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General conformable fractional derivative and its physical interpretation

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DOI: 10.1007/s10092-017-0213-8

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Calcolo (2017) 54:903–917
DOI 10.1007/s10092-017-0213-8

General conformable fractional derivative

and its physical interpretation

Dazhi Zhao1 · Maokang Luo1

Received: 4 September 2016 / Accepted: 3 January 2017 / Published online: 10 January 2017
© Springer-Verlag Italia 2017

Abstract Fractional calculus is a powerful and effective tool for modelling nonlinear
systems. In this paper, we introduce a class of new fractional derivative named general
conformable fractional derivative (GCFD) to describe the physical world. The GCFD
is generalized from the concept of conformable fractional derivative (CFD) proposed
by Khalil. We point out that the term t 1−α in CFD definition is not essential and it is only
a kind of “fractional conformable function”. We also give physical and geometrical
interpretations of GCFD which thus indicate potential applications in physics and
engineering. It is easy to demonstrate that CFD is a special case of GCFD, then to the
authors’ knowledge, so far we first give the physical and geometrical interpretations
of CFD. The above work is done by a new framework named Extended Gâteaux
derivative and Linear Extended Gâteaux derivative which are natural extensions of
Gâteaux derivative. As an application, we discuss a scheme for solving fractional
differential equations of GCFD.

Keywords General conformable fractional derivative · Conformable fractional

derivative · Fractional conformable function · Extended Gâteaux derivative · Linear
Extended Gâteaux derivative · Physical interpretation · Geometrical interpretation ·
Local fractional derivative

Mathematic Subject Classification 26A33 · 34A08 · 49J50

B Dazhi Zhao
zhaodazhimail@163.com
Maokang Luo
makaluo@scu.edu.cn

1 School of Mathematics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

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904 D. Zhao, M. Luo

1 Introduction

Fractional calculus or non-integer order calculus is an old topic from Leibniz times
[1] and has attracted much attention from mathematicians, physicists and engineers
in recent decades [2–13]. It is regarded as a powerful and effective tool for modelling
nonlinear systems [14–17]. Various types of fractional derivative definitions were
introduced in history, such as Riemann–Liouville, Caputo, Grunwald–Letnikov, Riesz
and Weyl, etc. Most of them are defined via fractional integrals, thus they inherit non-
local properties from integral. Heredity and nonlocality are typical properties of these
definitions [18], which are important in many application fields and are different from
classical Newton–Leibniz calculus.
However, some inconsistencies arise when we compare these fractional derivative
definitions with Newton’s derivative. For example, as stated in Refs. [19] and [20],
these derivatives do not obey product rule, quotient rule, chain rule for derivative opera-
tions. Those inconsistencies come with difficulties and inconvenience in mathematical
handle. To overcome these difficulties, some scholars introduced the concept of local
fractional derivative (LFD). Kolwankar and Gangal [21] gave a type of LFD by the
means of letting lower or upper limit of Riemann–Liouville derivative approach to the
defined point in 1996, several followed works [22–26] further extended its properties
and applications. In 2014, Khalil et al. [19] proposed another type of LFD named “con-
formable fractional derivative” (CFD) whose most properties coincide with Newton
derivative and can be used to solve fractional differential equations more easily [27].
The CFD is defined as
Definition 1 Given a function f : [0, ∞) → R. Then the “conformable fractional
derivative” of order α is defined by

f (t + t 1−α ) − f (t)
Tα ( f )(t) = lim (1)
→0 

for all t > 0, α ∈ (0, 1). If f is α-differentiable in some (0, a), a > 0, and
limt→0+ f α (t) exists, then define f α (0) = limt→0+ f α (t).
Some scholars followed this work and explored potential applications in Newton
mechanics [28], quantum mechanics [29] and so on [30]. However, physical inter-
pretation of this derivative is unknown thus basis of those potential applications seems
not solid. At the same time, some readers may wonder what is the role the term t 1−α
acts in Definition (1). We will discuss these issues in the following context and point
out that the term t 1−α is not essential and it is only a kind of “fractional conformable
function”.
It is noticed that the term LFD has two meanings in this paper. Firstly, it refers
to the derivative proposed by Kolwankar and Gangal. Secondly, it has a more wide
scope that it includes all the opposite derivatives of “nonlocal” fractional derivatives.
In order to avoid confusion, LFD refers to the second meaning by default in this paper
and we will call the first one a full name—Kolwankar and Gangal LFD.
In the present work, we extend the concept of Gâteaux derivative and discuss prin-
ciples for the definition of LFD. As an example, we generalize the definition of CFD

