Nonlinear singular sturm-liouville problems and an application to transonic flow through a nozzle

We consider a class of singular Sturm-Liouville problems with a nonlinear convection and a strongly coupling source. Our investigation is motivated by, and then applied to, the study of transonic gas flow through a nozzle. We are interested in such solution properties as the exact number of solutions, the location and shape of boundary and interior layers, and nonlinear stability and instability of solutions when regarded as stationary solutions of the corresponding convective reaction-diffusion equations. Novel elements in our theory include a priori estimate for qualitative behavior of general solutions, a new class of boundary layers for expansion waves, and a local uniqueness analysis for transonic solutions with interior and boundary layers.