Partial differential equation models for invasive species spread in the presence of spatial heterogeneity.

Models of invasive species spread often assume that landscapes are spatially homogeneous; thus simplifying analysis but potentially reducing accuracy. We extend a recently developed partial differential equation model for invasive conifer spread to account for spatial heterogeneity in parameter values and introduce a method to obtain key outputs (e.g. spread rates) from computational simulations. Simulations produce patterns of spatial spread which appear qualitatively similar to observed patterns in grassland ecosystems invaded by exotic conifers, validating our spatially explicit strategy. We find that incorporating spatial variation in different parameters does not significantly affect the evolution of invasions (which are characterised by a long quiescent period followed by rapid evolution towards to a constant rate of invasion) but that distributional assumptions can have a significant impact on the spread rate of invasions. Our work demonstrates that spatial variation in site-suitability or other parameters can have a significant impact on invasions and must be considered when designing models of invasive species spread.

A nonlinear dynamical system approach for the yielding behaviour of a viscoplastic material.

A nonlinear dynamical system model that approximates a microscopic Gibbs field model for the yielding of a viscoplastic material subjected to varying external stresses recently reported in R. Sainudiin, M. Moyers-Gonzalez and T. Burghelea, Soft Matter, 2015, 11(27), 5531-5545 is presented. The predictions of the model are in fair agreement with microscopic simulations and are in very good agreement with the micro-structural semi-empirical model reported in A. M. V. Putz and T. I. Burghelea, Rheol. Acta, 2009, 48, 673-689. With only two internal parameters, the nonlinear dynamical system model captures several key features of the solid-fluid transition observed in experiments: the effect of the interactions between microscopic constituents on the yield point, the abruptness of solid-fluid transition and the emergence of a hysteresis of the micro-structural states upon increasing/decreasing external forces. The scaling behaviour of the magnitude of the hysteresis with the degree of the steadiness of the flow is consistent with previous experimental observations. Finally, the practical usefulness of the approach is demonstrated by fitting a rheological data set measured with an elasto-viscoplastic material.

A microscopic Gibbs field model for the macroscopic yielding behaviour of a viscoplastic fluid.

We present a Gibbs random field model for the microscopic interactions in a viscoplastic fluid. The model has only two parameters which are sufficient to describe the internal energy of the material in the absence of external stress and a third parameter for a constant externally applied stress. The energy function is derived from the Gibbs potential in terms of the external stress and internal energy. The resulting Gibbs distribution, over a configuration space of microscopic interactions, can mimic experimentally observed macroscopic behavioural phenomena that depend on the externally applied stress. A simulation algorithm that can be used to approximate samples from the Gibbs distribution is given and it is used to gain several insights about the model. Corresponding to weak interactions between the microscopic solid units, our model reveals a smooth solid-fluid transition which is fully reversible upon increasing/decreasing external stresses. If the interaction between neighbouring microscopic constituents exceeds a critical threshold the solid-fluid transition becomes abrupt and a hysteresis of the deformation states is observed even at the asymptotic limit of steady forcing. Quite remarkably, in spite of the limited number of parameters involved, the predictions of our model are in a good qualitative agreement with macro rheological experimental results on the solid-fluid transition in various yield stress materials subjected to an external stress.

Mathematical modelling of the cell-depleted peripheral layer in the steady flow of blood in a tube.

In an earlier paper, Moyers-Gonzalez et al. [J. Fluid. Mech. 617 (2008), 327-354] used kinetic theory to derive a non-homogeneous haemorheological model and applied this to simulate the properties of steady flow of blood in a tube. By adjusting the tube haematocrit to match that of the experimental fitted curve of Pries et al. [Circ. Res. 67 (1990), 826-834] the authors showed that it was possible to quantitatively predict the apparent viscosity values presented in a later paper by Pries et al. [Am. J. Physiol. 263 (1992), 1770-1778]. In the present paper, it is the discharge haematocrit rather than the tube haematocrit that is prescribed. We further develop the predictive capacities of the original model of Moyers-Gonzalez et al. [J. Fluid. Mech. 617 (2008), 327-354] by introducing a cell-free peripheral layer next to the tube wall where, following the ideas of Sharan and Popel [Biorheology 38 (2001), 415-428], dissipation in this layer is accounted for by allowing the viscosity there to exceed that of plasma. Using both the apparent viscosity data of Pries et al. [Am. J. Physiol. 263 (1992), 1770-1778] and the relative tube haematocrit relation proposed by Sharan and Popel [Biorheology 38 (2001), 415-428], we predict the thickness of the cell-free layer and the relative viscosity in this layer. The predicted thickness of the cell-free layer as a function of both a pseudo-shear rate and the tube diameter for 45% haematocrit blood is shown to be in very close conformity with the experimental measurements of Reinke et al. [Am. J. Physiol. 253 (1987), 540-547]. With increasing discharge haematocrit the cell-free layer thickness is shown to decrease, as observed in several experimental papers [Bugliarello and Hayden, Trans. Soc. Rheol. VII (1963), 209-230, Bugliarello and Sevilla, Biorheology 7 (1970), 85-107, Soutani et al., Am. J. Physiol. 268 (1995), 1959-1965]. Our prediction of the relative viscosity in the cell-free layer shows a similar trend to that computed by Sharan and Popel [Biorheology 38 (2001), 415-428]. Finally, for sufficiently large pseudo-shear rates it is shown that the Deborah number (a non-dimensional relaxation time) may be taken to be a constant, thus greatly simplifying our haemorheological model and allowing for a partially analytic solution to the problem of steady non-homogeneous flow of blood in a tube.