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General conformable fractional derivative and its... 905

by means of Linear Extended Gâteaux derivative (LEGD) to general conformable

fractional derivative (GCFD). We also give physical and geometrical interpretations
of this new derivative which thus indicate potential applications in physics and engi-
neering. It is easy to demonstrate that Khalil’s CFD is the special case, then to the
authors’ knowledge, so far we first give the physical and geometrical interpretations
of CFD.
The presentation in the rest of paper is organized as follows. We introduce the
concepts of Gâteaux derivative, Extended Gâteaux derivative (EGD) and LEGD in
Sect. 2 and give the physical interpretation of EGD and LEGD in Sect. 3. Those two
sections prepare a new framework for the definition of GCFD. In Sect. 4, we discuss
principles for the definition of LFD. As an example, we define GCFD in the framework
of LEGD in this section. Various properties of GCFD are given in Sect. 5. Integral
of GCFD and the “fundamental theorem” of GCFD are provided in Sect. 6. As an
application, we give a scheme for solving the GCFD fractional differential equations
in Sect. 7. Finally, we conclude and give some discussions in Sect. 8.

2 Gâteaux derivative, Extended Gâteaux derivative and Linear

Extended Gâteaux derivative

Definition 2 (Gâteaux derivative). [31] Suppose X and Y are locally convex topo-
logical vector spaces, U ⊂ X is open, and f : X → Y . The Gâteaux differential
d f (u; ψ) of f at u ∈ U in the direction ψ ∈ X is defined as

f (u + ψ) − f (u)
d f (u; ψ) = lim , (2)
→0 
if the limit exists.
The limit in Eq. (2) is taken relative to the topology of Y . If X and Y are Euclidean
space Rn , the Gâteaux derivative is a one-dimensional calculation along a specified
direction ψ. We say that f is Gâteaux differentiable at u if the limit in Eq. (2) exists
for all ψ ∈ X .
Readers can refer to textbook [32] to find many concrete examples of Gâteaux
differential. We will list some properties of Gâteaux derivative here [32].
Property 1 Differential of a constant. The Gâteaux differential of a constant is zero:
d(c)(u; ψ) = 0.
Property 2 Sum rule. Gâteaux differentiation distributes over sums: d( f +g)(u; ψ) =
d f (u; ψ) + dg(u; ψ).
Property 3 Product rule and quotient rule. The Gâteaux differential of an elemen-
twise product f g is d( f g)(u; ψ) = d f (u; ψ)g + dg(u; ψ) f while differential of
quotient f /g is d( gf )(u; ψ) = d f (u;ψ)g−dg(u;ψ)
g2
f
.
Property 4 Chain rule. Assume g : U → V is Gâteaux differential at u ∈ U , and
f : V → W is Gâteaux differential at g(u) ∈ V , then

d( f ◦ g)(u; ψ) = d f (g(u); dg(u; ψ)). (3)

123
906 D. Zhao, M. Luo

Note that in Definition 2, ψ is a constant point in X and has no relationship with

u at any given u ∈ U . We extend this concept and give a new extended definition as
follows.
Definition 3 (Extended Gâteaux derivative). Suppose X and Y are locally convex
topological vector spaces, U ⊂ X is open, f : X → Y and ψ(u, , p) : X ×R×R →
X , where p ∈ R is a parameter. The Extended Gâteaux differential (EGD) d f (u; ψ)
of f at u ∈ U is defined as

f (u + ψ(u, , p)) − f (u)

d f E G (u; ψ) = lim , (4)
→0 

if the limit exists.

Remark 1 When ψ(u, , p) = φ, where φ ∈ X , Definition 3 degenerates to Defini-

tion 2. In other words, Extended Gâteaux derivative is a natural extension of Gâteaux
derivative.
1
Remark 2 When ψ(u, , p) =  p , Definition 3 is equivalent to Kolwankar and Gan-
gal’s LFD definition. Actually, Kolwankar and Gangal’s LFD definition can be written
as [22]

p f (u + ) − f (u)
d+ f (u) = Γ (1 + p) lim . (5)
→0+ p
1
If we ignore the coefficient Γ (1+ p), Eq. (5) is equivalent to (4) with ψ(u, , p) =  p .

