An existence and uniqueness result for a bending beam equation without growth restriction (Q981107)

Summary: We discuss the solvability of the fourth-order boundary value problem \[ \begin{gathered} u^{(4)}= f(t,u,u''),\quad 0\leq t\leq 1,\\ u(0)= u(1)= u''(0)= u''(1)= 0,\end{gathered} \] which models a statically bending elastic beam whose two ends are simply supported, where \(f: [0,1]\times\mathbb{R}^2\to \mathbb{R}\) is continuous. Under a condition allowing that \(f(t,u,v)\) is superlinear in \(u\) and \(v\), we obtain an existence and uniqueness result. Our discussion is based on the Leray-Schauder fixed point theorem.