We treat the mathematical properties of the one-parameter version of the Mróz model for plastic flow. We present continuity results and an energy inequality for the hardening rule, and discuss different versions of the flow rule regarding their relation to the basic laws of thermodynamics.

We consider a phenomenological model proposed by Barenblatt [1] for non-equilibrium two-phase flow in porous media. In the case of zero total flow it reduces to a pair of equations:

where Φ(σ) is a non-decreasing (not necessarily increasing) smooth function defined in the interval 0 ≤ σ ≤ 1. We consider initial-boundary problems for this system in which the initial data are given only for s, and the boundary data only for ς (which corresponds to the physical sense of the model). The degenerate character of the system allows us to apply simple topological methods. We show that the boundary problem is well-posed, in the sense that there exits a unique (weak) solution which satisfies the maximum principle and depends continuously on the initial data. The solution is no less smooth than the initial and boundary data.

In this paper we study the question of existence and uniqueness of solutions to the equation

which occurs in the modelling of hard contact lenses. Using ‘shooting’ arguments, we show that, depending on the parameters in the problem, there are cases where there is precisely one solution, others where there is more than one, and others where there are none.

A non-destructive testing technique to obtain information on the electrical structure in semiconductor materials involves traversing the material surface with a laser beam, and measuring induced currents generated by the beam's interaction with the electrical field. A mathematical model has been established, and the inverse problem of reconstructing the electrical structure from the current image has been studied. Here we obtain explicit solutions for simple structures (p–n and p–n–p junctions) in the asymptotic limit of strong doping. Comparison with numerical results show that the asymptotic solutions are quite accurate. These solutions may provide a quick way to identify the doping profile by matching actual current signals to a class of simple functions.

In this paper we construct formal large-time solutions of a model equation, with initial data possessing bounded support, describing transport of a reacting and decaying contaminant in a porous medium. This we do in one, two and three space dimensions where, depending on the reaction model used, the solution may or may not have bounded support for all time. In the former case, working with what we call the reduced equation, we prove convergence, in one space dimension, to an outer limit as t → ∞. The outer solution has to be supplemented by inner solutions valid near the edges of the support. These inner solutions take the form of decaying travelling waves which we analyse using phase plane methods. Using the travelling waves as sub- and super-solutions, we establish the large-time behaviour of the interfaces which we refine using asymptotic matching. These ideas can be formally extended to higher space dimensions where we deduce the shape of the support of the large-time profiles which turns out to be ellipsoidal. For reaction models where the support is unbounded we prove convergence of the solution of the reduced equation to a travelling and decaying fundamental solution of the linear heat equation with convection and absorption. Finally, we indicate how the results for the reduced equations can be formally embedded in an asymptotic analysis of the original model equation.

We study the singular limit of the dimensionless phase-field equations

We consider two cases: either the space dimension is 1 and then ɛ tends to zero; or the solutions are radially symmetric and then both ɛ and α tend to zero. It turns out that, in the first case, the limiting functions solve the Stefan problem with kinetic undercooling, provided the initial temperature is small compared to the surface tension and the latent heat. In the second case, the limiting functions satisfy the Stefan problem coupled with the Gibbs–Thomson law for the melting temperature. We show, in addition, that the multiplicity of the interface is always one, in a sense to be explained at the end of § 1. As main tool we use energy type estimates, and prove that the formal first-order asymptotic expansion with respect to ɛ in fact gives an approximation of the exact solution. Our results hold without smoothness assumptions on the limiting Stefan problem.

We consider an equilibrium problem for a thin inclusion in a shell. The faces of the inclusion are assumed to satisfy a non-penetration condition, which is an inequality imposed on the tangential shell displacements. The properties of the solution are studied, in particular, the smoothness of the stress field in the vicinity of the inclusion. The tangential displacements are proved to belong to the space H2 near the internal points of the inclusion. The character of the contact between the inclusion faces is described in terms of a suitable non-negative measure. The stability of the solution is investigated for small perturbations to the inclusion geometry.

We show by using formal asymptotics that the zero level set of the solution to the Cahn–Hilliard equation with a concentration dependent mobility approximates to lowest order in ɛ. an interface evolving according to the geometric motion,

(where V is the normal velocity, Δ8 is the surface Laplacian and κ is the mean curvature of the interface), both in the deep quench limit and when the temperature θ is where є2 is the coefficient of gradient energy. Equation (0.1) may be viewed as motion by surface diffusion, and as a higher-order analogue of motion by mean curvature predicted by the bistable reaction-diffusion equation.

