This paper studies the prescribed contact angle boundary value problem of a certain type of mean curvature equation.Applying the maximum principle and the moving frame method and based on the location of the maximum p...This paper studies the prescribed contact angle boundary value problem of a certain type of mean curvature equation.Applying the maximum principle and the moving frame method and based on the location of the maximum point,the boundary gradient estimation of the solutions to the equation is obtained.展开更多
We are concerned with global solutions of multidimensional(M-D)Riemann problems for nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws,focusing on their global configurations and structures.We present some recent devel...We are concerned with global solutions of multidimensional(M-D)Riemann problems for nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws,focusing on their global configurations and structures.We present some recent developments in the rigorous analysis of two-dimensional(2-D)Riemann problems involving transonic shock waves through several prototypes of hyperbolic systems of conservation laws and discuss some further M-D Riemann problems and related problems for nonlinear partial differential equations.In particular,we present four different 2-D Riemann problems through these prototypes of hyperbolic systems and show how these Riemann problems can be reformulated/solved as free boundary problems with transonic shock waves as free boundaries for the corresponding nonlinear conservation laws of mixed elliptic-hyperbolic type and related nonlinear partial differential equations.展开更多
We have studied the compound periodic boundary problem in the upper halfplane above the real axis. Under proper conditions, we obtain a periodic and sectionallyholo-morphic function in the upper half plane. In additio...We have studied the compound periodic boundary problem in the upper halfplane above the real axis. Under proper conditions, we obtain a periodic and sectionallyholo-morphic function in the upper half plane. In addition, we have also solved the compoundboundary problem with discontinuities of the first kind of the coefficients in the Hilbertcondition.展开更多
Based on Huang's accurate tri-sectional nonlin- ear kinematic equation (1997), a dimensionless simplified mathematical model for nonlinear flow in one-dimensional semi-infinite long porous media with low permeabili...Based on Huang's accurate tri-sectional nonlin- ear kinematic equation (1997), a dimensionless simplified mathematical model for nonlinear flow in one-dimensional semi-infinite long porous media with low permeability is presented for the case of a constant flow rate on the inner boundary. This model contains double moving boundaries, including an internal moving boundary and an external mov- ing boundary, which are different from the classical Stefan problem in heat conduction: The velocity of the external moving boundary is proportional to the second derivative of the unknown pressure function with respect to the distance parameter on this boundary. Through a similarity transfor- mation, the nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE) sys- tem is transformed into a linear PDE system. Then an ana- lytical solution is obtained for the dimensionless simplified mathematical model. This solution can be used for strictly checking the validity of numerical methods in solving such nonlinear mathematical models for flows in low-permeable porous media for petroleum engineering applications. Finally, through plotted comparison curves from the exact an- alytical solution, the sensitive effects of three characteristic parameters are discussed. It is concluded that with a decrease in the dimensionless critical pressure gradient, the sensi- tive effects of the dimensionless variable on the dimension- less pressure distribution and dimensionless pressure gradi- ent distribution become more serious; with an increase in the dimensionless pseudo threshold pressure gradient, the sensi- tive effects of the dimensionless variable become more serious; the dimensionless threshold pressure gradient (TPG) has a great effect on the external moving boundary but has little effect on the internal moving boundary.展开更多
Using the second Green formula, the boundary problem of Laplace equation satisfied by potential function of static electric field is transformed to the problem of the boundary integral equation, and then a boundary in...Using the second Green formula, the boundary problem of Laplace equation satisfied by potential function of static electric field is transformed to the problem of the boundary integral equation, and then a boundary integral equation approach is established by partitioning boundary using linear boundary element.展开更多
The possibility of using Neumann's method to solve the boundary problems for thin elastic shells is studied. The variational statement of the static problems for the shells allows for a problem examination within the...The possibility of using Neumann's method to solve the boundary problems for thin elastic shells is studied. The variational statement of the static problems for the shells allows for a problem examination within the distribution space. The convergence of Neumann's method is proven for the shells with holes when the boundary of the domain is not completely fixed. The numerical implementation of Neumann's method normally requires significant time before any reliable results can be achieved. This paper suggests a way to improve the convergence of the process, and allows for parallel computing and evaluation during the calculations.展开更多
