Approximate Self-Similarity in Models of Geological Folding
Chris J. Budd, Mark A. Peletier · SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics · 2000
We propose a model for the folding of rock under the compression of tectonic plates. This models an elastic rock layer imbedded in a viscous foundation by a fourth-order parabolic equation with a nonlinear constraint. The large-time behavior of solutions of this problem is examined and found to be of approximately self-similar form.