On the Newton partially flat minimal resistance body type problems

Abstract

We study the flat region of stationary points of the functional integral(Omega) F(|del u(x)|) dx under the constraint u <= M, where Omega is a bounded domain in R-2. Here F( s) is a function which is concave for s small and convex for s large, and M > 0 is a given constant. The problem generalizes the classical minimal resistance body problems considered by Newton. We construct a family of partially flat radial solutions to the associated stationary problem when Omega is a ball. We also analyze some other qualitative properties. Moreover, we show the uniqueness of a radial solution minimizing the above mentioned functional. Finally, we consider nonsymmetric domains Omega and provide sufficient conditions which ensure that a stationary solution has a flat part.