In order to inherit properties from Gâteaux derivative, we discuss a special and

useful case of EGD—ψ(u, , p) = φ(u, p), where  is separable from u and p, we
name it Linear Extended Gâteaux derivative.
Definition 4 (Linear Extended Gâteaux derivative). Suppose X and Y are locally
convex topological vector spaces, U ⊂ X is open, f : X → Y and ψ(u, p) :
X × R → X , where p ∈ R is a parameter. The Linear Extended Gâteaux differential
(LEGD) d f (u; ψ) of f at u ∈ U is defined as

f (u + ψ(u, p)) − f (u)

d f L E G (u; ψ) = lim , (6)
→0 

if the limit exists.

3 Physical interpretation of EGD and properties of LEGD

Physical and geometrical interpretations of Newton’s derivative are clear. It means

velocity of particle or slope of a tangent respectively. When the independent variable
u changes , function value changes accordingly. Their ratio limit reflects the strength
and direction of the velocity. As for EGD, when the independent variable u changes

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General conformable fractional derivative and its... 907

, the map value changes according to ψ(u, , p), and the ratio limit of change of
map value and  defines the EGD. So physical interpretation of EGD can be regarded
as a special velocity, its direction and strength rely on ψ(u, , p). In particular, the
LEGD has a more clear interpretation. We first give a result in Euclidean space Rn .
For simplicity, we write d f L E G (u; ψ) as d f (u; ψ) in the rest of paper if there is no
special claim.

Theorem 1 Let X, Y be Euclidean space Rn and Rm respectively, f : X → Y and

f be Linear Extended Gâteaux differentiable at u = (u 1 , u 2 , . . . , u n ) ∈ U ⊂ X, f =
( f 1 , f 2 , . . . , f m ) ∈ Y, ψ(u, p) : X × R → X , where p ∈ R is a parameter. If
∂ fj
∂u i , ∀i ∈ 1, 2, . . . , n, ∀ j ∈ 1, 2, . . . , m exists, then,

d f (u; ψ) = (< ∇ f 1 , ψ(u, p) >, < ∇ f 2 , ψ(u, p) >,

. . . , < ∇ f m , ψ(u, p) >). (7)

Proof Firstly, d f (u; ψ) = (d f 1 (u; ψ), d f 2 (u; ψ), . . . , d f m (u; ψ)).

We rewrite ψ(u, p) ∈ X as (ψ1 ( p), ψ2 ( p), . . . , ψn ( p)). Then, ∀ j ∈ 1, 2, . . . , m,

d f j (u; ψ)
f j (u + ψ(u, p)) − f j (u)
= lim
→0 

f j (u 1 + ψ1 ( p), u 2 + ψ2 ( p), . . . , u n + ψn ( p))
= lim
→0 

f j (u 1 , u 2 , . . . , u n )
− .


∂f
Since ∂u ij , ∀i ∈ 1, 2, . . . , n, ∀ j ∈ 1, 2, . . . , m exists, and when  → 0, f j (u +
ψ(u, p)) − f j (u) → 0, according to L’Hôpital’s rule of variable , we get that

∂ fj ∂ fj ∂ fj
d f j (u; ψ) = (u)ψ1 ( p) + (u)ψ2 ( p) + . . . + (u)ψn ( p)
∂u 1 ∂u 2 ∂u n
= < ∇ f j , ψ(u, p) > .

Then it holds

d f (u; ψ) = (< ∇ f 1 , ψ(u, p) >, < ∇ f 2 , ψ(u, p) >,

. . . , < ∇ f m , ψ(u, p) >).

∂f
Remark 3 When m = 1 and ψ(u, p) = (0, . . . , 1, . . . , 0), d f (u; ψ) = ∂u i (u) coin-
cides with classical partial derivative in Rn .

Remark 4 When m = 1, d f (u; ψ) =< ∇ f, ψ(u, p) >, then geometrical interpreta-

tions of the LEGD is that the gradient of a function f projects onto a function ψ(u, p)

123
908 D. Zhao, M. Luo

or a special function ψ(u, p) projects onto the gradient of a function f from a different
viewpoint.

Remark 5 When n = 1, d f (u; ψ) = ( dduf1 ψ(u, p), dduf2 ψ(u, p), . . . , ddu
fm
ψ(u, p)) =
df
du ψ(u, p), it means that velocity in the sense of LEGD is a multiple of the classical
velocity.

