We discuss the one-phase Hele–Shaw problem in two space dimensions. We review exact solutions in the zero-surface-tension case, giving a unified account of the Schwarz function and conformal mapping approaches. We discuss the extension of the former method to the cases in which surface tension or ‘kinetic undercooling’ terms apply on the moving boundary, and we give some conjectures on the resulting singularity structure. Finally, we give a new interpretation of the linear stability analysis of the zero-surface-tension problem, and we suggest a possible regularization of ill-posed problems by the imposition of a unilateral constraint on the moving boundary.

The two-dimensional flow of a viscous incompressible fluid in a channel with accelerating walls is analysed by use of Hiemenz's similarity solution. Steady flows and their instabilities are calculated, and unsteady flows are computed by solving the initial-value problem for the governing partial-differential system. Thereby, these exact solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations are found to exhibit turning points, pitchfork bifurcations, Hopf bifurcations and Takens–Bogdanov bifurcations along the route to chaos. The substantial physical result is that the chaos previously found for flows with symmetrically accelerating walls is easily destroyed by a little asymmetry.

Phosphorus diffusion in silicon shows a number of anomalous effects, and we apply asymptotic methods to a model problem which includes most of these. Both constant surface concentration problems and the diffusion of implanted dopant are considered. An unusual feature of the model is the non-local dependence of the tail diffusivity on the peak concentration.

We consider a polymer melt in a domain Ω whereby each polymer chain is attached at one endpoint to a fixed surface S contained in ∂Ω. Denote by G(x, t;y) the normalized number density of all subchains from x to y of length t. Then, according to the selfconsistent mean field theory, G satisfies, for each y: Gt - Δ2G + σϕG = 0, where σ is a real parameter, and ϕ is a functional of G(·, ·; ·) both non-local and nonlinear. We establish the existence of G and C∞ regularity of ϕ, as a function of x.

There are symbolic programs based on heuristics that sometimes, but not always, explicitly integrate the determining equations for the infinitesimal Lie symmetries admitted by systems of differential equations. We present a heuristic-free algorithm ‘Structure constant’, which can always determine whether the Lie symmetry group of a given system of PDEs is finite- or infinite-dimensional. If the group is finite-dimensional then ‘Structure constant’ can determine the dimension and structure constants of its associated Lie algebra without the heuristics of integration involved in other methods. If the group is infinite-dimensional, then ‘Structure constant’ computes the number of arbitrary functions which determine the infinite-dimensional component of its Lie symmetry algebra and also calculates the dimension and structure of its associated finite-dimensional subalgebra. ‘Structure constant’ employs the algorithms ‘Standard form’ and ‘Taylor’, described elsewhere. ‘Standard form’ is a heuristic-free algorithm which brings any system of determining equations to a standard form by including all integrability conditions in the system. ‘Taylor’ uses the standard form of a system of differential equations to calculate its Taylor series solution. These algorithms have been implemented in the symbolic language MAPLE. ‘Structure constant’ can also automatically determine the dimension and structure constants of the Lie symmetry algebras of entire classes of differential equations dependent on variable coefficients. In particular, we obtain new group classification results for some physically interesting classes of nonlinear telegraph equations depending on two variable coefficients, one representing a nonlinear wave speed and the other representing a nonlinear dispersion.

We consider the initial value problem for the equation ut = uxx + H(u), where H is the Heaviside graph, on a bounded interval with Dirichlet boundary conditions, and discuss existence, regularity and uniqueness of solutions and interfaces.

The coupling of the Stefan equation for the heat flow with the Gibbs–Thomson law relating the melting temperature to the mean curvature of the phase interface is considered. Solutions, global in time, are constructed which satisfy the natural a priori estimates. Mathematically the main difficulty is to prove a certain regularity in time for the temperature and the indicator function of the phase separately. A capacity type estimate is used to give an L1 bound for fractional time derivatives.

This paper presents a detailed analysis of a model for a positive corona discharge, and discusses the relationship between the model and the space charge equations which predict the macroscopic motion of charged ions in a gas. The study is restricted to the asymptotic behaviour of the discharge for large time, and it does not consider its initial or burst phases in detail.

