A model of porous catalyst accounting for incipiently non-isothermal effects (Q1283980)

The authors study an approximate model accounting for incipiently non-isothermal effects, which is posed by \[ \partial v/\partial t = \Delta v\quad\text{in }\Omega, \quad\partial v/\partial n= \nu(1-v) + \beta\phi\int_{-\infty}^0f(u,v) d\xi\quad\text{on }\partial\Omega; \] where, at each point \(p\in\partial\Omega\), the function \(u=u(\xi,t)\) is given by \[ \begin{aligned} &(L/\phi^2)\partial u/\partial t = \partial^2u/\partial\xi^2 - f(u,v)\quad \text{in }-\infty < \xi <0,\\ &u = 0 \quad\text{at }\xi = -\infty,\qquad\partial u/\partial\xi = (\sigma/\phi)(1-u)\qquad\text{at }\quad\xi = 0, \end{aligned} \] where the function \(v=v(t)\) is the temperature at \(p\). The variable \(\xi\) is determined by \(\xi = \phi\eta\), where \(\eta\) is a coordinate along the outward unit normal to \(\partial\Omega\) at \(p\). This submodel is derived from a well-known model of porous catalyst for appropriate, realistic limiting values of the parameters. The main object of the article is to provide a rigorous derivation of the approximate model (submodel) under some reasonable assumptions on \(f\), \(\Omega\) and limiting values of the parameters. A formal derivation, via singular perturbation techniques, was given by \textit{F.~J.~Mancebo} and \textit{J.~M.~Vega} [SIAM J. Appl. Math. 52, No. 5, 1238-1259 (1992; Zbl 0784.35051)], in the distinguished limit \[ \beta\to 0,\qquad\phi\to\infty\qquad\sigma\to\infty,\qquad\beta\sigma \phi/(\phi + \sigma)\sim\nu\sim{\L}/\phi^2\sim 1. \] In the article under consideration, the authors derive and analyze the submodel in a range of limiting values of the parameters wider than it indicates above.