Department of Aerospace Engineering Mathematics for Engineers II (000307)

Sejong University Instructor: Yosheph Yang

Partial Differential Equation Problem Sets

No Need for Submission (Just for Your Practice)

1. Find the particular solution u (x, t) of the partial differential equation

∂u ∂u
+ =0
∂t ∂x
with the initial solution is given as u (x, 0) = x2 .
Hint: Apply the change of variables: v = x − t and w = t or apply the method of separating variables.

2. By applying the method of separating variables, find the solution u = u (x, t) of the following PDE.
∂u ∂u
=2 +u
∂x ∂t
with the initial condition u (x, 0) = 6e−3x .

3. Find the particular solution u = u (x, y) by the method of separating variables for the following PDE.
∂u ∂u
=4
∂x ∂y
with the boundary condition u (0, y) = 8e−3y .

4. Find the possible values of a and b for the function

u = cos at sin bx

such that it satisfies the wave equation

∂2u ∂2u
2
= c2 2
∂t ∂x


5. Verify the function u (x, y) = a ln x2 + y 2 + b satisfies Laplace’s equation

∂2u ∂2u
+ 2 =0
∂x2 ∂y
Determine the values for a and b so that u (x, y) satisfies the boundary conditions u = 110 on the
circle boundary x2 + y 2 = 1 and u (x, y) = 0 on the circle x2 + y 2 = 100.

6. If u (x, y) = x3 + axy 2 , where a is constant, show that

∂u ∂u
x +y = 3u
∂x ∂y
Find the value of a if u (x, y) is to satisfy the following partial differential equation.
∂2u ∂2u
+ 2 =0
∂x2 ∂y

7. Solve the following wave equation

∂2u 2
2∂ u
= c
∂t2 ∂x2
subject to the boundary conditions u (0, t) = 0 and u (L, t) = 0 with initial conditions

u (x, 0) = sin x
∂u
(x, 0) = 0
∂t

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 Department of Aerospace Engineering Mathematics for Engineers II (000307)
Sejong University Instructor: Yosheph Yang

8. By applying the method of separating variables, find the solution of the following unsteady 1-D heat
equation
∂u ∂2u
=2 2
∂t ∂x
with the domain 0 ≤ x ≤ 3 and t ≥ 0 and the boundary conditions u (0, t) = u (3, t) = 0, and the
initial condition u (x, 0) = 5 sin 4πx.

9. Find the type of the following PDEs (elliptic, parabolic, hyperbolic), transform to the normal form
and solve them for the general solution.

(a) uxx + 2uxy + uyy = 0

(b) uxx + 4uyy = 0
(c) uxx + 5uxy + 4uyy = 0

10. By applying the method of separating variables, solve the following partial differential equation
∂2u ∂2u
− +u=0 0 ≤ x ≤ π, t >= 0
∂t2 ∂x2
with the boundary conditions u (0, t) = u (π, t) = 0 and the initial conditions given as: u (x, 0) = f (x)
∂u
and (x, 0) = 0, where f (x) is defined as:
∂t

x if 0 ≤ x ≤ π2
f (x) =
π − x if π ≤ x ≤ π
2

11. By applying the method of separating variables find the general solution u = u (x, y) of the following
partial differential equation
∂2u ∂u ∂u
−2 + =0
∂x2 ∂x ∂y
12. In a steady state condition, the two-dimensional temperature profile u (x, y) is governed by a Laplace’s
equation.
∂2u ∂2u
+ 2 =0
∂x2 ∂y
For the geometry shown below, find the solution of u (x, y), with the boundary conditions defined as
u (x, 0) = 0, u (x, b) = 200, u (0, y) = 0, u (a, y) = 100.

Plot the temperature profile based on the solution you have obtained by taking a = 3 and b = 2.
Hint: To plot the two-dimensional contour, you can use the meshgrid command in Matlab or python
with matplotlib library. You can take the summation in the series solution up to n = 50.