Solving the fractional heat-like and wave-like equations with variable coefficients utilizing the Laplace homotopy method

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to suggest the approximate solution of time fractional heat-like and wave-like (TFH-L and W-L) equations with variable coefficients. The proposed scheme shows that the results are very close to the exact solution. Design/methodology/approach First with the help of some basic properties of fractional derivatives, a scheme that has the capability to solve fractional partial differential equations is constructed. Then, TFH-L and W-L equations with variable coefficients are solved by this scheme, which yields results very close to the exact solution. The derived results demonstrate that this scheme is very effective. Finally, the convergence of this method is discussed. Findings A traditional method is combined with the Laplace transform to construct this scheme. To decompose the nonlinear terms, this paper introduces the homotopy perturbation method with He’s polynomials and thus the solution is provided in the form of a series that converges to the exact solution very quickly. Originality/value The proposed approach is original and very effective because this approach is, to the authors’ knowledge, used for the first time very successfully to tackle the fractional partial differential equations, which are of great interest.