In this paper, the linear complementary method for moving boundary problems with phase transformation is presented, in which a pair of unknown vectors of heat source with phase transforming and the temperature field c...In this paper, the linear complementary method for moving boundary problems with phase transformation is presented, in which a pair of unknown vectors of heat source with phase transforming and the temperature field can be solved exactly, and a large amount of iterative calculations can be avoided.展开更多
An approximate analytical solution of moving boundary problem for diffusion release of drug from a cylinder polymeric matrix was obtained by use of refined integral method. The release kinetics has been analyzed for n...An approximate analytical solution of moving boundary problem for diffusion release of drug from a cylinder polymeric matrix was obtained by use of refined integral method. The release kinetics has been analyzed for non-erodible matrices with perfect sink condition. The formulas of the moving boundary and the fractional drug release were given. The moving boundary and the fractional drug release have been calculated at various drug loading levels, mid the calculated results were in good agreement with those of experiments. The comparison of the moving boundary in spherical, cylinder, planar matrices has been completed. An approximate formula for estimating the available release time was presented. These results are useful for the clinic experiments. This investigation provides a new theoretical tool for studying the diffusion release of drug from a cylinder polymeric matrix and designing the controlled released drug.展开更多
Solutions of quasilinear mixed boundary problems for the some parabolic an elliptic partial differential equations are interpreted as solutions of a kind of backward stochastic differential equations, which are associ...Solutions of quasilinear mixed boundary problems for the some parabolic an elliptic partial differential equations are interpreted as solutions of a kind of backward stochastic differential equations, which are associated with the classical Ito forward stochastic differential equations with reflecting boundary conditions.展开更多
Monotonicity formulas play a central role in the study of free boundary problems.In this note,we develop a Weiss-type monotonicity formula for solutions to parabolic free boundary problems on metric measure cones.
This paper is devoted to studying a free boundary problem modeling the effects of drug resistance and vasculature on the response of solid tumors to therapy.The model consists of a system of partial differential equat...This paper is devoted to studying a free boundary problem modeling the effects of drug resistance and vasculature on the response of solid tumors to therapy.The model consists of a system of partial differential equations governing intra-tumoral drug concentration and cancer cell density.By applying the Lp theory of parabolic equations and the Banach fixed point theorem,it is proved that this problem has a unique global classical solution.展开更多
In this paper. the authors solve the free boundary problem (FBP) in continuouscasiing by using boundary element method (BEM). First, we simplify the generalmathematical model for continuous casting to a practicable ...In this paper. the authors solve the free boundary problem (FBP) in continuouscasiing by using boundary element method (BEM). First, we simplify the generalmathematical model for continuous casting to a practicable model, and give theboundary integral equations with partial unknown boundary for this model, anddescribe in detail the steps of calculating this FBP by using the BEM. Next, wepresent the result of our numerical experiments, and discuss the stability, convergenceand applicaiion of our method. At last. we simplify the former model so that it has ananalytic solution. and we compare its numerical solution resulted from our method withits analytic solution.展开更多
This paper is concerned with the bifurcation analysis for a free boundary problem modeling the growth of solid tumor with inhibitors.In this problem,surface tension coefficient plays the role of bifurcation parameter,...This paper is concerned with the bifurcation analysis for a free boundary problem modeling the growth of solid tumor with inhibitors.In this problem,surface tension coefficient plays the role of bifurcation parameter,it is proved that there exists a sequence of the nonradially stationary solutions bifurcate from the radially symmetric stationary solutions.Our results indicate that the tumor grown in vivo may have various shapes.In particular,a tumor with an inhibitor is associated with the growth of protrusions.展开更多
There are N domains Dj(j=0,1,...,N-1) of different physical parameters in the whole space and their interfaces S,are non-horizontally smooth curved surfaces. The following boundary problem is called Hclinholiz boundar...There are N domains Dj(j=0,1,...,N-1) of different physical parameters in the whole space and their interfaces S,are non-horizontally smooth curved surfaces. The following boundary problem is called Hclinholiz boundary problem:The analytical solution of the above problem is given in this paper.展开更多