From Theorem (1) and remarks above, we can find that physical interpretation of
the LEGD is a modification of classical velocity in direction and magnitude.
Next, we give a result of the LEGD similar to Gâteaux derivative.
Theorem 2 Let f, g be Linear Extended Gâteaux differentiable at u ∈ U ⊂
X, ψ(u, p) : X × R → X , where p ∈ R is a parameter. Then,
(1) dc(u; ψ) = 0, for all constant functions.
(2) d(a f + bg)(u; ψ) = ad f (u; ψ) + bdg(u; ψ), for all a, b ∈ R.
(3) d( f g)(u; ψ) = f dg(u; ψ) + gd f (u; ψ).
(4) d( gf )(u; ψ) = gd f (u;ψ)−
g2
f dg(u;ψ)
.
(5) Chain rule: d( f ◦ g)(u; ψ) = d f (g(u); dg(u; ψ)).

Proof Parts (1) and (2) follow immediately from the definition of LEGD.

d( f g)(u; ψ)
f (u + ψ(u, p))g(u + ψ(u, p)) − f (u)g(u)
= lim
→0 

f (u + ψ)g(u + ψ) − f (u + ψ)g(u)
= lim
→0 

f (u + ψ)g(u) − f (u)g(u)
+

f (u + ψ)(g(u + ψ) − g(u))
= lim
→0 
(( f (u + ψ) − f (u))g(u)
+ lim
→0 
= f dg(u; ψ) + gd f (u; ψ).

This completes the proof of (3).

  1
− 1
1 g(u+ψ(u, p)) g(u)
d (u; ψ) = lim
g →0 
g(u)−g(u+ψ(u, p))

= lim
→0g(u + ψ(u, p)g(u))
−dg(u; ψ)
= .
g 2 (u)

gd f (u;ψ)− f dg(u;ψ)
Then d( gf )(u; ψ) = g2
holds according to (3).

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General conformable fractional derivative and its... 909

Next, we prove (5).

First, if f is Linear Extended Gâteaux differentiable at u, f (u + ψ(u, p)) =
f (u) + d f (u; ψ(u, p)) + o(). Then,

d( f ◦ g)(u; ψ)
f (g(u + ψ(u, p))) − f (g(u))
= lim
→0 
f (g(u) + dg(u; ψ(u, p)) + o()) − f (g(u))
= lim
→0 
f (g(u) + (dg(u; ψ(u, p)) +  −1 o())) − f (g(u))
= lim
→0 

f (g(u)) + d f (g(u); dg(u; ψ(u, p)) +  −1 o())
= lim
→0 

f (g(u))
−

= d f (g(u); dg(u; ψ)).

This completes the proof of (5).

4 Principles for the definition of LFD and GCFD

When we consider the concept of local fractional derivative (LFD), which principles
are needed to take into account? Clearly, the first principle is that when fractional
order p = 1, the LFD should degenerate to the usual first-order derivative. Even
more, we hope that when p = 0, the LFD of a function is the function itself. However,
it may be hard to satisfy, because neither Kolwankar–Gangal definition nor Khalil
definition meets this demand. The second one is the LFD should have local properties,
for example, the derivative of a constant is zero. Meanwhile, its properties should be
consistent with the classical derivative as much as possible, thus it is more convenient
to do mathematical treatment. Furthermore, we hope that LFD has clear physical or
geometric interpretations, as it relates to its value and potential applications. We put
these principles together as:
Principle 1 LFD should degenerate to the usual first-order derivative when fractional
order equals one.
Principle 2 LFD should have properties consistent with the classical derivative as
much as possible.
Principle 3 LFD should have clear physical or geometrical interpretations.
As mentioned in last sections, the LEGD is the generalization of classical Newton’s
derivative and has properties similar to it (see Theorem 2), in other words, LEGD
satisfies the above Principle 2. Meanwhile, the LEGD has clear physical or geometrical
interpretations (see Theorem 1), so Principle 3 is satisfied. As an example, we focus
our attention on generalizing the definition of CFD by means of LEGD.

