Peter Gordon, Department of Mathematics, The University of Akron
Title: Gelfand-type problem for two-phase porous media
We consider a generalization of the Gelfand problem arising in Frank-Kamenetskii theory of thermal explosion. This generalization is a natural extension of the Gelfand problem to two phase materials, where, in contrast to the classical Gelfand problem which utilizes single temperature approach, the state of the system is described by two different temperatures. We show that similar to the classical Gelfand problem the thermal explosion (blow up) occurs exclusively due to the absence of stationary temperature distribution. We also show that the presence of inter-phase heat exchange delays a thermal explosion. Moreover, we prove that in the limit of infinite heat exchange between phases the problem of thermal explosion in two phase porous media reduces to the classical Gelfand problem with re-normalized constants. The latter result justifies the use of single temperature model as effective models for two phase materials in this asymptotic regime.
This is a joint work with Vitaly Moroz ( Swansea University, UK).