During the past decade, increasing attention has been given to the development of meshless methods using radial basis functions for the numerical solution of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). A level set method...During the past decade, increasing attention has been given to the development of meshless methods using radial basis functions for the numerical solution of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). A level set method is a promising design tool for tracking, modelling and simulating the motion of free boundaries in fluid mechanics, combustion, computer animation and image processing. In the conventional level set methods, the level set equation is solved to evolve the interface using a capturing Eulerian approach. The solving procedure requires an appropriate choice of the upwind schemes, reinitialization, etc. Our goal is to include Multiquadric Radial Basis Functions (MQ RBFs) into the level set method to construct a more efficient approach and stabilize the solution process with the adaptive greedy algorithm. This paper presents an alternative approach to the conventional level set methods for solving moving-boundary problems. The solution was compared to the solution calculated by the exact explicit lime integration scheme. The examples show that MQ RBFs and adaptive greedy algorithm is a very promising calculation scheme.展开更多
The boundary value problem plays a crucial role in the analytical investigation of continuum dynamics. In this paper, an analytical method based on the Dirac operator to solve the nonlinear and non-homogeneous boundar...The boundary value problem plays a crucial role in the analytical investigation of continuum dynamics. In this paper, an analytical method based on the Dirac operator to solve the nonlinear and non-homogeneous boundary value problem of rectangular plates is proposed. The key concept behind this method is to transform the nonlinear or non-homogeneous part on the boundary into a lateral force within the governing function by the Dirac operator, which linearizes and homogenizes the original boundary, allowing one to employ the modal superposition method for obtaining solutions to reconstructive governing equations. Once projected into the modal space, the harmonic balance method(HBM) is utilized to solve coupled ordinary differential equations(ODEs)of truncated systems with nonlinearity. To validate the convergence and accuracy of the proposed Dirac method, the results of typical examples, involving nonlinearly restricted boundaries, moment excitation, and displacement excitation, are compared with those of the differential quadrature element method(DQEM). The results demonstrate that when dealing with nonlinear boundaries, the Dirac method exhibits more excellent accuracy and convergence compared with the DQEM. However, when facing displacement excitation, there exist some discrepancies between the proposed approach and simulations;nevertheless, the proposed method still accurately predicts resonant frequencies while being uniquely capable of handling nonuniform displacement excitations. Overall, this methodology offers a convenient way for addressing nonlinear and non-homogenous plate boundaries.展开更多
Clifford analysis is an important branch of modern analysis;it has a very important theoretical significance and application value,and its conclusions can be applied to the Maxwell equation,Yang-Mill field theory,quan...Clifford analysis is an important branch of modern analysis;it has a very important theoretical significance and application value,and its conclusions can be applied to the Maxwell equation,Yang-Mill field theory,quantum mechanics and value problems.In this paper,we first give the definition of a quasi-Cauchy type integral in complex Clifford analysis,and get the Plemelj formula for it.Second,we discuss the H?lder continuity for the Cauchy-type integral operators with values in a complex Clifford algebra.Finally,we prove the existence of solutions for a class of linear boundary value problems and give the integral representation for the solution.展开更多
In this study,a wavelet multi-resolution interpolation Galerkin method(WMIGM)is proposed to solve linear singularly perturbed boundary value problems.Unlike conventional wavelet schemes,the proposed algorithm can be r...In this study,a wavelet multi-resolution interpolation Galerkin method(WMIGM)is proposed to solve linear singularly perturbed boundary value problems.Unlike conventional wavelet schemes,the proposed algorithm can be readily extended to special node generation techniques,such as the Shishkin node.Such a wavelet method allows a high degree of local refinement of the nodal distribution to efficiently capture localized steep gradients.All the shape functions possess the Kronecker delta property,making the imposition of boundary conditions as easy as that in the finite element method.Four numerical examples are studied to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of the proposedwavelet method.The results showthat the use ofmodified Shishkin nodes can significantly reduce numerical oscillation near the boundary layer.Compared with many other methods,the proposed method possesses satisfactory accuracy and efficiency.The theoretical and numerical results demonstrate that the order of theε-uniform convergence of this wavelet method can reach 5.展开更多
This paper considers the regularity of solutions to mixed boundary value problems in small-angle regions for elliptic equations. By constructing a specific barrier function, we proved that under the assumption of suff...This paper considers the regularity of solutions to mixed boundary value problems in small-angle regions for elliptic equations. By constructing a specific barrier function, we proved that under the assumption of sufficient regularity of boundary conditions and coefficients, as long as the angle is sufficiently small, the regularity of the solution to the mixed boundary value problem of the second-order elliptic equation can reach any order.展开更多
