From point of view of physics, especially of mechanics, we briefly introduce fractional operators (with emphasis on fractional calculus and fractional differential equa- tions) used for describing intermediate processes and critical phenomena in physics and mechanics, their progress in theory and methods and their applications to modern me- chanics. Some authors’ researches in this area in recent years are included. Finally, prospects and evaluation for this subject are made.
XU Mingyu1 & TAN Wenchang2 1. Institute of Applied Mathematics, School of Math & System Science, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
A new dynamic model for non-Fickian diffu-sion of calcium spark in cardiac myocytes was developed by introducing time lags on the basis of the microscale mass transport theory. Numerical simulation showed that the size of the calcium spark produced by the new dynamic model was larger than that of Fick diffusion and was in more agreement with experimental results. In addition, the time lags of the calcium spark in cardiac myocytes were about 0.1—0.8 ms. These results can be used to understand the mechanism of calcium spark diffusion in cardiac myocytes.
The fractional calculus approach in the constitutive relationship model of a generalized second grade fluid is introduced. Exact analytical solutions are obtained for a class of unsteady flows for the generalized second grade fluid with the fractional derivative model between two parallel plates by using the Laplace transform and Fourier transform for fractional calculus. The unsteady flows are generated by the impulsive motion or periodic oscillation of one of the plates. In addition, the solutions of the shear stresses at the plates are also determined.
