Volterra Equations which Model Explosion in a Diffusive Medium

An investigation is made of certain nonlinear Volterra integral equations which model explosive behavior in a diffusive medium. The basic results provide criteria involv- ing the kernel and the nonlinearity for the solution to expe- rience blow-up. Supporting examples from solid combustion and shear band formation are provided. Also, the connec- tion is made with one-dimensional parabolic partial differen- tial equations.