- 20 -

http://www.ivypub.org/mc
MathematicalComputation
December2012,Volume1,Issue1,PP.2025
Traveling Wave Solutions for Some Nonlinear
Differential Equations by a Generalized Sub-
ODE Method
Traveling Wave Solutions for Some Differential Equations
Bin Zheng
School Of Science, Shandong University Of Technology, Zibo, 255049, China
Email: zhengbin2601@126.com
Abstract
In this paper, we are concerned of seeking exact solutions of nonlinear differential equations. Some exact traveling wave solutions
of the (2+1) dimensional PKP equation, the fifth-order SK equation and the (2+1) D-BLP equation are successfully established
by a generalized Bernoulli sub-ODE method. These solutions are new exact solutions so far in the literature, and can help to
understand better some related physical phenomena. This method appears to be efficient in seeking exact solutions of nonlinear
equations, and can be applied to other nonlinear differential equations.
Keywords: Bernoulli Sub-ODE Method; Traveling Wave Solutions; Exact Solution; (2+1) Dimensional PKP Equation; Fifth-
Order SK Equation; (2+1) D-BLP Equation
I. INTRODUCTION
In the nonlinear sciences, it is well known that many nonlinear partial differential equations are widely used to
describe the complex phenomena such as fluid mechanics, plasma physics, optical fibers, biology, solid state physics,
chemical kinematics, chemical physics, and so on. The powerful and efficient methods to find analytic solutions and
numerical solutions of nonlinear equations have drawn a lot of interest by a lot of researchers. Many efficient
analytic and numerical methods have been presented so far. During the research searching for traveling wave
solutions of nonlinear evolution equations (NLEEs) has been the main goal of many researchers, and many powerful
methods for constructing exact solutions of nonlinear evolution equations have been established and developed.
Some of these approaches are the homogeneous balance method [1,2], the (G/G) expansion method [3,4], theF-
expansion method [5], the tanh-method [6-8], the exponential function rational expansion method [9-10], the
nonlinear transform method [11], the inverse scattering transform [12], the Hirotas bilinear method [13,14], the
J acobi elliptic function expansion [15,16], the complex hyperbolic function method [17-19] and so on.
In this paper, we apply the Bernoulli sub-ODE method [20] to construct exact traveling wave solutions for some
nonlinear evolution equations.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we describe the Bernoulli sub-ODE method for finding
traveling wave solutions of nonlinear evolution equations, and give the main steps of the method. In the subsequent
sections, we will apply the method to find exact traveling wave solutions of the (2+1) dimensional PKP equation, the
fifth-order SK equation and the (2+1) D-BLP equation. In the last Section, some conclusions are presented.
II. DESCRIPTIONOFTHEBERNOULLISUBODEMETHOD
In this section we give a summary of the Bernoulli sub-ODE method [20].
Consider the following nonlinear partial differential equation:
,
( , , , , , , , ......) 0,
t x y tt xt yt xx yy
P u u u u u u u u u = (1)
where ( , , ) u u x y t = is an unknown function.
Suppose that ( , , ) ( ), ( , , ) u x y t u x y t = = . Then Eq. (3) can be reduced to an ODE for ( ) u u = :

- 21 -
http://www.ivypub.org/mc
( , ', '',......) 0. P u u u = (2)
Suppose that the solution of (2) can be expressed by a polynomial in G as follows:
1
( ) ,
m
i
i
i
u G o
=
=

(3)
where and , 1,2,...,
i
i m o = are constants to be determined later, 0
m
o = , and ( ) G G = satisfies the following
Bernoulli equation:
2
' , G G G + = (4)
where 0, 0, ( ) G G = = = .
Eq.(4) admits the following solution:
1
, G
de

=
+
(5)
where d is an arbitrary constant.
Substituting (3) into (2) and using (4), the left-hand side of Eq.(2) is converted into another polynomial in G .
Equating each coefficient of this polynomial to zero, yields a set of algebraic equations for , 1,2,..., , ,
i
i m o = .
Solving the algebraic equations system in Step 3, and by using the solutions of Eq.(4) as denoted in (5), we can
construct the traveling wave solutions of the nonlinear evolution equation (2).
III. APPLICATIONOFTHEBERNOULLISUBODEMETHODFOR(2+1)DIMENSIONAL
PKPEQUATION
In this section, we will consider the following (2+1) dimensional PKP equation [21]:
1 3 3
0
4 2 4
xxxx x xx yy xt
u u u u u + + + = (6)
Suppose that
( , , ) ( ), u x y t u kx ly t e = = + + (7)
where , , k l e are constants that to be determined later.
By (7), (6) is converted into an ODE
4 (4) 3 2
1 3 3
' '' ( ) '' 0
4 2 4
k u k u u l k u e + + + = (8)
Integrating (8) once we obtain
4 3 2 2
1 3 3
''' ( ') ( ) '
4 4 4
k u k u l k u g e + + + = (9)
where g is the integration constant.
Suppose that the solution of (9) can be expressed by a polynomial in G as follows:
0
( )
m
i
i
i
u a G
=
=

