Solution of the problem of optimal cut in an elastic beam

The Kirchhoff model of an elastic beam with a transverse cut is considered. The nonpenetration condition proposed by A. M. Khludnev is formulated at the edges of the cut. The equilibrium model of a beam with a restriction on the cut is written in the form of a variational inequality. An analytical solution is obtained with the use of the projection operator. The problem of choosing optimal cuts is formulated for the criterion of minimum opening. Conditions for determining the extremum shapes of the beam are obtained and an example of the solution of the problem is given. Lavrent’ev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 149–157, September–October, 1999.     

Optimization of elastic bars in torsion

The paper considers the problem of optimization of mechanical systems described by partial differential equations. The shape of the region of integration of these equations is not specified beforehand but is to determined from the condition that a certain integral functional attains an extremal value. The mathematical optimization problem is reduced to a variational one having no differential constraints and the necessary optimality conditions are derived. The latter are used for seeking the cross-sectional shape of elastic bars of maximum torsional rigidity. Exact and approximate analytical solutions are given and the effectiveness of the optimal solutions is estimated.     

Buckling load optimization of beams

In this paper, shape optimization is used to optimize the buckling load of a Euler–Bernoulli beam having constant volume. This is achieved by varying appropriately the beam cross section so that the beam buckles with the maximum or a prescribed buckling load. The problem is reduced to a nonlinear optimization problem under equality and inequality constraints as well as specified lower and upper bounds. The evaluation of the objective function requires the solution of the buckling problem of a beam with variable stiffness subjected to an axial force. This problem is solved using the analog equation method for the fourth-order ordinary differential equation with variable coefficients. Besides its accuracy, this method overcomes the shortcomings of a possible FEM solution, which would require resizing of the elements and recomputation of their stiffness properties during the optimization process. Several example problems are presented that illustrate the method and demonstrate its efficiency.     

Analysis and optimization against buckling of beams interacting with elastic foundation

We consider an infinite continuous elastic beam that interacts with linearly elastic foundation and is under compression. The problem of the beam buckling is formulated and analyzed. Then the optimization of beam against buckling is investigated. As a design variable (control function) we take the parameters of cross-section distribution of the beam from the set of periodic functions and transform the original problem of optimization of infinite beam to the corresponding problem defined at the finite interval. All investigations are on the whole founded on the analytical variational approaches and the optimal solutions are studied as a function of problems parameters.     

Three-dimensional shape of a body of minimum drag in a hypersonic gas stream

The three-dimensional aerodynamic shape of a slender body of minimum drag is determined. The solution to the corresponding variational problem is considered in a special class of surfaces, among which there are surfaces of revolution. An approximate analytic investigation is made, and the results are given of a numerical calculation by the method of local variations. It is shown that the profile of the transverse section of the optimal body has a petal shape which becomes a circle in the midsection.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 98–103, October–December, 1981.     

Optimal design of beams with minimum compliance

An optimization problem of non-linear elastic or viscous beams is discussed. To the beam an additional support is introduced whose location must be selected so as to minimize the compliance of the beam. The problem is solved with the aid of optimal control theory. Both rigid and flexible supports are considered. Some new optimization conditions, which are valid for arbitral compliance criterions, are deduced. A few illustrating examples are given.     

Optimization of unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes flows using variational level set method

This paper presents the optimization of unsteady Navier–Stokes flows using the variational level set method. The solid–liquid interface is expressed by the level set function implicitly, and the fluid velocity is constrained to be zero in the solid domain. An optimization problem, which is constrained by the Navier–Stokes equations and a fluid volume constraint, is analyzed by the Lagrangian multiplier based adjoint approach. The corresponding continuous adjoint equations and the shape sensitivity are derived. The level set function is evolved by solving the Hamilton–Jacobian equation with the upwind finite difference method. The optimization method can be used to design channels for flows with or without body forces. The numerical examples demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of this optimization method for unsteady Navier–Stokes flows.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The strongest rotating rod

By using the Rayleigh quotient, we present the variational formulation for the strongest rotating rod stable against buckling. This variational formulation is converted to fifth-order singular non-linear boundary value problem. The optimal shape and the critical rotating speed are determined with special numerical-analytical integration procedure. We found the explicit linear relation between the volume and the squared critical speed. Although, in general, the linear stability problem for the optimal rotating rod does not have purely discrete spectra, we show that in the present case, the critical speed is determined with lowest eigenvalue. This fact verifies our optimization strategy based on a linear spectral problem.     

