Approximation of relaxed nonlinear parabolic optimal control problems

We consider a relaxed optimal control problem for systems defined by nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations with distributed control. The problem is completely discretized by using a finite-element approximation scheme with piecewise linear states and piecewise constant controls. Existence of optimal controls and necessary conditions for optimality are derived for both the continuous and the discrete problem. We then prove that accumulation points of sequences of discrete optimal [resp. extremal] controls are optimal [resp. extremal] for the continuous problem.     

Numerical approximation of nonconvex optimal control problems defined by parabolic equations

In this paper, we consider an optimal control problem for distributed systems governed by parabolic equations. The state equations are nonlinear in the control variable; the constraints and the cost functional are generally nonconvex. Relaxed controls are used to prove existence and derive necessary conditions for optimality. To compute optimal controls, a descent method is applied to the resulting relaxed problem. A numerical method is also given for approximating a special class of relaxed controls, notably those obtained by the descent method. Convergence proofs are given for both methods, and a numerical example is provided.     

Pontryagin's Principle for Time-Optimal Problems

We consider time-optimal control problems for semilinear parabolic equations with pointwise state constraints and unbounded controls. A Pontryagin's principle is obtained in nonqualified form without any qualification condition. The terminal time, which is a control variable, satisfies an optimality condition, which seems to be new in the context of control problems for partial differential equations.     

Dirichlet Boundary Control of Semilinear Parabolic Equations Part 2: Problems with Pointwise State Constraints

This paper is the continuation of the paper ``Dirichlet boundary control of semilinear parabolic equations. Part 1: Problems with no state constraints.' It is concerned with an optimal control problem with distributed and Dirichlet boundary controls for semilinear parabolic equations, in the presence of pointwise state constraints. We first obtain approximate optimality conditions for problems in which state constraints are penalized on subdomains. Next by using a decomposition theorem for some additive measures (based on the Stone—Cech compactification), we pass to the limit and recover Pontryagin's principles for the original problem. Accepted 21 July 2001. Online publication 21 December 2001.     

Discrete approximation of relaxed optimal control problems

We consider a general nonlinear optimal control problem for systems governed by ordinary differential equations with terminal state constraints. No convexity assumptions are made. The problem, in its so-called relaxed form, is discretized and necessary conditions for discrete relaxed optimality are derived. We then prove that discrete optimality [resp., extremality] in the limit carries over to continuous optimality [resp., extremality]. Finally, we prove that limits of sequences of Gamkrelidze discrete relaxed controls can be approximated by classical controls.     

Necessary conditions for optimality of singular controls in systems governed by partial differential equations

In this paper, we present a method to obtain necessary conditions for optimality of singular controls in systems governed by partial differential equations (distributed-parameter systems). The method is based on the one developed earlier by the author for singular control problems described by ordinary differential equations. As applications, we consider conditions for optimality of singular controls in a Darboux-Goursat system and in control systems that describe chemical processes.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSF-MCS-80-02337 at the University of Michigan.The author wishes to express his deep gratitude to Professor L. Cesari for his valuable guidance and constant encouragement during the preparation of this paper.     

Stochastic initial boundary value problems subject to distributed and boundary noise and their optimal control

In this paper we consider a class of stochastic evolution equations arising from initial boundary value problems with both boundary and distributed noise. We prove existence and regularity of mild solutions. Then we consider a controlled version of the model and prove the existence of optimal controls and develop the necessary conditions of optimality for partially observed problems using relaxed controls.     

Insensitizing controls for the parabolic equation with equivalued surface boundary conditions

This paper is devoted to the study of the existence of insensitizing controls for the parabolic equation with equivalued surface boundary conditions. The insensitizing problem consists in finding a control function such that some energy functional of the equation is locally insensitive to a perturbation of the initial data. As usual, this problem can be reduced to a partially null controllability problem for a cascade system of two parabolic equations with equivalued surface boundary conditions. Compared the problems with usual boundary conditions, in the present case we need to derive a new global Carleman estimate, for which, in particular one needs to construct a new weight function to match the equivalued surface boundary conditions.     

Verification of Second-Order Sufficient Optimality Conditions for Semilinear Elliptic and Parabolic Control Problems

We study optimal control problems for semilinear parabolic equations subject to control constraints and for semilinear elliptic equations subject to control and state constraints. We quote known second-order sufficient optimality conditions (SSC) from the literature. Both problem classes, the parabolic one with boundary control and the elliptic one with boundary or distributed control, are discretized by a finite difference method. The discrete SSC are stated and numerically verified in all cases providing an indication of optimality where only necessary conditions had been studied before.     

Necessary conditions for optimality of cauchy problems for parabolic partial delay-differential equations

In this paper, we consider the question concerning the necessary conditions for optimality for systems governed by second-order parabolic partial delay-differential equations indivergence form with Cauchy conditions. All the coefficients of the system are assumed measurable and contain controls and delays in their arguments. An integral maximum principle and its pointwise version for the corresponding controlled system are given.The authors wish to thank Dr. E. Noussair for his valuable discussions in the preparation of this paper.     