(10)
where
i
a are constants, and ( ) G G = satisfies Eq.(4).
Balancing the order of ''' u and
2
( ') u in Eq.(9), we have 3 2 2 1 m m m + = + = .So Eq.(10) can be rewritten as
1 0 1
( ) , 0 u a G a a = + = (11)
where
1 0
, a a are constants to be determined later.
Substituting (11) into (9) and collecting all the terms with the same power of G together, equating each
coefficient to zero, yields a set of simultaneous algebraic equations as follows:
0
: 0 G g =
1 2 4 3
1 1 1
3 1
: 0
4 4
G a l a k k a e =


2 4 2 3 2 2 2
1 1 1 1
7 3 3
: 0
4 4 4
G a k k a k a a l e + + + =


- 22 -
http://www.ivypub.org/mc
3 4 2 3 2
1 1
3
: 3 0
2
G k a k a =

4 4 3 3 2 2
1 1
3 3
: 0
2 4
G k a k a + =

Solving the algebraic equations above, yields:

2 2 4
1 0 0
13
2 , , 0, , ,
4
l k
a k a a g k k l l
k

e
+
= = = = = =
(12)
where
0
, , a k l are arbitrary constants, and , 0 k l = .
Substituting (12) into (11), we get that
0
( ) 2 u k G a = + ,
2 2 4
13
4
l k
kx ly t
k

+
= +
(13)
Combining with Eq. (2), we can obtain the traveling wave solutions of (6) as follows:
2 2 4 0
13
( )
4
1
( , , ) 2 [ ]
l k
kx ly t
k
u x y t k a
de

+
+
= +
+
(14)
where
2 2 4
13
4
l k
kx ly t
k

+
= +
, and , are arbitrary nonzero constants.
Remark 1: Our result (14) is new exact travelling wave solutions for the (2+1) dimensional PKP equation (6).
IV. APPLICATION OF BERNOULLI SUBODE METHOD FOR FIFTHORDER SK
EQUATION
In this section, we will consider the following fifth-order SK equation [22]:
2
45 15( ) 0
xxxxx t x x xx xxx
u u u u u u uu + + + + = (15)
Suppose that
( , ) ( ), u x t u x ct = = (16)
where c is a constant that to be determined later.
By (16), (15) is converted into an ODE
(5) 2
' 45 ' 15 ' '' 15 ''' 0 u cu u u u u uu + + + = (17)
Integrating (17) once we obtain
(4) 3
15 15 '' u cu u uu g + + = (18)
where g is the integration constant.
Suppose that the solution of (18) can be expressed by a polynomial in
G
as follows:
0
( )
m
i
i
i
u a G
=
=

(19)
where
i
a are constants, and ( ) G G = satisfies Eq.(4).
Balancing the order of ' uu and
(3)
u in Eq.(18), we have 1 3 2 m m m m + + = + = .So Eq.(19) can be
rewritten as
2
2 1 0 2
( ) , 0 u a G a G a a = + + = (20)
where
2 1 0
, , a a a are constants to be determined later.
Substituting (20) into (18) and collecting all the terms with the same power of G together, equating each
coefficient to zero, yields a set of simultaneous algebraic equations as follows:
0 3
0 0
: 15 0 G ca a g + =
1 2 2 4
0 1 0 1 1 1
: 45 15 0 G a a a a a ca + + =
2 2 2 2 4 3 2 2
1 0 1 0 2 2 2 1 0 1 0 2
:15 45 60 16 15 45 45 0 G a a a a a a ca a a a a a + + + + =

3 3 2 2 3 2 2 2
2 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 2
: 130 30 45 150 15 90 50 75 0 G a a a a a a a a a a a a a + + + + + =

- 23 -
http://www.ivypub.org/mc
4 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1 1 2 1 2 2 0 2 1 2 0 2
: 30 60 60 195 330 90 45 45 0 G a a a a a a a a a a a a + + + + + =
5 4 3 2 2 2
1 2 2 1 2 1 2
: 24 336 150 45 120 0 G a a a a a a a + + =
6 4 2 2 3
2 2 2
:120 90 15 0 G a a a + + =
Solving the algebraic equations above, yields:
Case 1:

2 2 4 6
2 1 0
1 2
4 , 4 , , ,
3 9
a a a c g = = = = =
(21)
where , are arbitrary nonzero constants.
Substituting (21) into (20), we get that
2 2 2
1
( ) 4 4
3
u G G = +
,
4
x t = (22)
Combining with Eq. (2), we can obtain the traveling wave solutions of (15) as follows:
2 2 2
1 1 1
( ) 4 ( ) 4 ( )
3
u
de de




= +
+ +
(23)
Since
4
x t = , then we obtain:
4 4
2 2 2
( ) ( )
1 1 1
( , , ) 4 ( ) 4 ( )
3 x t x t
u x y t
de de





= +
+ +
(24)
Remark 2: Our result (24) is new exact travelling wave solutions for the fifth-order SK equation (15).
V. APPLICATIONOFBERNOULLISUBODEMETHODFOR(2+1)DBLPEQUATION
In this section, we will consider the following (2+1) D-BLP equation [23]:
2
( ) 2
ty x xy xxx
u u u v = + (25)
2
t xx x
v v uv = + (26)
Suppose that
( , , ) ( ), ( , , ) ( ), ( ) u x y t u v x y t v k x y ct = = = + (27)
where , k c are constants that to be determined later.
By (27), (25) and (26) are converted into ODEs
2
'' ( )'' ''' 2 ''' cu u ku kv = + (28)
' '' 2 ' cv kv uv = + (29)
Suppose that the solution of (28) and (29) can be expressed by a polynomial in G as follows:
0
( )
m
i
i
i
u a G
=
=

(30)
0
( )
n
i
i
i
v bG
=
=

(31)
where ,
i i
a b are constants, and ( ) G G = satisfies Eq.(4).
Balancing the order of ''' u and ''' v in Eq.(28) and the order of '' v and ' uv in Eq.(29), we have
3 3, 2 1 1 m n n m n m n + = + + = + + = = . So Eqs.(30) and (31) can be rewritten as
1 0 1
( ) , 0 u a G a a = + = (32)
1 0 1
( ) , 0 v b G b b = + = (33)
where
1 0 1 0
, , , a a b b are constants to be determined later.
Substituting (30) into (28) and collecting all the terms with the same power of G together, equating each
coefficient to zero, yields a set of simultaneous algebraic equations as follows.
For Eq. (28):
1 2 2 3 3
1 0 1 1 1
: 2 2 0 G a a c a kb ka + =

- 24 -
http://www.ivypub.org/mc
2 2 2 2
1 1 1 0 1
: 3 4 6 7 0 G ca a a a ka + + =
3 2 2 2 2 2
1 0 1 1 1 1
: 4 2 12 10 24 0 G a a ca ka a kb + + =
4 3 3 2 2
1 1 1
:6 12 6 0 G ka kb a =
For Eq. (29):
1 2
1 1 1 0
: 2 0 G kb c b b a + + =
2
1 1 1 0 1 1
:3 2 2 0 G kb cba b a b a + =
3 2
1 1 1
: 2 2 0 G kb b a =
Solving the algebraic equations above, yields:

1 0 0 1 0 0 0
, , , , , 2 a k a a b k b b k k c k a = = = = = = (34)
where
0 0
, , k a b are arbitrary nonzero constants.
Substituting (34) into (32) and (33), we get that
0
( ) u k G a = + (35)
0
( ) v k G b = + (36)
Combining with Eq. (1.2), we can obtain the travelling wave solutions of (25) (26) as follows:
0
1
( ) ( ) u k a
de

= +
+
(37)
0
1
( ) ( ) v k b
de

= +
+
(38)
where , are arbitrary nonzero constants.
Since
0
[ ( 2 ) ] k x y k a t = + , then from (37) and (38) we obtain
0
0
[ ( 2 ) ]
1
( , , ) ( )
k x y k a t
u x y t k a
de

