscible fluids in a porous medium).