The blow-up of solutions of a nonlocal thermistor problem (Q1921142)

The author considers the nonlocal thermistor problem \[ u_t- \nabla(k(u)\nabla u)= \lambda(t)^2 \sigma(u)|\nabla\psi|^2,\;- \nabla(\sigma(u) \nabla \psi)= 0,\quad x\in \Omega \] with mixed boundary conditions \[ \psi= 0\text{ on } S_0,\;\psi= 1\text{ on } S_1,\;\partial_n \psi= 0\text{ on } S_2,\;u= 0\text{ on } \Gamma_D,\;\partial_n u= 0\text{ on } \Gamma_N \] and with a nonlocal condition \[ I(t)= \lambda(t) \int_{S_1} \sigma(u) \partial_n \psi d\gamma(x). \] Here \(\Omega\subset \mathbb{R}^3\) is a bounded domain with smooth boundary, \(\partial \Omega= S_0\cup S_1\cup S_2= \Gamma_D\cup \Gamma_D\) are two decompositions of \(\partial\Omega\), the functions \(k\), \(\sigma\) and \(I\) are given, and \(u\), \(\psi\) and \(\lambda\) are to be determined. It is supposed that there exist positive constants \(I_0\) and \(I_1\) such that \[ \int^t_0 I(s)^2 ds\geq t I_0- I_1. \] The author introduces the concept of almost classical solutions (classical solutions except at \(\overline S_0\cap \overline S_1\), \(\overline S_1\cap \overline S_2\) and \(\overline\Gamma_D\cap \overline\Gamma_N\) for \(t> 0\)) and states sufficient conditions such that for large \(I_0\) no almost classical solutions of the corresponding initial boundary value problem exist resp. that each such solution is unbounded.