Accurately approximating higher order derivatives is an inherently difficult problem. It is shown that a random variable shape parameter strategy can improve the accuracy of approximating higher order derivatives with...Accurately approximating higher order derivatives is an inherently difficult problem. It is shown that a random variable shape parameter strategy can improve the accuracy of approximating higher order derivatives with Radial Basis Function methods. The method is used to solve fourth order boundary value problems. The use and location of ghost points are examined in order to enforce the extra boundary conditions that are necessary to make a fourth-order problem well posed. The use of ghost points versus solving an overdetermined linear system via least squares is studied. For a general fourth-order boundary value problem, the recommended approach is to either use one of two novel sets of ghost centers introduced here or else to use a least squares approach. When using either ghost centers or least squares, the random variable shape parameter strategy results in significantly better accuracy than when a constant shape parameter is used.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.12061078)。
文摘This paper studies the prescribed contact angle boundary value problem of a certain type of mean curvature equation.Applying the maximum principle and the moving frame method and based on the location of the maximum point,the boundary gradient estimation of the solutions to the equation is obtained.
基金The research of Gui-Qiang G.Chen was supported in part by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Awards EP/L015811/1,EP/V008854/1,EP/V051121/1the Royal Society-Wolfson Research Merit Award WM090014.
文摘We are concerned with global solutions of multidimensional(M-D)Riemann problems for nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws,focusing on their global configurations and structures.We present some recent developments in the rigorous analysis of two-dimensional(2-D)Riemann problems involving transonic shock waves through several prototypes of hyperbolic systems of conservation laws and discuss some further M-D Riemann problems and related problems for nonlinear partial differential equations.In particular,we present four different 2-D Riemann problems through these prototypes of hyperbolic systems and show how these Riemann problems can be reformulated/solved as free boundary problems with transonic shock waves as free boundaries for the corresponding nonlinear conservation laws of mixed elliptic-hyperbolic type and related nonlinear partial differential equations.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China (19971064)
文摘We have studied the compound periodic boundary problem in the upper halfplane above the real axis. Under proper conditions, we obtain a periodic and sectionallyholo-morphic function in the upper half plane. In addition, we have also solved the compoundboundary problem with discontinuities of the first kind of the coefficients in the Hilbertcondition.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11102237)Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University(IRT1294)+1 种基金Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education(20110133120012)China Scholarship Council(CSC)
文摘Based on Huang's accurate tri-sectional nonlin- ear kinematic equation (1997), a dimensionless simplified mathematical model for nonlinear flow in one-dimensional semi-infinite long porous media with low permeability is presented for the case of a constant flow rate on the inner boundary. This model contains double moving boundaries, including an internal moving boundary and an external mov- ing boundary, which are different from the classical Stefan problem in heat conduction: The velocity of the external moving boundary is proportional to the second derivative of the unknown pressure function with respect to the distance parameter on this boundary. Through a similarity transfor- mation, the nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE) sys- tem is transformed into a linear PDE system. Then an ana- lytical solution is obtained for the dimensionless simplified mathematical model. This solution can be used for strictly checking the validity of numerical methods in solving such nonlinear mathematical models for flows in low-permeable porous media for petroleum engineering applications. Finally, through plotted comparison curves from the exact an- alytical solution, the sensitive effects of three characteristic parameters are discussed. It is concluded that with a decrease in the dimensionless critical pressure gradient, the sensi- tive effects of the dimensionless variable on the dimension- less pressure distribution and dimensionless pressure gradi- ent distribution become more serious; with an increase in the dimensionless pseudo threshold pressure gradient, the sensi- tive effects of the dimensionless variable become more serious; the dimensionless threshold pressure gradient (TPG) has a great effect on the external moving boundary but has little effect on the internal moving boundary.
文摘Using the second Green formula, the boundary problem of Laplace equation satisfied by potential function of static electric field is transformed to the problem of the boundary integral equation, and then a boundary integral equation approach is established by partitioning boundary using linear boundary element.