123
910 D. Zhao, M. Luo

In order to meet Principle 1, ψ(u, 1) should be equal to one. Meanwhile, for the
unique meaning of each order p ∈ (0, 1], ψ(u, p) should differ from different p. That
is:

ψ(u, 1) = 1, (8)
ψ(·, p) = ψ(·, q), where p = q and p, q ∈ (0, 1]. (9)

Whenever we determine a function ψ(u, p), we get a CFD definition form. From
elementary simple functions, we get various ψ(u, p) which satisfy Eqs. (8) and (9)

linear : ψ(u, p) = pk + b, specially, ψ(u, p) = p, (10)

α
power : ψ(u, p) = p , specially, ψ(u, p) = p , 2
(11)
exponent : ψ(u, p) = a (1− p)h( p) ,
specially, ψ(u, p) = u (1− p)h( p) , (12)
logarithm : ψ(u, p) = loga φ(u, p), (13)
π  π 
trigonometric : ψ(u, p) = sin p , or, ψ(u, p) = tan p , (14)
2 4
where k, b are constant number, k + b = 1, α > 0, a is a non-zero number, h( p) is
a polynomial function such that h( p) = 0 when p ∈ (0, 1), φ(u, p) is a monotonous
function of u such that φ(u, 1) = a. It is easy to verify that all the ψ(u, p) listed above
satisfy Eqs. (8) and (9) and readers can find more in elementary simple functions or
their combinations.
Definition 5 (Fractional conformable function). We call continuous real functions
satisfying the above Eqs. (8), (9) and constant value function ψ(u, α) = 1 fractional
conformable functions.
Basically, we restrict space X to R+ for simplicity to define the concept of GCFD
as follows.
Definition 6 (GCFD). Let ψ(u, p) be a fractional conformable function and p ∈
(0, 1]. The GCFD is defined as:

p f (u + ψ(u, p)) − f (u)

Dψ f (u) = lim . (15)
→0 
Apparently, this definition is local and its operation on any constant number is zero.
p
Remark 6 When ψ(u, p) = 1, Dψ f (u) degenerates to the usual first-order derivative
and has no relationship with fractional order p.
p
Remark 7 When h( p) = 1 such that ψ(u, p) = u 1− p , Dψ f (u) coincides with
Khalil’s definition [19]. In other words, CFD is a special case of GCFD.
Remark 8 As for the definition of Katugampola [20], it is a special case of the EGD,
−p −p
where ψ(u, , p) = ueu − u. However, since ueu − u = u 1− p + o( 2 ), it has
the same form as the Khalil’s definition if we omit o( 2 ). So we regard Katugampola’s
definition and Khalil’s definition as the same definition type.

123
General conformable fractional derivative and its... 911

It is natural to define the GCFD of arbitrary order as follows.

Definition 7 (GCFD of arbitrary order). Let p ∈ (n, n + 1], for some n ∈ N and f
be n-differentiable at u > 0. Then the p-fractional derivative of f is defined as:
p p−n
Dψ f (u) = Dψ D n f (u)
f (n) (u + ψ(u, p − n)) − f (n) (u)
= lim , (16)
→0 

if the limit exists.

5 Properties of GCFD

We now give some properties of the GCFD.

Theorem 3 If a function f : R+ → R is p-differentiable at u > 0, p ∈ (0, 1], then
f is continuous at u.
f (u+ψ(u, p))− f (u)
Proof Since f (u + ψ(u, p)) − f (u) =  . Then,

lim ( f (u + ψ(u, p)) − f (u))

→0
f (u + ψ(u, p)) − f (u)
= lim · lim .
→0  →0

Let h = ψ(u, p), then,

lim ( f (u + ψ(u, p)) − f (u))

→0
p
= lim ( f (u + h) − f (u)) = Dψ f (u) · 0 = 0,
h→0

which implies lim f (u + h) = f (u). In other words, f is continuous at u.

h→0

Theorem 4 If a function f is p-differentiable at u > 0, p ∈ (0, 1], then

p
f (u + ψ(u, p)) = f (u) +  Dψ f (u) + o(). (17)

Proof It is a direct consequence of the definition of GCFD in Eq. (15).

Theorem 5 Let p ∈ (0, 1], and f, g be p-differentiable at u > 0. Then,

p p p
(1) Dψ (a f + bg) = a Dψ ( f ) + bDψ (g), for all a, b ∈ R.
p
(2) Dψ (c) = 0, for all constant functions.
p p p
(3) Dψ ( f g) = f Dψ (g) + g Dψ ( f ).
p p
p g Dψ ( f )− f Dψ (g)
(4) Dψ ( gf ) = g2
.
p df
(5) If f is differentiable, then Dψ ( f ) = du (u)ψ(u, p).

