Global existence of solutions to a one-dimensional free boundary problem of hyperbolic type. (Q696363)

The author considers the hyperbolic free boundary problem \(u_{xx} - u_{tt}=0\) for \(x>-l_0\), \(t>0\), \(\{u>0\}\) \(u_x^2 -u_t^2=Q^2\text{ on the boundary of }\{u>0\}\) \(u(x,0)= c(x), u_t(x,0)=g(x)\text{ in }(-l_0, 0)\;u(-l_0, t)=f(t)\), \(t>0.\) The above scheme describes the motion of an elastic film that is peeled from a support exerting some adhesion force on it. The problem has been studied in previous papers where existence and uniqueness theorem were proved either locally in time or globally in time under too stringent conditions on the ``peeling velocity'' \(\dot f\). In this paper global existence is proved under milder conditions on the data. The procedure is used in a step by step construction.