A second-order difference scheme for the nonlinear time-fractional diffusion-wave equation with generalized memory kernel in the presence of time delay

This paper investigates a class of the time-fractional diffusion-wave equation (TFDWE), which incorporates a fractional derivative in the Caputo sense of order α+1 where 0<α<1. Initially, the original problem is transformed into a new model that incorporates the fractional Riemann–Liouville integral. Subsequently, a more generalized model is considered and investigated, which includes the generalized fractional integral with memory kernel. The paper establishes the existence and uniqueness of a numerical solution for the problem. We introduce a discretization technique for approximating the generalized fractional Riemann–Liouville integral and study its fundamental properties. Based on this technique, we propose a second-order numerical scheme for approximating the generalized model. The proof of the stability of the proposed difference scheme when considered in terms of the L₂ norm is established. Furthermore, a difference scheme is devised for solving a nonlinear generalized model with time delay. The convergence and stability analysis of this particular case are established using the discrete Gronwall inequality. Numerical examples are provided to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed methods and to support our theoretical analysis.