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U.S. Department of Energy
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Two mathematical problems related to the theory of combustion

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:6010247

The first part of this thesis is concerned with the implicit integrodifferential equation theta/sub t/ - ..delta.. theta = delta/sub e//sup theta/ + ..gamma.. - 1/..gamma.. 1/vol..cap omega.. ..integral../sub ..cap omega../ theta/sub t/ dy, describing the ignition period of a thermal explosion in a confined reactive gas. Assuming Dirichelet boundary conditions, the existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence of solutions are proven for general n-dimensional domains ..cap omega... For spherical domains further qualitative results are provided, concerning the global behavior of solutions and, in particular, the existence of a finite blow-up time. The second part of the thesis contains some existence results for solutions of an abstract evolution equation. Let A be the generator of a nonlinear semigroup T in a Banach space X, and let ..omega..l-A be m-accreative. Define nu/sub ..cap alpha../(x) = sup(t/sup 1-..cap alpha../e/sup -..omega..t/ absolute value AT(t)x; t > 0) + absolute value x. Given the Cauchy problem U = Au + f(u), u(0) = x/sub 0/, assuming that the restriction of f to nu/sub ..cap alpha../-bounded sets is continuous for some ..cap alpha.. < 1, a local and a global existence theorem are proven. These results provide a nonlinear analogue to the perturbation theory known for linear analytic semigroups; they were motivated by the study of the nonlinear, degenerate parabolic system of P.D.E.'s describing the dynamics of gas combustion.

OSTI ID:
6010247
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English