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Decay result in a problem of a nonlinearly damped wave equation with

variable exponent

Article  in  AIMS Mathematics · January 2021

DOI: 10.3934/math.2022170

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 AIMS Mathematics, 7(2): 3067–3082.
DOI: 10.3934/math.2022170
Received: 19 August 2021
Accepted: 19 November 2021
http://www.aimspress.com/journal/Math Published: 24 November 2021

Research article
Decay result in a problem of a nonlinearly damped wave equation with
variable exponent

Mohammad Kafini1,3,∗ , Jamilu Hashim Hassan1 and Mohammad M. Al-Gharabli2,3

1
Department of Mathematics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
2
The Preparatory Year Program, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
3
The Interdisciplinary Research Center in Construction and Building Materials, King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

* Correspondence: Email: mkafini@kfupm.edu.sa.

Abstract: In this work we study a wave equation with a nonlinear time dependent frictional damping
of variable exponent type. The existence and uniqueness results are established using Fadeo-Galerkin
approximation method. We also exploit the Komornik lemma to prove the uniform stability result for
the energy associated to the solution of the problem under consideration.
Keywords: viscoelasticity; relaxation function; general decay; logarithmic nonlinearity; variable
exponent
Mathematics Subject Classification: 35B37, 35L55, 74D05, 93D15, 93D20

1. Introduction

In this work we are concerned with the decay rate of the following problem with nonlinear damping
of variable exponent
h i
∆u + α + = 0, in Ω × (0, T ),

m(x)−2



 u tt (x, t) − (x, t) (t) u t (x, t) ut (x, t)|u t | (x, t)
u = 0, on ∂Ω × (0, T ), (1.1)



 u(x, 0) = u0 (x), ut (x, 0) = u1 (x),


in Ω,
where T > 0 and Ω is a bounded
  domain of Rn (n ≥ 1). The functions u0 , u1 are initial data and the
variable exponent m(·) ∈ C Ω is a given functions satisfying

1 < m1 ≤ m(x) ≤ m2 < 2∗ , (1.2)

 3068

where
2n
,
(
if n ≥ 3,
m1 := inf m(x), m2 := supm(x), 2 = ∗ n−2
x∈Ω x∈Ω ∞, if n < 3,
and also satisfies the log-Hölder continuity condition:
A
|m(x) − m(y)| ≤ − , (1.3)
log |x − y|
for x, y ∈ Ω, with |x − y| < δ, A > 0 and 0 < δ < 1. The function α : [0, ∞) → (0, ∞) is a bounded
nonincreasing C 1 −function and

∃α0 > 0 such that α (t) ≥ α0 , ∀t ≥ 0. (1.4)

Problems with variable exponents appear as a direct consequence of the advancement of science
and technology. Many physical and engineering models require more sophisticated mathematical
functional spaces to be studied and well understood. For example, in fluid dynamics, the
electrorheological fluids (smart fluids) have the property that the viscosity changes when exposed to
an electrical field. More examples are found in studying models of the image processing and filtration
processes through a porous media. The Lebesgue and Sobolev spaces with variable exponents proved
to be efficient tools to study such problems. More details on applications of these problems can be
found in ( [1–3]).
A lot of papers in the literature dealt with stabilization of wave equations with different types of
nonlinearities such as linear, polynomial and logarithmic. For instance, the following problem was
studied by Nakao [4].

utt − ∆u + |ut |m−2 ut + |u| p−2 u = 0, in Ω × (0, ∞),

where m, p > 2 and Ω ⊂ Rn (n ≥ 1) is a bounded domain. He showed that, with Dirichlet-boundary

conditions, the problem has a unique global weak solution if 2 ≤ p ≤ 2 (n − 1) / (n − 2) , n ≥ 3 and
a global unique strong solution if p > 2 (n − 1) / (n − 2) , n ≥ 3. In both cases, he proved that the
energy of the solution decays algebraically if m > 2 and decays exponentially if m = 2. Benaissa and
Messaoudi [5] considered
 
utt − ∆u + a 1 + |ut |m−2 ut = |u| p−2 u, in Ω × (0, ∞),

where m, p > 2 and showed, for small initial data in an appropriate function space, that the problem
has a global weak solution which decays exponentially even if m > 2. We also mention here the work
of Mustafa and Messaoudi [6], where they considered

utt − ∆u + α (t) g (ut ) = 0, in Ω × (0, ∞),

and established an explicit and general decay rate result, without imposing any restrictive growth
assumption on the frictional damping term.
As we mentioned earlier, modern technology and engineering required the use of variable exponents
nonlinearities and the Lebesgue and Sobolev spaces with variable exponents as well. In this regard, we
mention the work of Ghegal et al. [7] where, in a bounded domain, the following equation is considered

utt − ∆u + |ut |m(·)−2 ut = |u| p(·)−2 u, in Ω × (0, ∞).

