Identifying an unknown function in a parabolic equation with overspecified data via He's variational iteration method

In this research, the He's variational iteration technique is used for computing an unknown time-dependent parameter in an inverse quasilinear parabolic partial differential equation. Parabolic partial differential equations with over-specified data play a crucial role in applied mathematics and physics, as they appear in various engineering models. The He's variational iteration method is an analytical procedure for finding solutions of differential equations, is based on the use of Lagrange multipliers for identification of an optimal value of a parameter in a functional. To show the efficiency of the new approach, several test problems are presented for one-, two- and three-dimensional cases. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.