Dynamics of thermoelastic thin plates: A comparison of four theories

Four distinct theories describing the flexural motion of thermoelastic thin plates are compared. The theories are due to Chadwick, Lagnese and Lions, Simmonds, and Norris. Chadwick's theory requires a 3D spatial equation for the temperature but is considered the most accurate as the others are derivable from it by different approximations. Attention is given to the damping of flexural waves. Analytical and quantitative comparisons indicate that the Lagnese and Lions model with a 2D temperature equation captures the essential features of the thermoelastic damping, but contains systematic inaccuracies. These are attributable to the approximation for the first moment of the temperature used in deriving the Lagnese and Lions equation. Simmonds' model with an explicit formula for temperature in terms of plate deflection is the simplest of all but is accurate only at low frequency, where the damping is linearly proportional to the frequency. It is shown that the Norris model, which is almost as simple as Simmond's, is as accurate as the more precise but involved theory of Chadwick.Comment: 2 figures, 1 tabl

Strichartz Estimates for the Vibrating Plate Equation

We study the dispersive properties of the linear vibrating plate (LVP) equation. Splitting it into two Schr\"odinger-type equations we show its close relation with the Schr\"odinger equation. Then, the homogeneous Sobolev spaces appear to be the natural setting to show Strichartz-type estimates for the LVP equation. By showing a Kato-Ponce inequality for homogeneous Sobolev spaces we prove the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem for the LVP equation with time-dependent potentials. Finally, we exhibit the sharpness of our results. This is achieved by finding a suitable solution for the stationary homogeneous vibrating plate equation.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, some misprints correcte

Thermodynamics of non-local materials: extra fluxes and internal powers

The most usual formulation of the Laws of Thermodynamics turns out to be suitable for local or simple materials, while for non-local systems there are two different ways: either modify this usual formulation by introducing suitable extra fluxes or express the Laws of Thermodynamics in terms of internal powers directly, as we propose in this paper. The first choice is subject to the criticism that the vector fluxes must be introduced a posteriori in order to obtain the compatibility with the Laws of Thermodynamics. On the contrary, the formulation in terms of internal powers is more general, because it is a priori defined on the basis of the constitutive equations. Besides it allows to highlight, without ambiguity, the contribution of the internal powers in the variation of the thermodynamic potentials. Finally, in this paper, we consider some examples of non-local materials and derive the proper expressions of their internal powers from the power balance laws.Comment: 16 pages, in press on Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamic

Boundary stabilization of numerical approximations of the 1-D variable coefficients wave equation: A numerical viscosity approach

In this paper, we consider the boundary stabilization problem associated to the 1- d wave equation with both variable density and diffusion coefficients and to its finite difference semi-discretizations. It is well-known that, for the finite difference semi-discretization of the constant coefficients wave equation on uniform meshes (Tébou and Zuazua, Adv. Comput. Math. 26:337–365, 2007) or on somenon-uniform meshes (Marica and Zuazua, BCAM, 2013, preprint), the discrete decay rate fails to be uniform with respect to the mesh-size parameter. We prove that, under suitable regularity assumptions on the coefficients and after adding an appropriate artificial viscosity to the numerical scheme, the decay rate is uniform as the mesh-size tends to zero. This extends previous results in Tébou and Zuazua (Adv. Comput.Math. 26:337–365, 2007) on the constant coefficient wave equation. The methodology of proof consists in applying the classical multiplier technique at the discrete level, with a multiplier adapted to the variable coefficients

Control and stabilization of waves on 1-d networks

We present some recent results on control and stabilization of waves on 1-d networks.The fine time-evolution of solutions of wave equations on networks and, consequently, their control theoretical properties, depend in a subtle manner on the topology of the network under consideration and also on the number theoretical properties of the lengths of the strings entering in it. Therefore, the overall picture is quite complex.In this paper we summarize some of the existing results on the problem of controllability that, by classical duality arguments in control theory, can be reduced to that of observability of the adjoint uncontrolled system. The problem of observability refers to that of recovering the total energy of solutions by means of measurements made on some internal or external nodes of the network. They lead, by duality, to controllability results guaranteeing that L 2-controls located on those nodes may drive sufficiently smooth solutions to equilibrium at a final time. Most of our results in this context, obtained in collaboration with R. Dáger, refer to the problem of controlling the network from one single external node. It is, to some extent, the most complex situation since, obviously, increasing the number of controllers enhances the controllability properties of the system. Our methods of proof combine sidewise energy estimates (that in the particular case under consideration can be derived by simply applying the classical d'Alembert's formula), Fourier series representations, non-harmonic Fourier analysis, and number theoretical tools.These control results belong to the class of the so-called open-loop control systems.We then discuss the problem of closed-loop control or stabilization by feedback. We present a recent result, obtained in collaboration with J. Valein, showing that the observability results previously derived, regardless of the method of proof employed, can also be recast a posteriori in the context of stabilization, so to derive explicit decay rates (as) for the energy of smooth solutions. The decay rate depends in a very sensitive manner on the topology of the network and the number theoretical properties of the lengths of the strings entering in it.In the end of the article we also present some challenging open problems

Boundary controllability in problems of transmission for a class of second order hyperbolic systems

We consider transmission problems for general second order linear hyperbolic systems having piecewise constant coefficients in a bounded, open connected set with smooth boundary and controlled through the Dirichlet boundary condition. It is proved that such a system is exactly controllable in an appropriate function space provided the interfaces where the coefficients have a jump discontinuity are all star-shaped with respect to one and the same point and the coefficients satisfy a certain monotonicity condition

Modelling and Controllability of Plate-Beam Systems

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, a distributed parameter model for a dynamic elastic system consisting of a thin plate to which a thin beam is rigidly and orthogonally attached to the edge of the plate shall be developed, assuming that the centerline of the beam is coplanar with the middle plane of the plate (in the equilibrium state). Second, it is proved that the dynamical system obtained is exactly controllable by means of controls applied along an appropriate portion of the edge of the plate that excludes the junction region between the plate and beam . Key words: boundary controllability, exact controllability, Timoshenko beams, Reissner-Mindlin plates AMS Subject Classifications: 93C20, 35B45, 73K05, 73K10 1 Introduction The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we shall develop a distributed parameter model for a dynamic elastic system consisting of a thin plate to which a thin beam is rigidly and orthogonally attached to the edge of the plate. In this model i..