This paper is devoted to an analysis of the formation of oscillatory viscous fingers in a Hele-Shaw cell on the basis of the interfacial wave theory, previously established for the pattern formation dynamics in dendrite growth, as well as in the classic Saffman–Taylor flow. In particular, we study the problem of selection and persistence of oscillatory fingers with a tiny bubble at the finger tip. We obtain uniformly valid asymptotic solutions for this problem, and derive the linear, global wave instability mechanism for this more complicated system. The global, neutrally stable modes are computed in a large region of parameters, which select the form of oscillatory fingers in the later stage of evolution. We have compared the theoretical predictions with the experimental data by Couder et al. (1986) and by Kopf-Sill & Homsy (1987), and found excellent quantitative agreement.

The simplified magnetic Bénard; equations (SMB) are derived from the two-dimensional magnetic Bénard system and extend the well-known Lorenz equations (L). (SMB) contains a parameter Q associated with the magnetic field. When Q = 0, the long time dynamics of (SMB) agrees with that of (L). In this paper, we investigate the long time behaviour of (SMB) as Q→0. We prove analytically that the global attractor of (SMB) converges to the one of (L) as Q→0 upper semicontinuously in the Hausdorff sense. However, numerical computation indicates that generically there is no continuity in the dimension of the attractor.

A sharp estimate of the growth of solutions of the initial value problem for systems of the form

where Cj(t) are matrices with elements of power growth, is found. As a corollary of this result, it follows, for instance, that each solution of the initial value problem satisfies the estimate ‖u(t)‖ ≤ Cexp{γln2(1+|t|)} for some C > 0 and γ > 0.

The purpose of this paper is to study a mathematical model of lubricating flow between elastic surfaces obeying the linear Hertzian theory when cavitation takes place. Cavitation is a free boundary phenomenon that is described in this paper by the New Elrod–Adams model. This model introduces the concentration of fluid as well as the pressure as unknown functions and is suggested in preference to the classical variational inequality due to its ability to describe inflow and outflow. This leads to a nonlinear variational and nonlocal equation. Herein, an existence theorem is proved by means of two different techniques.

We describe an algorithm which uses a finite number of differentiations and algebraic operations to simplify a given analytic nonlinear system of partial differential equations to a form which includes all its integrability conditions. This form can be used to test whether a given differential expression vanishes as a consequence of such a system and may be more amenable to numerical or analytical solution techniques than the original system. It is also useful for determining consistent initial conditions for such a system. A computer implementable version of our algorithm is given for polynomially nonlinear systems of partial differential equations. This version uses Grobner basis techniques for constructing the radical of the polynomial ideal generated by the equations of such systems.

We consider the propagation of an exothermic reaction wave which converts liquid reactants into a solid product. Such reaction waves are observed, for example in addition polymerization, where there is a propagating localized polymerization zone, in which monomer is converted to polymer. We study uniformly propagating travelling waves and their linear stability. We show that, though this problem is similar to the problem of gaseous combustion, which exhibits a hydrodynamic instability, here there is no such hydrodynamic instability. This theoretical result is consistent with experimental observations in the case when the polymerization process occurs under high external pressure conditions.

In this paper, we investigate the evolution of N-waves in a medium governed by the modified Burgers' equation. It is shown that the general behaviour when the nonlinearity is of arbitrary odd integer order is the same as for the cubic case. For an N-wave of zero mean displacement, a shock is formed immediately to prevent a multi-valued solution and a second shock is formed at later times. At a finite time, the second shock satisfies a sonic condition and this state persists. The Taylor-type shock structure ceases to be the appropriate description, and instead we have a shock which matches only algebraically to the outer wave on one side. At a larger time still, the other shock is affected but the two shocks remain distinct until the wave dies under linear mechanisms. The behaviour of N-waves of non-zero mean is also examined and it is shown that in some cases, a purely one-signed profile remains.

A general method is presented to facilitate the solution of a class of polydisperse spray problems in which a cloud of droplets can be described using a sectional or group model. The procedure involves replacing the original coupled droplet sectional variables conservation equations by a set of uncoupled sectional equations for auxiliary variables. The form of these latter equations is identical to that of the single spray equation for a quasi-monodisperse spray, solutions of which are more readily attainable even for multidimensional spray problems. Thus, these ready-made solutions can be exploited directly for the auxiliary variables, from which solutions can then be constructed in a straightforward manner for the desired original sectional variables. Three illustrative examples for spray diffusion flames with different features of complexity highlight the potential applicability of the proposed method, and indicate the sensitivity of flame characteristics to initial spray conditions and in-spray related phenomena.

M. Escobedo and R. E. Grundy Vol. 7 (1996), pp. 395–416; The publisher apologises for an oversight which resulted in an error in the above paper. The following three figures were inadvertently published in an incomplete form, with some of the labelling omitted.

We consider the GI/M/1 – K queue which has a capacity of K customers. Using singular perturbation methods, we construct asymptotic approximations to the stationary queue length distribution. We assume that K is large and treat several different parameter regimes. Extensive numerical comparisons are used to show the quality of the proposed approximations.