Multiple solutions and periodic oscillations in nonlinear diffusion processes

We study the oscillatory stationary states in the temperature and concentration fields occurring in tubular chemical reactors. Singular perturbation and multitime scale procedures are combined formally to clearly and simply reveal the mechanism controlling these oscillatory states. Their stability is also studied, and when coupled with previously obtained results on multiple steady states, this information completes the response (bifurcation) diagram in one-parameter range of the tubular reactor. The results apply also to more general nonlinear parabolic problems of which the first order tubular reactor is a special case

Multiple Solutions of Singular Perturbation Problems

Under certain conditions on g(x, u) we establish the existence and asymptotic behavior for small ε > 0 of multiple asymptotic solutions of the nonlinear boundary value problem εu" + u’ - g(x,u) = 0, 0 < x < 1, u’(0) - au(0)= A ≥ 0, a > 0, u’(1) + bu(1) = B > 0, b > 0. Formal techniques of singular perturbation theory clearly reveal the mechanism which controls the appearance of multiple solutions. Their existence is then established rigorously by iteration schemes and the so-called "shooting method" for ordinary differential equations

The Mathematical Theory of Diffusion and Reaction in Permeable Catalysts (Rutherford Aris)

[Book review