Control of Spatio-Temporal Pattern Formation Governed by Geometrical Models of Interface Evolution
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Control of spatio-temporal pattern formation governed by geometrical models of interface evolution Adrian Bouaru A thesis submitted to the University of Sheffield for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering University of Sheffield Sheffield, UK 2015 Abstract Numerous natural phenomena are characterized by spatio-temporal dynamics which give rise to time evolving spatial patterns. Although studies that address the problem of modelling these complex dynamics exist, a model based control approach for such systems is still a challenging task. The work in this thesis is concerned with the development of control methods for such spatio-temporal systems, where interface growth is represented using a geometric evolution law. In particular, the focus is set on the control of dendritic crystal growth and wind aided wildfire spread. In the first section of the thesis several modeling approaches used to describe spatio-temporal systems are discussed and partial differential equation models are selected as a suitable class of models for describing the system dynamics. Following this, the complex nonlinear dynamics found in dendritic crystal growth and wind aided wildfire evolution are analyzed through the scope of geometrical partial differential equation models of interface evolution. In the next part of the thesis, a new method for controlling the shape of evolving interfaces, such as the boundaries of dendritic crystals, described by a temperature-dependent geometrical evolution law, where the normal velocity of the growing interface depends on both local curvature and temperature, is presented. A study of the control method in both two and three dimensions is provided, using both linear and non-linear interface dynamics, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Following this, a novel model-based approach for controlling the evolving complex-shaped fire front using a level-set formulation of the model is presented. The work shows how key influencing parameters such as terrain topography and fuel loading, extracted directly from satellite imaging data, can be incorporated in the model. Simulation results show the numerical method is computationally efficient and examples are given with both synthetic and real data to illustrate the robustness of the containment method against changing wind speed, fuel loading and terrain topography. Based on the developments made in the previous chapters, a new optimization method for controlling wildfire evolution is presented. Using a level set formulation of the evolving interface, a cost function is derived that allows the selection of a spatial location, such that the firefighting action has the best results with respect to a predefined target (minimum fire area increase etc.). Several tuning parameters are incorporated within the optimization algorithm, enabling a wide range of fire combat scenarios to be implemented. Numerical simulations provided demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Daniel Coca for offering me the opportunity to become part of the exciting research area of spatio-temporal systems. I am grateful for his constant guidance and support and his extremely valuable insight into the study of spatio-temporal systems throughout the PhD. I would also like to thank my colleagues from Office Room 316, with whom I’ve had numerous enjoyable discussions. My thanks and appreciations go to the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering which has provided the support and resources I have needed to complete my thesis. I gratefully acknowledge that this work has been supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under the grant award EP/G042209/1. In addition I would like to thank my friends and family who have supported me through the entire period. Most of all I would like to thank my loving wife, who helped me enormously and with whom I’ve shared most of the stress of going through a PhD. Her support has been invaluable throughout this entire period. Table of contents Abstract Acknowledgements List of figures List of tables 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Background to the project and Motivation ........................................................................................ 3 1.2. Dendritic crystal growth .................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Wild fire propagation ........................................................................................................................ 5 1.4. Aims and objectives .......................................................................................................................... 9 1.5. Overview of the thesis ....................................................................................................................... 9 2. Mathematical representations of spatio-temporal systems ............................................................... 13 2.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 13 2.2. Cellular automata models................................................................................................................. 13 2.3. Coupled map lattice models ............................................................................................................. 16 2.4. Partial differential equations ............................................................................................................ 17 2.5. Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 21 3. Models of dendritic crystal growth ...................................................................................................... 23 3.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 23 3.2 Models of interface evolution ........................................................................................................... 23 3.2.1. Geometrical models of dendritic growth .................................................................................. 23 3.2.2. The Stefan problem .................................................................................................................. 27 3.2.3. Cellular automata models for dendritic crystal growth ........................................................... 29 3.3. Numerical methods for solving interface evolution problems ......................................................... 30 3.4. Numerical studies of crystal growth in 2D ...................................................................................... 34 3.4.1. Time and space discretization .................................................................................................. 34 3.4.2. Simulation of geometric models of dendritic crystal growth .................................................. 35 3.4.2.1. Motion of level sets in the normal direction ................................................................ 35 3.4.2.2. Motion of level sets under curvature flow .................................................................. 38 3.4.2.3. Motion of level sets under curvature flow with advection in the normal direction ..... 39 vii 3.4.2.4. Motion of level sets under the second derivative of curvature..................................... 40 3.4.2.5. Numerical difficulties of geometric models of dendritic crystal growth .................... 42 3.4.3. Simulation of the modified Stefan problem ............................................................................ 43 3.4.3.1. Velocity extension ........................................................................................................ 43 3.4.3.2. Re-initialization of the level set function ..................................................................... 44 3.4.3.3. Temperature update ...................................................................................................... 45 3.4.3.4. Simulation results ......................................................................................................... 47 3.4.4. CML simulation of dendritic crystal growth ........................................................................... 49 3.4.4.1. Model description ....................................................................................................... 49 3.4.4.2. Model simulations ...................................................................................................... 50 3.5. Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 52 4. Models of wildfire propagation ........................................................................................................... 53 4.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 53 4.2. Wind aided fire evolution models .................................................................................................... 53 4.3. Numerical studies of forest fire propagation ...................................................................................