The thermistor problem with Robin boundary condition (Q2630374)

This paper is concerned about the thermistor problem: Find \(u(\mathbf x)\) and \(\phi(\mathbf x)\) satisfying \[ \begin{aligned} & \nabla\cdot(\sigma(u)\nabla\phi)=0 \quad \text{in}~\Omega, \\ & \phi=-\frac{V}{2} \quad \text{on}~\Gamma_1, \quad \phi=\frac{V}{2} \quad \text{on}~\Gamma_2, \\ & -\nabla\cdot(k\nabla u)=\sigma(u)|\nabla\phi|^2 \quad \text{in}~\Omega, \\ & k\frac{\partial u}{\partial n}=h(g-u)\quad \text{on}~\Gamma, \end{aligned} \] where \(\Omega\) is an open and bounded subset of \(\mathbb R^3\), \(\Gamma\) denotes the boundary of \(\Omega\) and forms by two disjoint surfaces \(\Gamma_1\) and \(\Gamma_2\). Moreover, the constant \(k\) denotes the thermal conductivity, \(h\) is a positive constant, \(g\) is a given function on \(\Gamma\), \(V\) denotes the electric potential applied on the surfaces, \(\phi\) is the electric potential in \(\Omega\), and \(u\) is the temperature. The author first establishes the existence of the solution for the weak formulation of a regularized problem, then proves the existence of the solution for the weak formulation of the thermistor problem under a special condition. At the end of the paper, the author gave a counter example which shows that the special condition is essential to the existence of the solution.