AIMS Mathematics Volume 7, Issue 2, 3067–3082.

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Under suitable conditions on the initial data and the variable exponents, the authors used stable-set
method to prove a global existence result. Then, by applying an integral inequality due to Komornik,
they obtained the stability result. More results can be found in ( [8–10]).
Hyperbolic problems involving variable-exponent nonlinearities with delay are also considered. For
instance, Kafini and Messaoudi [11] studied the problem

utt − ∆u + µ1 |ut |m(x)−2 ut + µ2 |ut |m(x)−2 (t − τ)ut (t − τ) = bu |u| p(x)−2 .

For b > 0, they established a global nonexistence result under suitable conditions on µ1 , µ2 , m(·), p(·)
and the initial data. While, for b = 0, they obtained a decay result which is of either polynomial or
exponential type depending on the nature of m(·).
Recently, Messaoudi in [12] considered the problem
 
utt − div |∇u|r(·)−2 ∇u − ∆ut + |ut |m(·)−2 ut = 0, Ω × (0, T ),

and established several decay results depending on the nature of variable exponents r (·) and m (·).
See [13–17], for more results on the local existence and blow up for some problems with variable
exponent nonlinearities.
Fractional derivatives have been also influenced by variable orders. One can see variable-order
fractional differential equations: mathematical foundations, physical models, numerical methods and
applications as in [18]. Analyzing a variable-order time-fractional wave equation, which models, e.g.,
the vibration of a membrane in a viscoelastic environment examined in [19]. See also [20–22] for more
details.
In our work, we aim to study the nonlinear wave Eq (1.1) with nonlinear feedback having a variable
exponent m(x) and a time-dependent coefficient α(t). We establish a decay result of an exponential
and polynomial type under specific conditions on both m(·) and α (t) and the initial data. This paper
consists of three sections in addition to the introduction. In Section 2, we recall the basic definitions of
the variable exponent Lebesgue spaces L p(·) (Ω), the Sobolev spaces W 1,p(·) (Ω), as well as some of their
properties. Section 3 is devoted to the existence and uniqueness of a weak global solution. In the last
section, we show the decay result.

2. Preliminaries

In this section, we present some materials needed for the statement and the proof of our results. In
what follows, we give definitions and properties related to Lebesgue and Sobolev spaces with variable
exponents, see [23, 24] for more details.
Let Ω be a domain of Rn with n ≥ 2 and p : Ω −→ [1, ∞] be a measurable function. The Lebesgue
space L p(·) (Ω) with a variable exponent p(·) is defined by
n o
L p(·) (Ω) = v : Ω −→ R; measurable such that % p(·) (λv) < +∞, for some λ > 0 ,

where Z
% p(·) (v) := |v(x)| p(x) dx.
Ω

AIMS Mathematics Volume 7, Issue 2, 3067–3082.

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The Luxembourg-type norm is given by

( Z   p(x) )
kvk p(·) := inf λ > 0 :  v(x)  dx ≤ 1 .
 λ 
Ω

The space L p(·) (Ω), equipped with the above norm, is a Banach space.
Lemma 2.1. (Hölder’s inequality) Let p, q, s ≥ 1 be measurable functions defined on Ω such that
1 1 1
= + , for a.e. y ∈ Ω.
s(y) p(y) q(y)

If f ∈ L p(·) (Ω) and g ∈ Lq(·) (Ω), then f g ∈ L s(·) (Ω) and

k f gk s(·) ≤ 2 k f k p(·) kgkq(·) .

Lemma 2.2. If p : Ω −→ [1, ∞) is a measurable function and 1 ≤ p1 ≤ p(x) ≤ p2 < ∞, then

n o n o
min kvk pp(·)
1
, kvk pp(·)
2
≤ % p(·) (v) ≤ max kvk pp(·)
1
, kvk pp(·)
2
,

for a.e. x ∈ Ω and for any v ∈ L p(·) (Ω).

