Optimal boundary control with critical penalization for a PDE model of fluid-solid interactions

We study the finite-horizon optimal control problem with quadratic functionals for an established fluid-structure interaction model. The coupled PDE system under investigation comprises a parabolic (the fluid) and a hyperbolic (the solid) dynamics; the coupling occurs at the interface between the regions occupied by the fluid and the solid. We establish several trace regularity results for the fluid component of the system, which are then applied to show well-posedness of the Differential Riccati Equations arising in the optimization problem. This yields the feedback synthesis of the unique optimal control, under a very weak constraint on the observation operator; in particular, the present analysis allows general functionals, such as the integral of the natural energy of the physical system. Furthermore, this work confirms that the theory developed in Acquistapace et al. [Adv. Differential Equations, 2005] -- crucially utilized here -- encompasses widely differing PDE problems, from thermoelastic systems to models of acoustic-structure and, now, fluid-structure interactions.Comment: 22 pages, submitted; v2: misprints corrected, a remark added in section

Feedback control of the acoustic pressure in ultrasonic wave propagation

Classical models for the propagation of ultrasound waves are the Westervelt equation, the Kuznetsov and the Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov equations. The Jordan-Moore-Gibson-Thompson equation is a prominent example of a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) model which describes the acoustic velocity potential in ultrasound wave propagation, where the paradox of infinite speed of propagation of thermal signals is eliminated; the use of the constitutive Cattaneo law for the heat flux, in place of the Fourier law, accounts for its being of third order in time. Aiming at the understanding of the fully quasilinear PDE, a great deal of attention has been recently devoted to its linearization -- referred to in the literature as the Moore-Gibson-Thompson equation -- whose mathematical analysis is also of independent interest, posing already several questions and challenges. In this work we consider and solve a quadratic control problem associated with the linear equation, formulated consistently with the goal of keeping the acoustic pressure close to a reference pressure during ultrasound excitation, as required in medical and industrial applications. While optimal control problems with smooth controls have been considered in the recent literature, we aim at relying on controls which are just $L^2$ in time; this leads to a singular control problem and to non-standard Riccati equations. In spite of the unfavourable combination of the semigroup describing the free dynamics that is not analytic, with the challenging pattern displayed by the dynamics subject to boundary control, a feedback synthesis of the optimal control as well as well-posedness of operator Riccati equations are established.Comment: 39 pages; submitte

Maximal regularity and global existence of solutions to a quasilinear thermoelastic plate system

We consider a quasilinear PDE system which models nonlinear vibrations of a thermoelastic plate defined on a bounded domain in R^n. Well-posedness of solutions reconstructing maximal parabolic regularity in nonlinear thermoelastic plates is established. In addition, exponential decay rates for strong solutions are also shown.Comment: 14 page

Eliminating flutter for clamped von Karman plates immersed in subsonic flows

We address the long-time behavior of a non-rotational von Karman plate in an inviscid potential flow. The model arises in aeroelasticity and models the interaction between a thin, nonlinear panel and a flow of gas in which it is immersed [6, 21, 23]. Recent results in [16, 18] show that the plate component of the dynamics (in the presence of a physical plate nonlinearity) converge to a global compact attracting set of finite dimension; these results were obtained in the absence of mechanical damping of any type. Here we show that, by incorporating mechanical damping the full flow-plate system, full trajectories---both plate and flow---converge strongly to (the set of) stationary states. Weak convergence results require "minimal" interior damping, and strong convergence of the dynamics are shown with sufficiently large damping. We require the existence of a "good" energy balance equation, which is only available when the flows are subsonic. Our proof is based on first showing the convergence properties for regular solutions, which in turn requires propagation of initial regularity on the infinite horizon. Then, we utilize the exponential decay of the difference of two plate trajectories to show that full flow-plate trajectories are uniform-in-time Hadamard continuous. This allows us to pass convergence properties of smooth initial data to finite energy type initial data. Physically, our results imply that flutter (a non-static end behavior) does not occur in subsonic dynamics. While such results were known for rotational (compact/regular) plate dynamics [14] (and references therein), the result presented herein is the first such result obtained for non-regularized---the most physically relevant---models

Exponential Decay of Quasilinear Maxwell Equations with Interior Conductivity

We consider a quasilinear nonhomogeneous, anisotropic Maxwell system in a bounded smooth domain of $\mathbb{R}^{3}$ with a strictly positive conductivity subject to the boundary conditions of a perfect conductor. Under appropriate regularity conditions, adopting a classical $L^{2}$-Sobolev solution framework, a nonlinear energy barrier estimate is established for local-in-time $H^{3}$-solutions to the Maxwell system by a proper combination of higher-order energy and observability-type estimates under a smallness assumption on the initial data. Technical complications due to quasilinearity, anisotropy and the lack of solenoidality, etc., are addressed. Finally, provided the initial data are small, the barrier method is applied to prove that local solutions exist globally and exhibit an exponential decay rate.Comment: 24 page

Long-Time Behavior of Quasilinear Thermoelastic Kirchhoff-Love Plates with Second Sound

We consider an initial-boundary-value problem for a thermoelastic Kirchhoff & Love plate, thermally insulated and simply supported on the boundary, incorporating rotational inertia and a quasilinear hypoelastic response, while the heat effects are modeled using the hyperbolic Maxwell-Cattaneo-Vernotte law giving rise to a 'second sound' effect. We study the local well-posedness of the resulting quasilinear mixed-order hyperbolic system in a suitable solution class of smooth functions mapping into Sobolev $H^{k}$-spaces. Exploiting the sole source of energy dissipation entering the system through the hyperbolic heat flux moment, provided the initial data are small in a lower topology (basic energy level corresponding to weak solutions), we prove a nonlinear stabilizability estimate furnishing global existence & uniqueness and exponential decay of classical solutions.Comment: 46 page

Flow-plate interactions: Well-posedness and long-time behavior

We consider flow-structure interactions modeled by a modified wave equation coupled at an interface with equations of nonlinear elasticity. Both subsonic and supersonic flow velocities are treated with Neumann type flow conditions, and a novel treatment of the so called Kutta-Joukowsky flow conditions are given in the subsonic case. The goal of the paper is threefold: (i) to provide an accurate review of recent results on existence, uniqueness, and stability of weak solutions, (ii) to present a construction of finite dimensional, attracting sets corresponding to the structural dynamics and discuss convergence of trajectories, and (iii) to state several open questions associated with the topic. This second task is based on a decoupling technique which reduces the analysis of the full flow-structure system to a PDE system with delay.Comment: 1 figure. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1208.5245, arXiv:1311.124