文摘The possibility of using Neumann's method to solve the boundary problems for thin elastic shells is studied. The variational statement of the static problems for the shells allows for a problem examination within the distribution space. The convergence of Neumann's method is proven for the shells with holes when the boundary of the domain is not completely fixed. The numerical implementation of Neumann's method normally requires significant time before any reliable results can be achieved. This paper suggests a way to improve the convergence of the process, and allows for parallel computing and evaluation during the calculations.
文摘In this paper, the linear complementary method for moving boundary problems with phase transformation is presented, in which a pair of unknown vectors of heat source with phase transforming and the temperature field can be solved exactly, and a large amount of iterative calculations can be avoided.
文摘An approximate analytical solution of moving boundary problem for diffusion release of drug from a cylinder polymeric matrix was obtained by use of refined integral method. The release kinetics has been analyzed for non-erodible matrices with perfect sink condition. The formulas of the moving boundary and the fractional drug release were given. The moving boundary and the fractional drug release have been calculated at various drug loading levels, mid the calculated results were in good agreement with those of experiments. The comparison of the moving boundary in spherical, cylinder, planar matrices has been completed. An approximate formula for estimating the available release time was presented. These results are useful for the clinic experiments. This investigation provides a new theoretical tool for studying the diffusion release of drug from a cylinder polymeric matrix and designing the controlled released drug.
文摘Solutions of quasilinear mixed boundary problems for the some parabolic an elliptic partial differential equations are interpreted as solutions of a kind of backward stochastic differential equations, which are associated with the classical Ito forward stochastic differential equations with reflecting boundary conditions.
基金The second author was partially supported by National Key R&D Program of China(2021YFA1003001)NSFC 12025109,and the third author was partially supported by NSFC(11521101).
文摘Monotonicity formulas play a central role in the study of free boundary problems.In this note,we develop a Weiss-type monotonicity formula for solutions to parabolic free boundary problems on metric measure cones.
文摘This paper is devoted to studying a free boundary problem modeling the effects of drug resistance and vasculature on the response of solid tumors to therapy.The model consists of a system of partial differential equations governing intra-tumoral drug concentration and cancer cell density.By applying the Lp theory of parabolic equations and the Banach fixed point theorem,it is proved that this problem has a unique global classical solution.
文摘In this paper. the authors solve the free boundary problem (FBP) in continuouscasiing by using boundary element method (BEM). First, we simplify the generalmathematical model for continuous casting to a practicable model, and give theboundary integral equations with partial unknown boundary for this model, anddescribe in detail the steps of calculating this FBP by using the BEM. Next, wepresent the result of our numerical experiments, and discuss the stability, convergenceand applicaiion of our method. At last. we simplify the former model so that it has ananalytic solution. and we compare its numerical solution resulted from our method withits analytic solution.
基金The NSF(11361029)of Chinathe NSF(20142BAB211001)of Jiangxi Province
文摘This paper is concerned with the bifurcation analysis for a free boundary problem modeling the growth of solid tumor with inhibitors.In this problem,surface tension coefficient plays the role of bifurcation parameter,it is proved that there exists a sequence of the nonradially stationary solutions bifurcate from the radially symmetric stationary solutions.Our results indicate that the tumor grown in vivo may have various shapes.In particular,a tumor with an inhibitor is associated with the growth of protrusions.
文摘There are N domains Dj(j=0,1,...,N-1) of different physical parameters in the whole space and their interfaces S,are non-horizontally smooth curved surfaces. The following boundary problem is called Hclinholiz boundary problem:The analytical solution of the above problem is given in this paper.