Lemma 2.3. [12] If p : Ω −→ [1, ∞) is a measurable function and 1 ≤ p1 ≤ p(x) ≤ p2 < ∞, then
Z
|v(x)| p(x) dx ≤ kvk pp11 + kvk pp22 , ∀v ∈ L p(·) (Ω).
Ω

The variable-exponent Sobolev space W 1,p(·) (Ω) is defined as

n o
W 1,p(·) (Ω) = v ∈ L p(·) (Ω) such that ∇v exists and |∇v| ∈ L p(·) (Ω) .

This space is a Banach space with respect to the norm

kvkW 1,p(·) (Ω) = kvk p(·) + k∇vk p(·) .

Suppose p(·) satisfies (1.3). Then the space W01,p(·) (Ω) is defined to be the closure of C0∞ (Ω) in
W 1,p(·) (Ω). The definition of the space W01,p(·) (Ω) is usually different from the constant exponent case.
0
However, under condition (1.3) both definitions coincide. The dual space of W01,p(·) (Ω) is W0−1,p (·) (Ω)
defined in the same way as in the classical Sobolev spaces, where
1 1
+ 0 = 1.
p(·) p (·)
Lemma 2.4. (Poincaré’s inequality) Let Ω be a bounded domain of Rn and p(·) satisfies (1.2) and
(1.3), then
kvk p(·) ≤ C k∇vk p(·) , for all v ∈ W01,p(·) (Ω),
where C is a positive constant depends on p(·) and Ω. In particular, the space W01,p(·) (Ω) has an
equivalent norm given by
kvkW 1,p(·) (Ω) = k∇vk p(·) .
0

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Lemma 2.5. If p : Ω −→ [1, ∞) is continuous and

2n
2 ≤ p1 ≤ p(x) ≤ p2 ≤ , n ≥ 3,
n−2

then the embedding H 1 (Ω) ,→ L p(·) (Ω) is continuous and compact.

Lemma 2.6. [27] Let E : R+ −→ R+ be a nonincreasing function and φ : R+ −→ R be an increasing

C 1 -function satisfying
φ(0) = 0 and φ(t) → +∞ as t → +∞.

Assume further, that there exist q ≥ 0, A > 0 such that

Z ∞
E q+1 (t)φ0 (t)dt ≤ AE(S ), ∀S > 0.
S

Then, ∀t ≥ 0,
E(t) ≤ CE(0)(1 + φ(t))−1/q , if q > 0,
E(t) ≤ CE(0)e−ωφ(t) , if q = 0,
where C and ω are positive constants independent of the initial energy E(0).

Definition 2.7. Given the initial data (u0 , u1 ) ∈ H01 (Ω) × L2 (Ω) , a function u defined on Ω × (0, T ) is
called a weak solution of problem (1.1) if
 
u ∈ L∞ (0, T ) ; H01 (Ω) ,
 
ut ∈ L∞ (0, T ) ; L2 (Ω) ∩ Lm(·) (Ω × (0, T ))

and it verifies the variational equation

h  i
hutt , wi + (∇u, ∇w) + α (t) (ut , w) + |ut |m(x)−2 ut , w = 0, ∀w ∈ C0∞ (Ω).

We introduce the energy functional associated to problem (1.1) as

1 1
E(t) := ||ut ||22 + ||∇u||22 , t ≥ 0. (2.1)
2 2

Lemma 2.8. Let u be the solution of (1.1) . Then,

Z  
E (t) = −α (t)
0
|ut |2 + |ut |m(x) dx ≤ 0, t ≥ 0. (2.2)
Ω

Proof. Multiplying Eq (1.1) by ut and integrating over Ω, the result follows.

Remark 2.9. In the sequel, we use C to denote a generic constant which may differ from one place to
another.

AIMS Mathematics Volume 7, Issue 2, 3067–3082.

