Removing of vortices in incompressible flows by distributed controls

We consider an optimal control problem of fluids flow. The fluid motion is governed by the incompressible time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations. A new optimal control formulation for the reduction and possibly extinction of vortices is proposed. A cost functional based on a local dynamical systems characterization of vortices is investigated. The resulting functional is a non-convex function of the velocity gradient tensor. The optimality system describing first order necessary optimality conditions is derived. The gradient and the second derivative of the cost functional with respect to the distributed control are established.     

NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS OF OPTIMAL CONTROL FOR THERMALLY CONVECTIVE FLOWS

We study the numerical solution of optimal control problems associated with two-dimensional viscous incompressible thermally convective flows. Although the techniques apply to more general settings, the presentation is confined to the objectives of minimizing the vorticity in the steady state case and tracking the velocity field in the non-stationary case with boundary temperature controls. In the steady state case we develop a systematic way to use the Lagrange multiplier rules to derive an optimality system of equations from which an optimal solution can be computed; finite element methods are used to find approximate solutions for the optimality system of equations. In the time-dependent case a piecewise-in-time optimal control approach is proposed and the fully discrete approximation algorithm for solving the piecewise optimal control problem is defined. Numerical results are presented for both the steady state and time-dependent optimal control problems. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlinear robust and optimal control of robot manipulators

In this paper, we propose a new optimal control method for robust control of nonlinear robot manipulators. Many industrial robot systems are required to perform relatively large angular movement with sufficient accuracy. In real circumstances, highly nonlinear manipulator dynamics and uncertainties such as unknown load placed on the manipulator, external disturbance, and joint friction make the precise control of manipulators a very challenging task. The main contribution of this work is to develop a new robust control strategy to accomplish the precise control of robot manipulators under load uncertainty using a nonlinear optimal control formulation and solution. This methodology is based on the underlying relation between the robust stability and performance optimality. A class of robust control problems can be transformed to an equivalent optimal control problem by incorporating the uncertainty bounds into the cost functional. The θ-D optimal control approach is utilized to find an approximate closed-form feedback solution to the resultant nonlinear optimal control problem via a perturbation process. Numerical simulations show that the proposed robust controller is able to control the robot manipulator precisely under large load variations.     

Distributed optimal control of a nonstandard system of phase field equations

We investigate a distributed optimal control problem for a phase field model of Cahn–Hilliard type. The model describes two-species phase segregation on an atomic lattice under the presence of diffusion; it has been introduced recently in Colli et?al. (SIAM J Appl Math), on the basis of the theory developed in Podio-Guidugli (Ric. Mat. 55:105–118, 2006), and consists of a system of two highly nonlinearly coupled PDEs. For this reason, standard arguments of optimal control theory do not apply directly, although the control constraints and the cost functional are of standard type. We show that the problem admits a solution, and we derive the first-order necessary conditions of optimality.     

On Optimality Conditions for Trusses with Nonuniform Stress Constraints*

ABSTRACT

The optimal design of a truss subjected to a single loading system and stress constraints, which are not necessarily the same in each bar, is considered. Sufficient conditions for global optimality are derived by variational methods. While these optimality criteria lead to a linear programming formulation of the problem, they show in a clear physical way how the optimal design is found, and that advantages accrue from incorporating the optimality criteria in a numerical scheme.     

Optimal control of film casting processes

We present an optimal control approach for the isothermal film casting process with free surfaces described by averaged Navier–Stokes equations. We control the thickness of the film at the take‐up point using the shape of the nozzle and the initial thickness. The control goal consists in finding an even thickness profile. To achieve this goal, we minimize an appropriate cost functional. The resulting minimization problem is solved numerically by a steepest descent method. The gradient of the cost functional is approximated using the adjoint variables of the problem with fixed film width. Numerical simulations show the applicability of the proposed method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal control for reinitialization in finite element level set methods

A new optimal control problem that incorporates the residual of the Eikonal equation into its objective is presented. The formulation of the state equation is based on the level set transport equation but extended by an additional source term, correcting the solution so as to minimize the objective functional. The method enforces the constraint so that the interface cannot be displaced at least in the continuous setting. The system of first‐order optimality conditions is derived, linearized, and solved numerically. The control also prevents numerical instabilities, so that no additional stabilization techniques are required. This approach offers the flexibility to include other desired design criteria into the objective functional. The methodology is evaluated numerically in three different examples and compared with other PDE‐based reinitialization techniques. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical approximation of optimal control of unsteady flows using SQP and time decomposition

In this paper, we present numerical approximations of optimal control of unsteady flow problems using sequential quadratic programming method (SQP) and time domain decomposition. The SQP method is considered superior due to its fast convergence and its ability to take advantage of existing numerical techniques for fluid flow problems. It iteratively solves a sequence of linear quadratic optimal control problems converging to the solution of the non‐linear optimal control problem. The solution to the linear quadratic problem is characterized by the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) optimality system which in the present context is a formidable system to solve. As a remedy various time domain decompositions, inexact SQP implementations and block iterative methods to solve the KKT systems are examined. Numerical results are presented showing the efficiency and feasibility of the algorithms. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low-rank solution of an optimal control problem constrained by random Navier-Stokes equations