Minimax Control of Parabolic Systems with Dirichlet Boundary Conditions and State Constraints

In this paper we formulate and study a minimax control problem for a class of parabolic systems with controlled Dirichlet boundary conditions and uncertain distributed perturbations under pointwise control and state constraints. We prove an existence theorem for minimax solutions and develop effective penalized procedures to approximate state constraints. Based on a careful variational analysis, we establish convergence results and optimality conditions for approximating problems that allow us to characterize suboptimal solutions to the original minimax problem with hard constraints. Then passing to the limit in approximations, we prove necessary optimality conditions for the minimax problem considered under proper constraint qualification conditions. Accepted 7 June 1996     

Necessary conditions for optimality of singular controls

The present paper is concerned with the study of controls which are singular in the sense of the maximum principle. We obtain necessary conditions for optimality of singular controls in systems governed by ordinary differential equations. A useful feature of the method considered here is that it can be applied to optimal control problems with distributed parameters.this research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSF-MCS-80-02337 at the University of Michigan.The author wishes to express his deep gratitude to Professor L. Cesari for his valuable guidance and constant encouragement during the preparation of this paper.     

Dirichlet Boundary Control of Semilinear Parabolic Equations Part 1: Problems with No State Constraints

This paper is concerned with distributed and Dirichlet boundary controls of semilinear parabolic equations, in the presence of pointwise state constraints. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first part we define solutions of the state equation as the limit of a sequence of solutions for equations with Robin boundary conditions. We establish Taylor expansions for solutions of the state equation with respect to perturbations of boundary control (Theorem 5.2). For problems with no state constraints, we prove three decoupled Pontryagin's principles, one for the distributed control, one for the boundary control, and the last one for the control in the initial condition (Theorem 2.1). Tools and results of Part 1 are used in the second part to derive Pontryagin's principles for problems with pointwise state constraints. Accepted 12 July 2001. Online publication 21 December 2001.     

Control Localized on Thin Structures for the Linearized Boussinesq System

We study optimal control problems for the linearized Boussinesq system when the control is supported on a submanifold of the boundary of the domain. This type of problem belongs to the class of optimal control problems with measures as controls, which has been studied recently by several authors. We are mainly interested in the optimality conditions for such problems. It is known that the differentiability properties needed to obtain the optimality conditions are more demanding, in terms of regularity of the data, than what is needed to prove the existence of optimal controls. Here we are able to derive the optimality conditions by taking advantage of the particular structure of the controls.     

A Smooth Regularization of the Projection Formula for Constrained Parabolic Optimal Control Problems

We present a smooth, that is, differentiable regularization of the projection formula that occurs in constrained parabolic optimal control problems. We summarize the optimality conditions in function spaces for unconstrained and control-constrained problems subject to a class of parabolic partial differential equations. The optimality conditions are then given by coupled systems of parabolic PDEs. For constrained problems, a non-smooth projection operator occurs in the optimality conditions. For this projection operator, we present in detail a regularization method based on smoothed sign, minimum and maximum functions. For all three cases, that is, (1) the unconstrained problem, (2) the constrained problem including the projection, and (3) the regularized projection, we verify that the optimality conditions can be equivalently expressed by an elliptic boundary value problem in the space-time domain. For this problem and all three cases we discuss existence and uniqueness issues. Motivated by this elliptic problem, we use a simultaneous space-time discretization for numerical tests. Here, we show how a standard finite element software environment allows to solve the problem and, thus, to verify the applicability of this approach without much implementation effort. We present numerical results for an example problem.     

On optimal control of functional differential systems

We use relaxed controls to derive optimality condition for control problems governed by functional differential systems. We include general boundary conditions, and the case of periodic trajectories is a special one.This research was supported by NSF Grant HRD-91-54077.     

Necessary conditions for optimal controls for systems governed by parabolic partial delay-differential equations in divergence form with first boundary conditions

In this paper, we consider the question of necessary conditions for optimality for systems governed by second-order parabolic partial delay-differential equations with first boundary conditions. All the coefficients of the system are assumed bounded measurable and contain controls and delays in their arguments. The second-order parabolic partial delay-differential equation is in divergence form. In Theorem 4.1, we present results on the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions in the sense of Ladyzhenskaya-Solonnikov-Ural'ceva for this class of systems. An integral maximum principle and its point-wise version for the corresponding controlled system are established in Theorem 5.1 and Corollary 5.1, respectively.The authors wish to thank Dr. E. Noussair for his stimulating discussion and valuable comments in the preparation of this paper. Further, they also wish to acknowledge the referee of the paper for his valuable suggestions and comments. The discussion presented in Section 6 is in response to his suggestions.     

Second order optimality conditions for a class of control problems governed by non-linear integral equations with application to parabolic boundary control

In the paper necessary and sufficient second order optimality conditions for optimal control problems governed by weakly singular non linear Hammerstein integral equations are derived. They are applied to a semilinear parabolic boundary control problem for the one dimensional heat equation.     

Existence of optimal controls for a class of systems governed by differential inclusions on a Banach space

Using Cesari's approach, we prove the existence of optimal controls for a class of systems governed by differential inclusions on a Banach space having the Radon-Nikodym property. Theorem 3.1 gives the existence result for optimal relaxed controls under fairly general assumptions on the system and the admissible controls. This result depends on a fundamental result (Theorem 2.1) that proves the existence of mild solutions of differential inclusions on a Banach space, which has also independent interest. Further, the preparatory results, such as Lemma 3.1 and Lemma 3.2, are also useful in the study of time-optimal and terminal control problems.For illustration of the results, we present two examples, one on distributed controls for a class of systems governed by nonlinear parabolic equations and the other on boundary controls with discontinuous boundary operator.This work is supported in part by the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada under Grant No. 7109.