123
912 D. Zhao, M. Luo

p  p
(6) Chain rule: if f is differentiable, then Dψ ( f ◦ g(u)) = f (g(u))Dψ (g(u)).

Proof Parts (1) to (4) and (6) are direct corollaries of Theorem 2. Part (5) is the
corollary of Theorem 1.

df
Remark 9 When ψ(u, p) = u 1− p , result (5) comes out to be D p ( f ) = du (u)u
1− p .

It coincides with Khalil’s result in Ref. [19].

Remark 10 If our Definition (6) holds for p = 0, then we have Dψ0 ( f ) = f . Mean-
while, by result (5), we get that Dψ0 ( f ) = f  ψ(u, 0). Therefore, f  ψ(u, 0) = f , in
other words, ψ(u, 0) = f / f  , which indicates ψ(u, 0) relies on some function. It is
unreasonable. So we never require Definition (6) holds for p = 0. That is why Khalil
does not require his definition hold for zero too.

According to (5) in Theorem (5), one can easily and conveniently compute the
GCFD of some useful functions.
Theorem 6 Let a, n ∈ R and p ∈ (0, 1], then we have the following results.
p
(1) Dψ (1) = 0.
p
(2) Dψ (u n ) = nu n−1 ψ(u, p).
p
(3) Dψ (eau ) = aeau ψ(u, p).
p
(4) Dψ (sin ax) = a cos axψ(u, p).
p
(5) Dψ (cos ax) = −a sin axψ(u, p).
p
One can also find the fixed point of operator Dψ .
p
Theorem 7 If f is differentiable, and Dψ ( f ) = f , then
 1
f (u) = ce ψ(u, p) du , (18)

where c is any positive constant.

p 
Proof According to (5) in Theorem (5), Dψ ( f ) = f is equivalent to ψ(u, p) f = f .
 1
To solve this simple ODE, one can get the result: f (u) = ce ψ(u, p) du , where c is any
positive constant.

up
Remark 11 When ψ(u, p) = u 1− p , it is easy to get that f (u) = ce p . It coincides
with Khalil’s result in Ref. [19].

Next, we give Rolle’s theorem and the Mean Value theorem of GCFD.
Theorem 8 (Rolle’s theorem for GCFD). Let a > 0 and f : [a, b] → R be a given
function that satisfies
(i) f is p-differentiable for some p ∈ (0, 1] at any u ∈ [a, b],
(ii) f (a) = f (b).
p
Then, there exists c ∈ (a, b), such that Dψ ( f (c)) = 0.

123
General conformable fractional derivative and its... 913

Proof Since f is p-differentiable at any u ∈ [a, b], we know that f is continuous on

[a, b] by Theorem (3). Because f (a) = f (b), there must be c ∈ (a, b), which is a
point of local extrema. Then,

p f (c + ψ(c, p)) − f (c)

Dψ (c) = lim
→0+ 
f (c + ψ(c, p)) − f (c)
= lim .
→0− 
p
If ψ(c, p) = 0, then Dψ ( f (c)) = 0. Otherwise, the two limits have opposite signs.
p
Hence, Dψ ( f (c)) = 0.

Theorem 9 (Mean Value theorem for GCFD). Let a > 0 and f : [a, b] → R be a
p-differentiable function for some p ∈ (0, 1] at any u ∈ [a, b]. h(u) = ψ(u,
1
p) du.
p f (b)− f (a)
Then, there exists c ∈ (a, b), such that Dψ ( f (c)) = h(b)−h(a) .
p
Proof First, we notice that Dψ (h(u)) = 1. It is apparent from direct computation.
Now consider the function
f (b) − f (a)
g(u) = f (u) − f (a) − (h(u) − h(a)).
h(b) − h(a)

Then the function g(u) satisfies the conditions of Rolle’s theorem (8).
p
So there exists c ∈ (a, b), such that Dψ (g(c)) = 0. That is

p p f (b) − f (a) p
Dψ (g(c)) = Dψ ( f (c)) − D (h(c)) = 0.
h(b) − h(a) ψ
p p f (b)− f (a)
Because Dψ (h(c)) = 1, then we get Dψ ( f (c)) = h(b)−h(a) .

Remark 12 When ψ(u, p) = 1, h(u) = u. It coincides with classical Mean Value
theorem.
up
Remark 13 When ψ(u, p) = u 1− p , it is easy to get that h(u) = p . It coincides with
Khalil’s result in Refs. [19] and [20].