One prediction of this model is the existence of a steady state solution to the space charge equations that may lose stability to a travelling wave disturbance which then grows into a strongly pulsed oscillation.

We compare some numerical calculations with an asymptotic analysis of the discharge and find good agreement.

We consider the two-phase one-dimensional Stefan problem in a finite interval, with initial and boundary conditions such that the solid phase vanishes at a finite time T and at a single point. We show that the temperature in the solid phase decreases to zero and is bounded by c exp (α/(t − T)) as extinction approaches (C, α > 0) and that phase boundaries at extinction have finite speeds.

We regret that the paper by J. M. Greenberg, ‘Models of elastic–perfectly plastic materials’, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 131–150, was repeated in error as pp. 225–244 in part 3.

The publisher apologizes to the author and readers for this unfortunate error.

We present several algorithms, executable in a finite number of steps, which have been implemented in the symbolic language maple. The standard form algorithm reduces a system of PDEs to a simplified standard form which has all of its integrability conditions satisfied (i.e. is involutive). The initial data algorithm uses a system's standard form to calculate a set of initial data that uniquely determines a local solution to the system without needing to solve the system. The number of arbitrary constants and arbitrary functions in the general solution to the system is directly calculable from this set. The taylor algorithm uses a system's standard form and initial data set to determine the Taylor series expansion of its solution about any point to any given finite degree. All systems of linear PDEs and many systems of nonlinear PDEs can be reduced to standard form in a finite number of steps. Our algorithms have simple geometric interpretations which are illustrated through the use of diagrams. The standard form algorithm is generally more efficient than the classical methods due to Janet and Cartan for reducing systems of PDEs to involutive form.

The thermistor problem is a system of equations modelling the electric heating of a conducting material. We prove uniqueness of a solution to this system.

Following Krasnoselskii & Pokrovskii (1983) we express the constitutive law for the Prandtl–Reuss elastoplastic model in terms of a hysteresis operator, and introduce the vector Ishlinskii model. We investigate some properties (continuity, energy inequalities, dependence on spatial variables) of these operators.

We discuss a nonlinear diffusion equation in which the diffusivity has a non-local dependence on the surface concentration. Exact results are obtained for some special cases by means of similarity methods and non-local transformations. We indicate some of the implications the analysis has for more general cases.

In this paper, new non-classical symmetry reductions and exact solutions for the 2+1- dimensional, time-independent and time-dependent, dissipative Zabolotskaya-Khokhlov equations in both cartesian and cylindrical coordinates, are presented. These are obtained using the Direct Method, which was originally developed by Clarkson & Kruskal (1989) to study symmetry reductions of the Boussinesq equation, and which involves no group theoretic techniques. In particular, we derive exact solutions of these Zabolotskaya-Khokhlov equations expressible in terms of elementary functions, Weierstrass elliptic and zeta functions, Weber-Hermite functions and Airy functions. Additionally, it is shown that some previously known solutions of these equations actually arise from non-classical symmetries.

We consider a well-known thermo-diffusive model for the propagation of a premixed, adiabatic flame front in the large-activation-energy limit. That model depends only on one nondimensional parameter β, the reduced Lewis number. Near the pulsating instability limit, as β↓β0= 32/3, we obtain an asymptotic model for the evolution of a quasi-planar flame front, via a multi-scale analysis. The asymptotic model consists of two complex Ginzburg–Landau equations and a real Burgers equation, coupled by non-local terms. The model is used to analyse the nonlinear stability of the flame front.

A mathematical analysis is carried out for the Cahn–Hilliard equation where the free energy takes the form of a double well potential function with infinite walls. Existence and uniqueness are proved for a weak formulation of the problem which possesses a Lyapunov functional. Regularity results are presented for the weak formulation, and consideration is given to the asymptotic behaviour as the time becomes infinite. An investigation of the associated stationary problem is undertaken proving the existence of a nontrivial stationary solution and further regularity results for any stationary solution. Stationary solutions are constructed in one and two dimensions; a formula for the number of stationary solutions in one dimension is derived. It is then natural to study the asymptotic behaviour as the phenomenological parameter λ→0, the main result being that the interface between the two phases has minimal area.