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3. Existence and uniqueness

The following theorem states our existence and uniqueness results, which are the main focus of this
section.
Theorem 3.1. Assume that the variable exponent m(·) satisfies conditions (1.2) and (1.3). Then, for
any initial data u0 ∈ H01 (Ω), u1 ∈ L2 (Ω), problem (1.1) admits a unique global weak solution.

n o solution to (1.1) , we make use of the Galerkin approximation

Proof. To prove the existence of a weak
method. For that reason we assume v j is an orthogonal basis for H01 (Ω) and orthonormal in L2 (Ω).
j≥1
We find a solution of the form
k
X D E
uk (x, t) = a jk (t) v j (x) , a jk (t) = uk (t) , v j ,
j=1

to the approximate problem

       m(·)−2 
uktt , v j + ∇uk , ∇v j + α (t) ukt , v j + ukt  ukt , v j = 0, (3.1)

where
k 
X 
uk (x, 0) = uk0 (x) = uk0 , v j v j → u0 strongly in H01 (Ω),
j=1
k 
X 
ukt (x, 0) = uk1 (x) = uk1 , v j v j → u1 strongly in L2 (Ω). (3.2)
j=1

This system, by the standard ODE theory has a unique solution guaranteed on [0, tk ), 0 < tk ≤ T.
Next, we need to show that this solution can be extended to the maximal interval [0, T ), ∀k ≥ 1 and for
any T > 0.
Replace v j by ukt in (3.1) to get
" #
d  k 2 k 2  k 2 Z  k m(·)
ut 2 + ∇u 2 + 2α (t) ut 2 + ut  dx = 0,
dt Ω

and integrate over (0, t) for t ∈ (0, tk ) to arrive at

k 2 k 2 Z t "
k 2 Z  k m(·)
#
ut 2 + ∇u 2 + 2 α (s) ut (s) 2 + ut  (s) dx ds
0 Ω
2 2
= uk1 2 + ∇uk0 2 ≤ C, ∀k ≥ 1. (3.3)

Hence, the solution can be extended to [0, T ), for any given T > 0.
Using (1.4), we arrive at
k 2 k 2 Z t " 2 Z  k m(·)
#
ut 2 + ∇u 2 + 2α0 ut (s) 2 +
k
ut  (s) dx ds ≤ C,
0 Ω

AIMS Mathematics Volume 7, Issue 2, 3067–3082.

 3073

where we can conclude that  

uk is bounded in L∞ (0, T ) ; H01 (Ω)
 
ukt is bounded in L∞ (0, T ) ; L2 (Ω)

ukt is bounded in Lm(·) (Ω × (0, T )) .

Therefore, we can extract subsequences, still denoted by uk and ukt , such that
 
uk → u weakly star in L∞ (0, T ) ; H01 (Ω)
 
ukt → ut weakly star in L∞ (0, T ) ; L2 (Ω) .
 m(·)−2 m(·)
As ukt is bounded in Lm(·) (Ω × (0, T )) , then ukt  ukt is bounded in L m(·)−1 (Ω × (0, T )) . Hence,
 k m(·)−2 k m(·)
ut  ut → ψ weakly in L m(·)−1 (Ω × (0, T )) .

To show that ψ = |ut |m(·)−2 ut , we integrate (3.1) over (0, t) to get, ∀ j = 1, ..., k,
Z Z Z tZ Z t Z   m(·)−2 k 
k
ut v j dx − u1 v j dx +
k
∇u · ∇v j dx +
k
α (s) ukt (s) + ukt  ut (s) v j dxds = 0.
Ω Ω 0 Ω 0 Ω

Now, letting k → +∞ and differentiating the latter result with respect to t gives
Z Z Z
d
ut vdx + ∇u · ∇vdx + α (t) (ut + ψ) vdx = 0, ∀v ∈ H01 (Ω). (3.4)
dt Ω Ω Ω

Hence,
utt − ∆u + α (t) (ut + ψ) = 0, in D0 (Ω × (0, T )) .
If we define
Z T Z   
k m(·)−2 k
  
χ =2
k
α (t) ut 
 ut − |v|m(·)−2
v ukt − v dxdt, ∀v ∈ Lm(·) (0, T ) ; H01 (Ω) ,
0 Ω

and
A (v) = |v|m(·)−2 v,
then we have
Z T Z       
χ =2k
α (t) A ukt − A (v) ukt − v dxdt ≥ 0, ∀v ∈ Lm(·) (0, T ) ; H01 (Ω) .
0 Ω

Using Eq (3.3) , we get

k 2 k 2 Z  k 2  k 2  Z T Z  
χ k
= u1 2 + ∇u0 2 − ut (T ) + ∇u (T ) dx − 2 α (t) uk 2 dxdt
t
Ω 0 Ω
Z T Z   Z T Z  
−2 α (t) A ukt vdxdt − 2 α (t) A (v) ukt − v dxdt.
0 Ω 0 Ω

AIMS Mathematics Volume 7, Issue 2, 3067–3082.

