A Fractional Variational Approach to the Fractional Basset-Type Equation

Abstract

In this paper we discuss an application of fractional variational calculus to the Basset-type fractional equations. It is well known that the unsteady motion of a sphere immersed in a Stokes fluid is described by an integro-differential equation involving derivative of real order. Here we study the inverse problem, i.e. we consider the problem from a Lagrangian point of view in the framework of fractional variational calculus. In this way we find an application of fractional variational methods to a classical physical model, finding a Basset-type fractional equation starting from a Lagrangian depending on derivatives of fractional order.