Fractal Analysis Basic Concepts And Applications

The aim of this book is to provide a basic and self-contained introduction to the ideas underpinning fractal analysis. The book illustrates some important applications issued from real data sets, real physical and natural phenomena as well as real applications in different fields, and consequently, presents to the readers the opportunity to implement fractal analysis in their specialties according to the step-by-step guide found in the book.Besides advanced undergraduate students, graduate students and senior researchers, this book may also serve scientists and research workers from industrial settings, where fractals and multifractals are required for modeling real-world phenomena and data, such as finance, medicine, engineering, transport, images, signals, among others.For the theorists, rigorous mathematical developments are established with necessary prerequisites that make the book self-containing. For the practitioner often interested in model building and analysis, we provide the cornerstone ideas.

The aim of this book is to provide a basic and self-contained introduction to the ideas underpinning fractal analysis. The book illustrates some important applications issued from real data sets, real physical and natural phenomena as well as real applications in different fields, and consequently, presents to the readers the opportunity to implement fractal analysis in their specialties according to the step-by-step guide found in the book.Besides advanced undergraduate students, graduate students and senior researchers, this book may also serve scientists and research workers from industrial settings, where fractals and multifractals are required for modeling real-world phenomena and data, such as finance, medicine, engineering, transport, images, signals, among others.For the theorists, rigorous mathematical developments are established with necessary prerequisites that make the book self-containing. For the practitioner often interested in model building and analysis, we provide the cornerstone ideas.

A leading pioneer in the field offers practical applications of this innovative science. Peters describes complex concepts in an easy-to-follow manner for the non-mathematician. He uses fractals, rescaled range analysis and nonlinear dynamical models to explain behavior and understand price movements. These are specific tools employed by chaos scientists to map and measure physical and now, economic phenomena.

Fractal analysis has entered a new era. The applications to different areas of knowledge have been surprising. Let us begin with the fractional calculus-fractal geometry relationship, which allows for modeling with extreme precision of phenomena such as diffusion in porous media with fractional partial differential equations in fractal objects. Where the order of the equation is the same as the fractal dimension, this allows us to make calculations with enormous precision in diffusion phenomena-particularly in the oil industry, for new spillage prevention. Main applications to industry, design of fractal antennas to receive all frequencies and that is used in all cell phones, spacecraft, radars, image processing, measure, porosity, turbulence, scattering theory. Benoit Mandelbrot, creator of fractal geometry, would have been surprised by the use of fractal analysis presented in this book: "Part I: Petroleum Industry and Numerical Analysis"; "Part II: Fractal Antennas, Spacecraft, Radars, Image Processing, and Measure"; and "Part III: Scattering Theory, Porosity, and Turbulence." It's impossible to picture today's research without fractal analysis.

"The best accomplishment in human research is feasibly they understand the natural phenomena can be exhibited by mathematical models. The history of describing natural objects using geometry is as old as the advent of science itself. Traditionally lines, squares, rectangles, circles, spheres, etc. have been the basis of our intuitive understanding of the geometry. However, nature is not restricted to such Euclidean objects which are only characterized typically by integer dimensions. Hence, the conventional geometric approach cannot meet the requirements of solving or analysing nonlinear problems which are related with natural phenomena, therefore, the fractal theory has been born, which aims to understand complexity and provide an innovative way to recognize irregularity and complex systems"--

This book is a monograph on harmonic analysis and fractal analysis over local fields. It can also be used as lecture notes/textbook or as recommended reading for courses on modern harmonic and fractal analysis. It is as reliable as Fourier Analysis on Local Fields published in 1975 which is regarded as the first monograph in this research field.The book is self-contained, with wide scope and deep knowledge, taking modern mathematics (such as modern algebra, point set topology, functional analysis, distribution theory, and so on) as bases. Specially, fractal analysis is studied in the viewpoint of local fields, and fractal calculus is established by pseudo-differential operators over local fields. A frame of fractal PDE is constructed based on fractal calculus instead of classical calculus. On the other hand, the author does his best to make those difficult concepts accessible to readers, illustrate clear comparison between harmonic analysis on Euclidean spaces and that on local fields, and at the same time provide motivations underlying the new concepts and techniques. Overall, it is a high quality, up to date and valuable book for interested readers.

The history of describing natural objects using geometry is as old as the advent of science itself, in which traditional shapes are the basis of our intuitive understanding of geometry. However, nature is not restricted to such Euclidean objects which are only characterized typically by integer dimensions. Hence, the conventional geometric approach cannot meet the requirements of solving or analysing nonlinear problems which are related with natural phenomena, therefore, the fractal theory has been born, which aims to understand complexity and provide an innovative way to recognize irregularity and complex systems. Although the concepts of fractal geometry have found wide applications in many forefront areas of science, engineering and societal issues, they also have interesting implications of a more practical nature for the older classical areas of science. Since its discovery, there has been a surge of research activities in using this powerful concept in almost every branch of scientific disciplines to gain deep insights into many unresolved problems. This book includes eight chapters which focus on gathering cutting-edge research and proposing application of fractals features in both traditional scientific disciplines and in applied fields.

This book provides theoretical concepts and applications of fractals and multifractals to a broad range of audiences from various scientific communities, such as petroleum, chemical, civil and environmental engineering, atmospheric research, and hydrology. In the first chapter, we introduce fractals and multifractals from physics and math viewpoints. We then discuss theory and practical applications in detail. In what follows, in chapter 2, fragmentation process is modeled using fractals. Fragmentation is the breaking of aggregates into smaller pieces or fragments, a typical phenomenon in nature. In chapter 3, the advantages and disadvantages of two- and three-phase fractal models are discussed in detail. These two kinds of approach have been widely applied in the literature to model different characteristics of natural phenomena. In chapter 4, two- and three-phase fractal techniques are used to develop capillary pressure curve models, which characterize pore-size distribution of porous media. Percolation theory provides a theoretical framework to model flow and transport in disordered networks and systems. Therefore, following chapter 4, in chapter 5 the fractal basis of percolation theory and its applications in surface and subsurface hydrology are discussed. In chapter 6, fracture networks are shown to be modeled using fractal approaches. Chapter 7 provides different applications of fractals and multifractals to petrophysics and relevant area in petroleum engineering. In chapter 8, we introduce the practical advantages of fractals and multifractals in geostatistics at large scales, which have broad applications in stochastic hydrology and hydrogeology. Multifractals have been also widely applied to model atmospheric characteristics, such as precipitation, temperature, and cloud shape. In chapter 9, these kinds of properties are addressed using multifractals. At watershed scales, river networks have been shown to follow fractal behavior. Therefore, the applications of fractals are addressed in chapter 10. Time series analysis has been under investigations for several decades in physics, hydrology, atmospheric research, civil engineering, and water resources. In chapter 11, we therefore, provide fractal, multifractal, multifractal detrended fluctuation analyses, which can be used to study temporal characterization of a phenomenon, such as flow discharge at a specific location of a river. Chapter 12 addresses signals and again time series using a novel fractal Fourier analysis. In chapter 13, we discuss constructal theory, which has a perspective opposite to fractal theories, and is based on optimizationof diffusive exchange. In the case of river drainages, for example, the constructal approach begins at the divide and generates headwater streams first, rather than starting from the fundamental drainage pattern.