 3074

As k → +∞,
Z  
0 ≤ lim sup χ ≤ + −k
|ut (T )|2 + |∇u (T )|2 dx
ku1 k22 k∇u0 k22
k Ω
Z T Z Z T Z
−2 α (t) 2
|ut | dxdt − 2 α (t) ψvdxdt (3.5)
0 Ω 0 Ω
Z T Z
−2 α (t) A (v) (ut − v) dxdt.
0 Ω

Integration of (3.4) over (0, T ) after replacing v by ut give

Z Z Z T Z  
|ut (T )| dx +
2
|∇u (T )| dx − ku1 k2 − k∇u0 k2 + 2
2 2 2
α (t) |ut |2 + ψut dxdt = 0. (3.6)
Ω Ω 0 Ω

Adding (3.5) and (3.6) give

Z T Z Z T Z
0 ≤ lim sup χ ≤ 2 α (t) k
ψut dxdt − 2 α (t) ψvdxdt
k 0 Ω 0 Ω
Z T Z
−2 α (t) A (v) (ut − v) dxdt
0 Ω
Z T Z  
= 2 α (t) (ψ − A (v)) (ut − v) dxdt, ∀v ∈ Lm(·) (0, T ) ; H01 (Ω) .
0 Ω

Thus, by the density of H01 (Ω) in Lm(·) (Ω) we have

Z T Z
(ψ − A (v)) (ut − v) dxdt ≥ 0, ∀v ∈ Lm(·) (Ω × (0, T )) .
0 Ω

If we let v = λw + ut for w ∈ Lm(·) (Ω × (0, T )) then

Z TZ
− (ψ − A (λw + ut )) wdxdt ≥ 0, ∀w ∈ Lm(·) (Ω × (0, T )) .
0 Ω

As 0 < λ → 0, we have,
Z T Z
(ψ − A (ut )) wdxdt ≤ 0, ∀w ∈ Lm(·) (Ω × (0, T )) .
0 Ω

Similarly, if 0 > λ → 0, we have,

Z TZ
(ψ − A (ut )) wdxdt ≥ 0, ∀w ∈ Lm(·) (Ω × (0, T )) .
0 Ω

This implies that ψ = A (ut ) = |ut |m(·)−2 ut .

To handle the initial conditions, we use Lions’ Lemma [25], to obtain, up to a subsequence, that
 
uk → u in C [0, T ] ; L2 (Ω) .

AIMS Mathematics Volume 7, Issue 2, 3067–3082.

 3075

Therefore, uk (·, 0) makes sense and uk (·, 0) → u(·, 0) in L2 (Ω). Also, by density we have
uk (·, 0) = uk0 → u0 in H01 (Ω),
hence u(·, 0) = u0 .
For the other condition, as in [26], we obtain from (3.1) and for any j ≤ k and φ ∈ C0∞ (0, T ),
Z TZ
− ukt v j (x) φ0 (t) dxdt
0 Ω
Z TZ Z T Z   m(·)−2 k 
= − ∇u ∇v j (x) φ (t) dxdt +
k
α (t) ukt + ukt  ut v j (x) φ (t) dxdt.
0 Ω 0 Ω
As k → +∞, we obtain that, for all v ∈ H01 (Ω),
Z TZ Z TD   E
− ut v (x) φ0 (t) dxdt = ∆u − α (t) ut + |ut |m(·)−2 ut , v (x) φ (t) dt.
0 Ω 0
This implies that
m(·)  
utt ∈ L m(·)−1 [0, T ); H −1 (Ω) ,
and u solves the equation  
utt − ∆u + α (t) ut + |ut |m(·)−2 ut = 0.
Therefore,  
ut ∈ C [0, T ); H −1 (Ω) ,
where ukt (·, 0) makes sense and ukt (·, 0) → ut (·, 0) in H −1 (Ω). But we have
ukt (·, 0) = uk1 → u1 in L2 (Ω).
So ut (·, 0) = u1 .
To prove the uniqueness, we assume u and v are two solutions of (3.1). Then w = u − v satisfies the
following problem
 
