International Journal of Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences
Volume 25 (2001), Issue 10, Pages 669-677
doi:10.1155/S0161171201003192

On the existence of solution of a two-point boundary value problem in a cylindrical floating zone

Shi Yongdong1 and Du Liangsheng2

1Research Centre of Financial Engineering, Department of Finance, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Box 74, Dalian 116025, China
2Department of Economics, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Box 74, Dalian 116025, China

Received 19 February 1999

Copyright © 2001 Shi Yongdong and Du Liangsheng. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Existence of one solution for a two-point boundary value problem with a positive parameter Q arising in the study of surface-tension-induced flows of a liquid metal or semiconductor is studied. On the basis of the upper-lower solution method and Schauder's fixed point theorem, it is proved that the problem admits a solution when 0Q12.683. This improves a recent result where 0Q<1.