Variational Bounds for Problems in Diffusion and Reaction
William C. Strieder, R. Aris · IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics · 1971
The variational principles recently adumbrated by Arthurs are here applied to an important problem in chemical kinetics, the simultaneous diffusion and reaction of a chemical substance in a porous slab of catalyst. The so-called Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic law provides an example of practical importance and a suitable non-linearity to test out the method whose efficacy is measured by the closeness of the two bounds. Some of the important aspects of the choice of trial functions are discussed.