Wings of minimum drag for given lift

The variational problem of determining the optimal shape (camber and twist) of the midsurface of a wing having minimum wavedrag is examined in the linear formulation. It is shown that for wings with supersonic leading edge and straight trailing edge, whose shape is given in the form of a double polynomial, the over-all aerodynamic characteristics can be simply expressed in terms of the equation for the leading edge of the wing. This makes it possible not only to solve the variational problem by the Ritz method and obtain the minimum wave drag [1] but also to find the optimal shape of the wing. As examples we consider delta and double-delta wings.     

Seepage from a channel: Solution structure and flow-rate estimation

Using functional analysis methods, problems that arise in calculating underground water seepage from an earth channel are investigated. The problem of estimating the seepage loss is considered. Novel methods which make it possible to overcome the difficulties in solving variational problems of channel seepage are proposed. An exact (unimprovable) estimate is found for the seepage loss from earth channels. The channel shape optimal among channels with a given cross-section contour length is obtained.     

Determination of the body shape for minimum radiative heating along a flight trajectory

Space vehicles are subject to intense aerodynamic heating in planetary entry. According to estimates in [1], the heat shield mass for entry of a probe into the atmospheres of the outer planets can make up 20–50% of its total mass; here the radiative component predominates in the aerodynamic heating. It is therefore interesting to investigate methods of reducing the heat flux to the nose region of a vehicle. Analysis shows [2–6] that, for a given atmospheric composition, the heat-shield weight is determined by the trajectory, the body shape, the heat-protection method, and the chemical composition and the thermophysical and optical properties of the heat shield material. In such a general statement of the problem, optimization of the heat-shield mass depends on many parameters, and has not been solved hitherto. A number of papers have examined simpler problems, associated with reducing spacevehicle heating: optimization of the trajectory from the condition that the total heat flux to the body stagnation point should be a minimum for given probe parameters [2, 3], optimization of the characteristic probe size for a given trajectory [2–4], and optimization of the probe shape in a class of conical bodies at a given trajectory point [3, 5, 6J. In [7] a variational problem was formulated to determine the shape of an axisymmetric body from the condition that the radiative heat flux to the body at a given trajectory point should be a minimum for the entire surface, and an analytical solution was found for this in limiting cases. The present paper investigates a more general variational problem: determination of the shape of an axisymmetric body from the condition that the total radiative influx of heat to the body along its atmospheric trajectory should be a minimum. A solution has been obtained for a class of slender bodies for different isoperimetric conditions.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 94–100, March–April, 1978.     

Determining the form of a body resulting in minimum heat flux,with laminar flow in the boundary layer

The exact solution of the problem of determining the optimal body shape for which the total thermal flux will be minimal for high supersonic flow about the body involves both computational and theoretical difficulties. Therefore, at the present time wide use is made of the inverse method, based on comparing the thermal fluxes for bodies of various specified form [1, 2]. The results of such calculations cannot always replace the solution of the direct variational problem. Therefore it is advisable to consider the direct variational problem of determining the form of a body with minimal thermal flux by using the approximate Newton formula for finding the gasdynamic parameters at the edge of the boundary layer. This approach has been used in finding the form of the body of minimal drag in an ideal fluid [3–5] arid with account for friction [6], and also for determining the form of a thin two-dimensional profile with minimal thermal flux for given aerodynamic characteristics [7].     

Optimal flow control for Navier–Stokes equations: drag minimization

Optimal control and shape optimization techniques have an increasing role in Fluid Dynamics problems governed by partial differential equations (PDEs). In this paper, we consider the problem of drag minimization for a body in relative motion in a fluid by controlling the velocity through the body boundary. With this aim, we handle with an optimal control approach applied to the steady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. We use the Lagrangian functional approach and we consider the Lagrangian multiplier method for the treatment of the Dirichlet boundary conditions, which include the control function itself. Moreover, we express the drag coefficient, which is the functional to be minimized, through the variational form of the Navier–Stokes equations. In this way, we can derive, in a straightforward manner, the adjoint and sensitivity equations associated with the optimal control problem, even in the presence of Dirichlet control functions. The problem is solved numerically by an iterative optimization procedure applied to state and adjoint PDEs which we approximate by the finite element method. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal control of structures governed by variational and hemiva-riational inequalities and applications

The optimal control problem for broad classes of structures is studied, including those structures having as state relations variational equalities, variational inequalities and hemivariational inequalities. The optimal control problem consists in the minimization of a functional (performance index) having the state relation, enlarged by the control actions, as side condition. Certain new results are given of the optimal control of structures governed by variational and hemivariational inequalities.Some propositions are proved on the existence and the approximation of the solution of the static optimal control problem of structures having a variational inequality as state relation. Then a regularization procedure is proposed for the treatment of corresponding dynamic problem, as well as for the case of hemivariational inequalities. The theory is illustrated by applications concerning convex elastoplasticity and convex and nonconvex unilateral contact problems.     