+
= +
+
(39)
0
0
[ ( 2 ) ]
1
( , , ) ( )
k x y k a t
v x y t k b
de

+
= +
+
(40)
Remark 3: Our result (39) and (40) are new exact travelling wave solutions for the (2+1) D-BLP equation (25)-(26).
VI. CONCLUSIONS
We have seen that some new traveling wave solution of the (2+1) dimensional PKP equation, the fifth-order SK
equation and the (2+1) D-BLP equation are successfully found by using the Bernoulli sub-ODE method. Compared
to the methods used before, one can see that this method is direct, concise and effective. Moreover, the method can
also be used to many other nonlinear equations. One can see the method is concise and effective. Also this method
can be used to many other nonlinear problems.
REFERENCES
[1] E.M.E. Zayed, H.A. Zedan, K.A. Gepreel. On the solitary wave solutions for nonlinear Hirota-Satsuma coupled KdV equations,
Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, 2004, 22: 285-303
[2] M. Wang. Solitary wave solutions for variant Boussinesq equations, Phys. Lett. A,1995, 199: 169-172
[3] B. Ayhan, A. Bekir. The (G'/G)-expansion method for the nonlinear lattice equations, Commun. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simulat.,
2012, 17: 3490-3498
[4] M.L. Wang, J .L. Zhang, X.Z. Li. Application of the (G/G )-expansion to travelling wave solutions of the Broer-Kaup and the
approximate long water wave equations. Appl. Math. Comput, 2008, 206: 321-326

- 25 -
http://www.ivypub.org/mc
[5] M.L. Wang, X.Z. Li. Applications of F-expansion to periodic wave solutions for a new Hamiltonian amplitude equation, Chaos,
Solitons and Fractals, 2005, 24: 1257-1268
[6] M.A. Abdou. The extended tanh-method and its applications for solving nonlinear physical models, Appl. Math. Comput., 2007,
190: 988-996
[7] E.G. Fan. Extended tanh-function method and its applications to nonlinear equations, Phys. Lett. A, 2000, 277: 212-218
[8] W. Malfliet. Solitary wave solutions of nonlinear wave equations, Am. J. Phys., 1992, 60: 650-654
[9] C.S. Liu. Exponential function rational expansion method for nonlinear differential-difference equations, Chaos, Solitons and
Fractals, 2009, 40: 708-716
[10] H. Xin. The exponential function rational expansion method and exact solutions to nonlinear lattice equations system, Appl. Math.
Comput., 2010, 217: 1561-1565
[11] J.L. Hu. A new method of exact traveling wave solution for coupled nonlinear differential equations, Phys. Lett. A, 2004, 322: 211-216
[12] M.J . Ablowitz, P.A. Clarkson, Solitons, Non-linear Evolution Equations and Inverse Scattering Transform, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, 1991
[13] R. Hirota. Exact envelope soliton solutions of a nonlinear wave equation, J. Math. Phys., 1973, 14: 805-810
[14] R. Hirota, J . Satsuma. Soliton solution of a coupled KdV equation, Phys. Lett. A, 1981, 85: 407-408
[15] Z. Yan. Abundant families of J acobi elliptic functions of the (2+1)-dimensional integrable Davey-Stawartson-type equation via a
new method, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, 2003, 18: 299-309
[16] C. Bai, H. Zhao. Complex hyperbolic-function method and its applications to nonlinear equations, Phys. Lett. A, 2006, 355: 22-30
[17] E.M.E. Zayed, A.M. Abourabia, K.A. Gepreel, M.M. Horbaty. On the rational solitary wave solutions for the nonlinear Hirota
CSatsuma coupled KdV system, Appl. Anal., 2006, 85: 751-768
[18] K.W. Chow. A class of exact periodic solutions of nonlinear envelope equation, J. Math. Phys., 1995, 36: 4125-4137
[19] M.L.Wang, Y.B. Zhou. The periodic wave equations for the Klein-Gordon-Schordinger equations, Phys. Lett. A, 2003, 318: 84-92
[20] B. Zheng, A NEW BERNOULLI SUB-ODE METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTING TRAVELING WAVE SOLUTIONS FOR TWO
NONLINEAR EQUATIONS WITH ANY ORDER, U.P.B. Sci. Bull., Series A, 2011, Vol.73, Iss. 3: 85-94
[21] A. Borhanifar, M.M. Kabir. New periodic and soliton solutions by application of Exp-function method for nonlinear evolution
equations. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics., 2009, 229: 158-167
[22] C.F. Liu, Z.D. Dai. Exact soliton solutions for the fifth-order Sawada-Kotera equation, Appl. Math. Comput., 2008, 206: 272-275
[23] B. Zheng. New Exact Traveling Wave Solutions For Some Non-linear Evolution Equations By (G/G)-expansion method, WSEAS
TRANSACTIONS on MATHEMATICS, 2011, Vol.9, Iss. 6: 468-477
AUTHOR
Bin Zheng was born in 1982. She received the master
degree in applied mathematics in 2004. Her main
research interests includes methods in differential,
difference, and dynamic equations, mathematical
inequalities. She works in Shandong University of
Technology currently.