∆w + α + = 0 in Ω × (0, T ),
 m(·)−2 m(·)−2



 w tt − (t) wt |u t | u t − |vt | vt
w = 0, on ∂Ω × (0, T ),



 w(x, 0) = w0 (x), wt (x, 0) = w1 (x),


in Ω.
Multiply the equation by wt and integrate over Ω, to obtain
"Z   # Z h
1d   i
|wt | + |∇w| dx + α (t)
2 2
|wt |2 + |ut |m(·)−2 ut − |vt |m(·)−2 vt (ut − vt ) dx = 0.
2 dt Ω Ω
Integration over (0, t) , to get
Z   Z t Z h   i
|wt | + |∇w| dx + 2
2 2
α (t) |wt |2 + |ut |m(·)−2 ut − |vt |m(·)−2 vt (ut − vt ) dxdt = 0.
Ω 0 Ω
Using the fact that
 
|a|m(·)−2 a − |b|m(·)−2 b (a − b) ≥ 0, ∀a, b ∈ R and a.e x ∈ Ω,
we obtain Z  
|wt |2 + |∇w|2 dx = 0.
Ω
This implies that w = C = 0, since w = 0 on ∂Ω. Hence, the uniqueness. This completes the proof
of Theorem 3.1.

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4. Decay of solutions
R∞  
Theorem 4.1. Let (u0 , u1 ) ∈ H01 (Ω) × L2 (Ω) be given. Assume that 0
α (τ) dτ = ∞ and m(·) ∈ C Ω
that satisfies
2 ≤ m1 ≤ m(x) ≤ m2 < 2∗ .
Then, the solution energy (2.1) satisfies, for two positive constants k1 , k2 ,
Rt
α(s)ds
E(t) ≤ k1 e−k2 0 , ∀t ≥ 0. (4.1)

Proof. Multiply (1.1) by αuE q (t) and integrate over Ω × (s, T ) , 0 < s < T, to obtain
Z T Z   
αE (t)
q
uutt − u∆u + α uut + uut |ut |m(x)−2 dxdt = 0,
s Ω

which gives
Z T Z !
d 
αE (t)
q
(uut ) − ut + |∇u| + α uut + uut |ut |
2 2 m(x)−2
dxdt = 0, (4.2)
s Ω dt
for q ≥ 0 to be specified later.
R  
Recalling the fact that Ω |∇u|2 + u2t dx = 2E(t) and using the relation
Z !
d
αE (t)
q
uut dx
dt Ω
Z Z Z
d
= α E (t)
0 q
uut dx + qαE (t)E (t)
q−1 0
uut dx + αE (t)
q
uut dx,
Ω Ω dt Ω
equation (4.2) becomes
Z T
2 αE q+1 (t)dt (4.3)
s
Z T Z ! Z T Z
d
= − αE (t)
q
uut dx − α E (t)
2 q
uut dxdt
s dt Ω s Ω
Z T Z Z T Z
+q αE (t)E (t)
q−1 0
uut dxdt + α E (t)
0 q
uut dxdt
s Ω s Ω
Z T Z Z T Z
+2 αE (t)
q 2
ut dxdt − α E (t)
2 q
uut (x, t) |ut |m(x)−2 dxdt.
s Ω s Ω

The first term in the right side of (4.3) is estimated, using Poincaré’s inequality, (2.2) and the fact
that Z Z  Z 
1  
uut dx ≤ |u| + ut dx ≤ C
2 2
|∇u|2 + u2t dx ≤ CE (t) ,
Ω 2 Ω Ω
to have
 Z T Z ! 
d
αE q (t)
 
− uut dx dt (4.4)
s dt Ω 

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 3077
h i
≤ C α (s) E q+1 (s) + α (T ) E q+1 (T ) ≤ Cα (0) E q (0)E(s) ≤ CE(s).

Using Young’s inequality, the second term leads to

 Z T Z  Z T " Z Z #
C
α E (t)
2 q
E (t) δCα(t)
q
|∇u| dx + α (t)
2 2
 
− uut dxdt ≤ ut dx dt
s Ω  s Ω 4δ Ω
Z T Z T
C
≤ δC αE (t)dt −
q+1
E q (t)E 0 (t)dt, ∀δ > 0.
s 4δ s
Taking δ = 1/2C, we get
 Z T 
 1 T
Z Z
α E (t)
2 q
αE q+1 (t)dt + CE(s).

