Existence of solutions to a nonlinear boundary value problem by variational means (Q788198)

When material in a bounded region is undergoing an exothermic reaction the temperature, under the assumption of a steady-state, satisfies a nonlinear elliptic boundary value problem. The article is concerned with the existence of both generalized and classical solutions of these mildly nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations when conditions are imposed on the form of the heat-generation function. The arguments used are based on ideas from the calculus of variations and are motivated by the papers of \textit{N. Levinson} [J. Math. Mech. 12, 567-575 (1963; Zbl 0124.309); Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 11, 258-272 (1962; Zbl 0108.289)] in which special cases of the equations in two dimensions are treated.