The Stefan problem with surface tension in the three-dimensional case with spherical symmetry is considered. We first establish the existence and uniqueness of the classical solution with surface tension and kinetic undercooling effects for all time, and then pass to the limit as the kinetic undercooling tends to zero. The limiting solution is the global-in-time weak solution and the local-in-time classical solution for the Stefan problem with surface tension. This solution cannot be the global-in-time classical solution. If S(t) is the radius of a solid ball in a supercooled liquid, then (1) there exists at least one point t* of discontinuity of the function S(t):

or (2) the continuous function S(t) cannot be absolutely continuous, and it maps some zero-measure set of (t*, T*) onto some set of Ω with a strictly positive measure.

This paper considers the stability of melt-solid interfaces to eigenfunction perturbations for a system of equations which describe the melting and freezing of helium. The analysis is carried out in both planar and spherical geometries. The principal results are that when the melt is freezing, under certain far-field conditions, the interface is stable in the sense of Mullins and Sekerka. On the other hand, when the solid is melting (at least when the melting is sufficiently fast), the interface is unstable. In some circumstances these instabilities are oscillatory, with amplitude and growth rate increasing with surface tension and frequency. The last section considers the original problem of Mullins and Sekerka in the present notation.

Nonlinear evolution equations including hysteresis functionals are studied. It is the purpose of this paper to investigate the asymptotic stability of the solution as time t → + ∞. In the case when the forcing term of the equation tends to a time-independent function as t → + ∞, we shall show that the solution stabilizes at + ∞ and the system is asymptotically stable (equilibrium stability). In the case when the forcing term is periodic in time, we shall show that there is at least one periodic solution and that in some restricted cases the periodic solution is unique.

This paper deals with Maxwell's equations in a quasi-stationary electromagnetic field subject to the effects of temperature. This model is encountered in the penetration of a magnetic field in substances where the electrical conductivity depends on the temperature. Similar phenomena also occur in some industrial problems such as the thermistor. Taking the effect of Joule heating into the consideration, we obtain a strongly coupled nonlinear system. Global solvability is established for this system.

We consider the behaviour of a premixed flame anchored on a flat burner. For Lewis numbers L < L* < 1, stationary spatially periodic solutions corresponding to stationary cellular flames bifurcate from the basic solution which corresponds to a steady planar flame. We study the existence and stability of two-dimensional patterns which correspond to certain imposed symmetries by considering the evolution of N pairs of wave vectors, each of which is separated from the next by angle π/N. In the neighbourhood of the critical Lewis number L*, we derive evolution equations for the amplitudes corresponding to N = 2, which corresponds to square patterns, and N = 3, which corresponds to triangular or hexagonal patterns. We determine existence and stability results in terms of m∈(0, 1), the flow rate of the fuel, and K > 2/e, the scaled heat loss to the burner. Square patterns exist for L < L* and are stable for values of m and K above a stability boundary in the m−K plane, which has a maximum at K = K* ∼ 4.77, so that for K > K* square patterns are stable for all m. The stability of the square patterns does not vary with L. Hexagonal patterns exist for L < LH, where 1 > LH > L*. The size of the stability region increases with decreasing L < L*. For a range of values of L there is bistability, that is, for given parameter values rolls and hexagons are simultaneously stable, each with its own domain of attraction.