6 Inverse operator of GCFD

Inverse operator of GCFD, or corresponding form of integration, clearly should make

p
the formula I p Dψ = I holds, where I p is a symbol of integral and I is the identity
operator. Inspired by relation (5) in Theorem (5), we can define it as follows.
Definition 8 (Integral of GCFD). Let a ≥ 0 and u ≥ a, f be a function defined on
(a, u]. Then the p-fractional integral of f is defined as:

p,ψ
u f (t)
Ia f (u) = dt, (19)
a ψ(t, p)

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914 D. Zhao, M. Luo

if the Riemann integral exists.

Remark 14 When ψ(u, p) = 1, it coincides with classical Riemann integral.

Remark 15 When ψ(u, p) = u 1− p , it coincides with Khalil’s integral in Refs. [19]

and [20].

The “fundamental theorem” of GCFD calculus is as follows.

Theorem 10 (Fundamental theorem 1 for GCFD). Let a ≥ 0 and u ≥ a, p ∈ (0, 1].

p,ψ
Let f be a continuous function such that Ia f (u) exists. Then,

p p,ψ
Dψ I a f (u) = f (u).

p,ψ
Proof Since f is continuous, then Ia f (u) is differentiable. According to (5) in
Theorem (5), we have

f (u))
p p,ψ p,ψ
Dψ I a f (u) = ψ(u, p)(Ia
 
f (t)u
= ψ(u, p) dt
a ψ(t, p)
f (u)
= ψ(u, p)
ψ(u, p)
= f (u).

Theorem 11 (Fundamental theorem 2 for GCFD). Let a ≥ 0 and u ≥ a, p ∈ (0, 1].

Let f : [a, +∞) be differentiable. Then,

p,ψ p
Ia Dψ f (u) = f (u) − f (a). (20)

Proof Since f is differentiable, according to (5) in Theorem (5), we have

p,ψ p
Ia Dψ f (u)
= Ia (ψ(t, p) f  )(u)
p,ψ
 u
ψ(t, p) f  (t)
= dt
a ψ(t, p)
 u
= f  (t)dt
a
= f (u) − f (a).

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General conformable fractional derivative and its... 915

7 Application in fractional differential equations

In this section, we will give a simple scheme for solving the GCFD fractional differ-
ential equations (FDE). We consider the FDE in the form with

y ( p) + f (x)y = g(x), (21)

where 0 < p ≤ 1 and y ( p) denotes the fractional derivative of y. We assume that we

are looking for a differentiable y.
According to (5) in Theorem (5), Eq. (21) is transformed to

ψ(x, p)y  + f (x)y = g(x), (22)

which is a first-order differential equation and easy to solve.

Example 1 y ( p) + y = 0, 0 < p ≤ 1.
We follow the above scheme and transform the original FDE to

ψ(x, p)y  + y = 0. (23)

 1
− ψ(x, p) d x
It is easy to find the solution of Eq. (23) is ce , c is any positive constant.
1
− x p
If we take ψ(x, p) = x 1− p , the solution equals ce p , which is derived in Ref. [19].

8 Conclusions and discussions

In the present paper, a class of new fractional derivative named GCFD is introduced
to describe the physical world. We give physical and geometrical interpretations of
GCFD which thus indicate potential applications in physics and engineering. It is easy
to demonstrate that CFD is a special case of GCFD, then to the authors’ knowledge, so
far we first give the physical and geometrical interpretations of CFD. The above work
is done by a new framework named EGD and LEGD which are natural extensions
of Gâteaux derivative. LEGD includes Gâteaux derivative as a special case, EGD
includes both of LEGD and Kolwankar–Gangal’s LFD definition as special cases.
We discuss principles for the definition of LFD, and claim that the LEGD with a
special class of functions (fractional conformable functions) satisfies those principles.
As an example, we then define GCFD by means of LEGD. We do not follow the
routine—define CFD and then guess what are the physical and geometrical interpre-
tations of it? However, we try to find the definition from the point of view “How can
it be closer to the nature and practical applications” and follow another routine—the
LEGD has clear physical and geometrical interpretations, so we can define GCFD in
that framework.
To discuss concrete applicable examples of GCFD is an interesting topic and we
will present its application in fluid dynamics in the future works.

Acknowledgements This work was supported partially by National Natural Science Foundation of China
(under Grant No.11171238).

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916 D. Zhao, M. Luo

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