Homogenization of a non‐linear degenerate parabolic problem in a highly heterogeneous periodic medium

We consider the homogenization of a time‐dependent heat transfer problem in a highly heterogeneous periodic medium made of two connected components having comparable heat capacities and conductivities, separated by a third material with thickness of the same order ε as the basic periodicity cell but having a much lower conductivity such that the resulting interstitial heat flow is scaled by a factor λ tending to zero with a rate λ=λ(ε). The heat flux vectors a_j, j=1,2,3 are non‐linear, monotone functions of the temperature gradient. The heat capacities c_j(x) are positive, but may vanish at some subsets such that the problem can be degenerate (parabolic–elliptic). We show that the critical value of the problem is δ=lim_ε→0ε^p/λ and identify the homogenized problem depending on whether δ is zero, strictly positive finite or infinite. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.