− uut dxdt ≤ (4.5)
s Ω  2 s

Similar to the first term, we have

 Z T Z 
αE (t)E (t)
q−1 0
 
q uut dxdt (4.6)
s Ω 
Z T
≤ −C E q (t)E 0 (t)dt ≤ CE q+1 (s) ≤ CE(s).
s

The fourth term:

Z T Z  Z T Z T
α (t) E (t)
0 q 0 q+1 q+1
|α0 (t)| dt
 
 uut dxdt ≤ C |α (t)| E (t)dt ≤ CE (s)
s Ω  s s
≤ CE q+1 (s)α (s) ≤ CE(s). (4.7)

The fifth term:

Z T Z Z T
2 αE (t)
q
u2t dxdt ≤ −2 E q (t)E 0 (t)dt ≤ CE q+1 (s) ≤ CE(s). (4.8)
s Ω s

The last term in the right-hand side of (4.3) is handled by using Young’s inequality with
m(x)
a(x) = and a0 (x) = m(x).
m(x) − 1
So, for a.e. x ∈ Ω, ε > 0, and

cε (x) = ε1−m(x) (m(x))−m(x) (m(x) − 1)m(x)−1 ,

we have
 Z T Z 
α E (t)
2 q m(x)−2
 
− uut |ut | dxdt
s Ω 
Z T " Z Z #
≤ C αE (t) ε
q
|u(t)| dx +
m(x) m(x)
cε (x) |ut (t)| dx dt
s Ω Ω

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 3078
Z T " Z Z ! Z #
≤ C αE (t) ε
q
|u(t)| dx +
m1
|u(t)| dx +
m2 m(x)
cε (x) |ut (t)| dx dt
s Ω Ω Ω
Z T "   Z #
≤ C αE (t) ε ||∇u(t)||2 + ||∇u(t)||2 +
q m1 m2 m(x)
cε (x) |ut (t)| dx dt (4.9)
s Ω
Z T "   Z #
m1 m2
≤ C αE (t) ε E 2 (t) + E 2 (t) +
q m(x)
cε (x) |ut (t)| dx dt
s Ω
Z T Z T Z
m1
≤ εCE 2 −1
(0) αE (t)dt + C
q+1
αE (t)
q
cε (x) |ut (t)|m(x) dxdt.
s s Ω
m1
If we fix ε = 1/2CE 2 −1
(0), noting that cε (x) is bounded since m(x) is bounded, then (4.9) becomes
 Z T 
1 T
Z Z Z T
α E (t)
2 q m(x)−2
αE (t)dt − c
q+1
E q (t)E 0 (t)dt
 
− uut |ut | dxdt ≤
s Ω  2 s s
1 T
Z
≤ αE q+1 (t)dt + CE(s). (4.10)
2 s
Combining (4.3)–(4.10) and taking T → ∞ we arrive at
Z ∞
αE q+1 (t)dt ≤ CE(s).
s
Rt
Therefore, (4.1) is established by the virtue of Lemma 2.6 for q = 0 and φ(t) = 0
α (s) ds.
Example 1. If we take α (t) = 1 and m (x) = 2 then we have φ(t) = t and hence, for two positive
constants k1 , k2 ,
E(t) ≤ k1 e−k2 t , ∀t ≥ 0.
The next theorem handles the case: 1 < m1 < 2.
R∞
Theorem 4.2. (Polynomial Decay) Let (u0 , u1 ) ∈ H01 (Ω) × L2 (Ω) be given. Assume that 0 α (τ) dτ =
 
∞ and m(·) ∈ C Ω and satisfies (1.2) . Assume further that m1 < 2. Then, the solution energy (1.1)
satisfies, for some positive constant K,
Z t ! 1−m
2−m
1
1
E(t) ≤ K 1 + α (τ) dτ , ∀t ≥ 0. (4.11)
0

Proof. We follow the same steps in the proof of the previous theorem. But we have to re-estimate the
last term in (4.3). For this purpose, we define

Ω1 = {x ∈ Ω | m (x) < 2} and Ω2 = {x ∈ Ω | m (x) ≥ 2} .

Thus, Z Z Z
m(x)−2
uut |ut | dx = uut |ut | m(x)−2
dx + uut |ut |m(x)−2 dx.
Ω Ω1 Ω2
Then we use Young’s inequality and Poincaré’s inequality, to get
 Z  Z Z
1
m(x)−2
dx ≤ δC |∇u| dx +
2
|ut |2m(x)−2 dx.
 
− uut |ut | (4.12)
Ω1  Ω 4δ Ω1

AIMS Mathematics Volume 7, Issue 2, 3067–3082.

