Optimal Thickness of a Cylindrical Shell Under a Time-Dependent Force

We discuss thickness optimization problems for cylindrical tubes that are loaded by time-dependent applied force. This is a problem of shape optimization that leads to optimal control in linear elasticity theory. We determine the optimal thickness of a cylindrical tube by minimizing the deformation of the tube under the influence of an external force. The main difficulty is that the state equation is a hyperbolic partial differential equation of the fourth order. The first order necessary conditions for the optimal solution are derived. Based on them, a numerical method is set up and numerical examples are presented.