On the Optimal Shape of a Compressed Rotating Rod

By using Pontryagin's maximum principle we determine the shape of the lightest compressed rotating rod, stable against buckling. It is shown that the cross-sectional area function is determined from the solution of a nonlinear boundary value problem. A variational principle for this boundary value problem is formulated and a first integral is constructed. The optimal shape of a rod is determined by numerical integration.     

Modeling of wireless remote shape control for beams using nonlinear photostrictive actuators

Photostrictive materials produce mechanical strain when irradiated by ultraviolet light, thus may be used in wireless remote control of smart microstructures. This paper presents an investigation into modelling and static shape control of beams with nonlinear photostrictive actuators. Governing equations of beams bonded with photostrictive actuator patches are derived to study the interaction between the photostrictive actuators and the host beams. An analytical solution method is presented to solve the governing equations of the beams with discretely distributed photostrictive actuators. An iterative procedure is developed to find optimal light intensities in photostrictive actuators that best match the actuated shape to the desired one. An example is given to illustrate the model and shape control of a beam with PLZT actuators.     

Solution of a variational problem for the flow in an MHD generator

The most complete study and construction of extremal plasma flow regimes in the channel of an MHD generator may be accomplished using the methods of variational calculus. The variational problem of conducting-gas motion in an MHD channel was first discussed in [1]. The general formulation of the problem for the MHD generator was considered in [2]. Solutions of variational problems for particular cases of extremal flows are given in [2–5].The present study obtains the solution of the variational problem of the flow of a variable conductivity plasma in an MHD generator which has maximal output power for given channel length or volume. An analysis of the solution is made, and a comparison of the extremal flows with optimized flow in a generator with constant values of the electrical efficiency and flow Mach number is carried out.     

On some optimization procedures for shock localization

We consider a problem on shock wave localization in the numerical solution of one-dimensional unsteady problems of gas dynamics in Eulerian variables obtained on the basis of finite difference shock-capturing schemes. An optimization method for strong discontinuity localization proposed previously by Miranker and Pironneau is investigated by means of methods of classical variational calculus. This method may be difficult to implement when the entropy condition is included in the formulation of Miranker and Pironneau's optimization problem as an active constraint. In this connection we suggest an alternative optimization problem using artificial viscosity in the variational principle. It is shown theoretically that the application of such a variational principle yields a trajectory which coincides with the true discontinuity trajectory in the case of a shock wave moving at a constant speed. On the basis of this modification one more algorithm is proposed which reduces the shock localization problem to a problem of minimization of a univariate function. Numerical tests corroborate completely the theoretical conclusions. In particular, a higher shock localization accuracy is obtained on the basis of the proposed algorithms as compared to the original Miranker-Pironneau method.     

Lifting wings of optimum shape in a viscous hypersonic stream

The variational problem of the shape of a low-aspect-ratio wing with maximum lift-to-drag ratio in a viscous hypersonic stream is formulated with allowance for the flow structure in the thin compressed layer and the state of the boundary layer, and a numerical-analytic solution of the problem is given. The characteristic shapes of optimum wings are obtained together with the corresponding pressure distributions. The bifurcation of the optimum regime with variation of the wing span is found to exist. It is shown that viscosity, when included in the optimization procedure, can result in a change in the optimized wing shape and reduce the maximum lift-to-drag ratio; however, the gain in lift-to-drag ratio, as compared with the limiting Newtonian value, is still quite appreciable.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 154–164, November–December, 1995.     

Existence and stability of solutions to inverse variational inequality problems

In this paper, two new existence theorems of solutions to inverse variational and quasi-variational inequality problems are proved using the Fan-Knaster-KuratowskiMazurkiewicz(KKM) theorem and the Kakutani-Fan-Glicksberg fixed point theorem.Upper semicontinuity and lower semicontinuity of the solution mapping and the approximate solution mapping to the parametric inverse variational inequality problem are also discussed under some suitable conditions. An application to a road pricing problem is given.