 3079

In order to estimate the last term of (4.12), we define

m3 := sup m(x) ≤ 2.
x∈Ω1

Then Hölder’s inequality and the embedding give

 Z 
 m(x)−2 
−α uut |ut | dx
Ω 
Z 1
α
"Z Z #
≤ δC |∇u| dx +
2
|ut |2m1 −2
dx + |ut |2m3 −2
dx
Ω 4δ Ω1 Ω1
Z Z !m1 −1 Z !m3 −1 
Cα
≤ δC |∇u|2 dx + |ut |2 dx + |ut |2 dx


 

Ω 4δ Ω1 Ω1
Z Z !m1 −1 Z !m3 −1 
Cα
≤ δC |∇u|2 dx + |ut |2 dx + |ut |2 dx
 
(4.13)

 
Ω 4δ Ω Ω
Z " Z !m3 −m1 # Z !m1 −1
Cα
≤ δC |∇u| dx +
2
1+ 2
|ut | dx 2
|ut | dx
Ω 4δ Ω Ω
Z
C 
≤ δC |∇u|2 dx + 1 + (2E (0))m3 −m1 −E 0 (t) m1 −1


4δ
ZΩ
C
≤ δC |∇u|2 dx + −E 0 (t) m1 −1 .


Ω 4δ
Thus,
 Z T Z  Z T Z T
α E (t)
2 q m(x)−2
dxdt ≤ δC αE (t)dt + cδ
q+1
αE q (t) −E 0 (t) m1 −1 dt.
 

− uut |ut | (4.14)
s Ω1  s s

Using Young’s inequality, we obtain for any λ > 0,

q
E q (t) −E 0 (t) m1 −1 ≤ λ (E(t)) 2−m1 + cλ −E 0 (t) .

If we let q + 1 = 2−m
q
1
hence q = m2−m 1
1 −1
, then (4.14) implies that
 Z T Z  Z T Z T
α E (t)
2 q m(x)−2
dxdt ≤ δC αE (t)dt + λcδ
q+1
αE q+1 (t)dt
 
− uut |ut |
s Ω1  s s
Z T
+cδ cλ α −E 0 (t) dt.


s

Then we choose δ = 1/4C. After δ is fixed, we choose λ = 1/4cδ to obtain

 Z T 
 1 T
Z Z
α E (t)
2 q m(x)−2
αE q+1 (t)dt + CE (s) .

− uut |ut | dxdt ≤ (4.15)
s Ω1  2 s

Now over Ω2 , we follow the same steps as in (4.9) to conclude that

 Z T 
 1 T
Z Z
α E (t)
2 q m(x)−2
αE q+1 (t)dt + CE (s) .

− uut |ut | dxdt ≤
 2 s
(4.16)
s Ω2

AIMS Mathematics Volume 7, Issue 2, 3067–3082.

 3080

Combining (4.15) and (4.16), give

 Z T Z  Z T
α E (t)
2 q m(x)−2
αE q+1 (t)dt + CE (s) .
 
− uut |ut | dxdt ≤ (4.17)
s Ω  s

Consequently, from (4.3)–(4.8) and (4.17) , we have

Z T
αE q+1 (t)dt ≤ CE(s).
s
Rt
If we let T → ∞, then from Lemma 2.6 with φ (t) = 0 α (τ) dτ and q = 2−m1
m1 −1
> 0, we arrive for
some K > 0,
Z t 1−m1
! 2−m
1
E(t) ≤ K 1 + α (τ) dτ .
0

This completes the proof.

Example 2. If we take Ω = (0, 1) , α (t) = 2+t
1+t
and m (x) = 2 − 2+x
1
, then we have φ(t) = t + ln (1 + t),
m1 = 3/2 and
E(t) ≤ K (1 + t + ln (1 + t))−1 , ∀t ≥ 0,
for a positive constant K.

5. Conclusions

In this paper, we have shown that the time varying coefficient appears in the problem has a direct
effect in well posednesss and the decay rates. In fact, we investigated the nonlinear wave Eq (1.1)
with nonlinear feedback having a variable exponent m(x) and a time-dependent coefficient α(t). We
established a decay result of an exponential and polynomial type under specific conditions on both m(·)
and α (t) and the initial data.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals (KFUPM)/Interdisciplinary Research Center (IRC) for Construction and Building Materials
for its support. This work has been funded by KFUPM under Project # SB191048.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

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