The Stefan problem with arbitrary initial and boundary conditions

Abstract

The paper is concerned with the free boundary problem of a semi-infinite body with an arbitrarily prescribed initial condition and an arbitrarily prescribed boundary condition at its face. An analytically exact solution of the problem is established, which is expressed in terms of some functions and polynomials of the similarity variable x / t 1 / 2 x/{t^{1/2}} and time t t . Convergence of the series solution is considered and proved. Hence the solution also serves as an existence proof. Some special initial and boundary conditions are discussed, which include the Neumann problem and the one-phase problem as special cases.