文摘During the past decade, increasing attention has been given to the development of meshless methods using radial basis functions for the numerical solution of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). A level set method is a promising design tool for tracking, modelling and simulating the motion of free boundaries in fluid mechanics, combustion, computer animation and image processing. In the conventional level set methods, the level set equation is solved to evolve the interface using a capturing Eulerian approach. The solving procedure requires an appropriate choice of the upwind schemes, reinitialization, etc. Our goal is to include Multiquadric Radial Basis Functions (MQ RBFs) into the level set method to construct a more efficient approach and stabilize the solution process with the adaptive greedy algorithm. This paper presents an alternative approach to the conventional level set methods for solving moving-boundary problems. The solution was compared to the solution calculated by the exact explicit lime integration scheme. The examples show that MQ RBFs and adaptive greedy algorithm is a very promising calculation scheme.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 12002195)the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 12025204)the Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (No. 2019-01-07-00-09-E00018)。
文摘The boundary value problem plays a crucial role in the analytical investigation of continuum dynamics. In this paper, an analytical method based on the Dirac operator to solve the nonlinear and non-homogeneous boundary value problem of rectangular plates is proposed. The key concept behind this method is to transform the nonlinear or non-homogeneous part on the boundary into a lateral force within the governing function by the Dirac operator, which linearizes and homogenizes the original boundary, allowing one to employ the modal superposition method for obtaining solutions to reconstructive governing equations. Once projected into the modal space, the harmonic balance method(HBM) is utilized to solve coupled ordinary differential equations(ODEs)of truncated systems with nonlinearity. To validate the convergence and accuracy of the proposed Dirac method, the results of typical examples, involving nonlinearly restricted boundaries, moment excitation, and displacement excitation, are compared with those of the differential quadrature element method(DQEM). The results demonstrate that when dealing with nonlinear boundaries, the Dirac method exhibits more excellent accuracy and convergence compared with the DQEM. However, when facing displacement excitation, there exist some discrepancies between the proposed approach and simulations;nevertheless, the proposed method still accurately predicts resonant frequencies while being uniquely capable of handling nonuniform displacement excitations. Overall, this methodology offers a convenient way for addressing nonlinear and non-homogenous plate boundaries.
基金supported by the NSF of Hebei Province(A2022208007)the NSF of China(11571089,11871191)the NSF of Henan Province(222300420397)。
文摘Clifford analysis is an important branch of modern analysis;it has a very important theoretical significance and application value,and its conclusions can be applied to the Maxwell equation,Yang-Mill field theory,quantum mechanics and value problems.In this paper,we first give the definition of a quasi-Cauchy type integral in complex Clifford analysis,and get the Plemelj formula for it.Second,we discuss the H?lder continuity for the Cauchy-type integral operators with values in a complex Clifford algebra.Finally,we prove the existence of solutions for a class of linear boundary value problems and give the integral representation for the solution.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.12172154)the 111 Project (No.B14044)+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (No.23JRRA1035)the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui University of Finance and Economics (No.ACKYC20043).
文摘In this study,a wavelet multi-resolution interpolation Galerkin method(WMIGM)is proposed to solve linear singularly perturbed boundary value problems.Unlike conventional wavelet schemes,the proposed algorithm can be readily extended to special node generation techniques,such as the Shishkin node.Such a wavelet method allows a high degree of local refinement of the nodal distribution to efficiently capture localized steep gradients.All the shape functions possess the Kronecker delta property,making the imposition of boundary conditions as easy as that in the finite element method.Four numerical examples are studied to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of the proposedwavelet method.The results showthat the use ofmodified Shishkin nodes can significantly reduce numerical oscillation near the boundary layer.Compared with many other methods,the proposed method possesses satisfactory accuracy and efficiency.The theoretical and numerical results demonstrate that the order of theε-uniform convergence of this wavelet method can reach 5.
文摘This paper considers the regularity of solutions to mixed boundary value problems in small-angle regions for elliptic equations. By constructing a specific barrier function, we proved that under the assumption of sufficient regularity of boundary conditions and coefficients, as long as the angle is sufficiently small, the regularity of the solution to the mixed boundary value problem of the second-order elliptic equation can reach any order.
文摘Accurately approximating higher order derivatives is an inherently difficult problem. It is shown that a random variable shape parameter strategy can improve the accuracy of approximating higher order derivatives with Radial Basis Function methods. The method is used to solve fourth order boundary value problems. The use and location of ghost points are examined in order to enforce the extra boundary conditions that are necessary to make a fourth-order problem well posed. The use of ghost points versus solving an overdetermined linear system via least squares is studied. For a general fourth-order boundary value problem, the recommended approach is to either use one of two novel sets of ghost centers introduced here or else to use a least squares approach. When using either ghost centers or least squares, the random variable shape parameter strategy results in significantly better accuracy than when a constant shape parameter is used.