We develop a low-rank tensor decomposition algorithm for the numerical solution of a distributed optimal control problem constrained by two-dimensional time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations with a stochastic inflow. The goal of optimization is to minimize the flow vorticity. The inflow boundary condition is assumed to be an infinite-dimensional random field, which is parametrized using a finite- (but high-) dimensional Fourier expansion and discretized using the stochastic Galerkin finite element method. This leads to a prohibitively large number of degrees of freedom in the discrete solution. Moreover, the optimality conditions in a time-dependent problem require solving a coupled saddle-point system of nonlinear equations on all time steps at once. For the resulting discrete problem, we approximate the solution by the tensor-train (TT) decomposition and propose a numerically efficient algorithm to solve the optimality equations directly in the TT representation. This algorithm is based on the alternating linear scheme (ALS), but in contrast to the basic ALS method, the new algorithm exploits and preserves the block structure of the optimality equations. We prove that this structure preservation renders the proposed block ALS method well posed, in the sense that each step requires the solution of a nonsingular reduced linear system, which might not be the case for the basic ALS. Finally, we present numerical experiments based on two benchmark problems of simulation of a flow around a von Kármán vortex and a backward step, each of which has uncertain inflow. The experiments demonstrate a significant complexity reduction achieved using the TT representation and the block ALS algorithm. Specifically, we observe that the high-dimensional stochastic time-dependent problem can be solved with the asymptotic complexity of the corresponding deterministic problem.     

A new class of analytic solutions in the optimal turn problem for a spherically symmetric body

The optimal turn problem for a rigid body with a spherical distribution of mass is considered in the quaternion setting. A functional combining the time and the integral magnitude of the control vector modulus used to turn the rigid body is used as the optimality criterion. This problem is solved analytically in the class of conical motions. An example of computations is given.     

A qualitative analysis of the brachistochrone problem with dry friction and maximizing the horizontal range

The problem of maximizing the horizontal coordinate of a point moving in a vertical plane under the action of gravity and dry friction and the corresponding brachistochrone problem are considered. The optimal control problem is reduced to a boundary value problem for a system of two nonlinear differential equations. A qualitative analysis of the trajectories of this system is carried out, their typical features are found and illustrated by numerical solving of the boundary value problem. It is shown that the normal component of the support reaction should be positive when moving along the optimal curve. The optimality of the found extremals is discussed.     

Extensions of the Prager-Shield theory of optimal plastic design

The Prager-Shield associated displacement field method for optimal plastic design is extended to multi-component specific cost functions and multiple load conditions, and a lower bound theorem based on kinematic requirements only is introduced. Since any statically admissible stress field results in an upper bound, the proposed theorem provides a simple method for establishing bounds on the optimal cost. By a simple substitution of parameters into the general equations presented, the optimality criteria can be obtained for particular design problems. Examples of optimal fibre-reinforced plates are given.     

OPTIMAL MOTION PLANNING FOR A RIGID SPACECRAFT WITH TWO MOMENTUM WHEELS USING QUASI-NEWTON METHOD

An optimal motion planning scheme based on the quasi-Newton method is proposedfor a rigid spacecraft with two momentum wheels. A cost functional is introduced to incorporatethe control energy, the final state errors and the constraints on states. The motion planning fordetermining control inputs to minimize the cost functional is formulated as a nonlinear optimalcontrol problem. Using the control parametrization, one can transform the infinite dimensionaloptimal control problem to a finite dimensional one that is solved via the quasi-Newton methodsfor a feasible trajectory which satisfies the nonholonomic constraint. The optimal motion planningscheme was applied to a rigid spacecraft with two momentum wheels. The simulation results showthe effectiveness of the proposed optimal motion planning scheme.     

Numerical investigation of turbulent channel flow controlled by spatially oscillating spanwise Lorentz force

A formulation of the skin-friction drag related to the Reynolds shear stress in a turbulent channel flow is derived. A direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the turbulent control is performed by imposing the spatially oscillating spanwise Lorentz force. Under the action of the Lorentz force with several proper control parameters, only the periodically well-organized streamwise vortices are finally observed in the near-wall region. The Reynolds shear stress decreases dramatically, especially in the near-wall area, resulting in a drag reduction.     

Low-dimensional model for vortex merging in the two-dimensional temporal mixing layer

The two-dimensional temporal mixing layer shows spiraling and merging vortices and is an example of a flow problem in which, despite the complexity, the vortices as individual coherent structures can be clearly visualized. In this paper we present a method for the analysis of the data that describes the spiraling and merging of vortices. To that end we define a parameterized set of structures, the ‘phenomenological model manifold’, which approximates the apparent spatial structures. Then we let the parameters of the manifold vary in such a way that the succession of states resembles the evolving flow as well as possible. Two different model manifolds were designed, one model for which the vortices are described with Gaussian profiles, and another in which a more optimal spatial structure is used. Projection of the numerical data on these manifolds results in information about the strength, ellipticity and trajectories of the vortices. The method is also used to study the successive merging of vortices; differing from scaling arguments for an inviscid flow, the results show that the first pairwise merging evolves approximately 2.11 times faster than the second merging. Efficient procedures are described for the required extensive optimisation problems.     

Algebraic growth in boundary layers: optimal control by blowing and suction at the wall

The upstream perturbations that maximise the spatial energy growth in a boundary layer are called optimal perturbations. The optimal perturbations correspond to streamwise vortices and the downstream response corresponds to streamwise streaks.The aim of the present paper is to find a control by blowing and suction at the wall that zeros the energy of perturbation, when the initial disturbance is itself optimal. We shall also address the question: which kind of blowing and suction at the wall is most effective in controlling optimal disturbances?The problem is examined by a method of receptivity analysis based on a numerical solution of a system of equations adjoint to the linearised boundary layer equations. We shall investigate both cases of a flat and a concave wall.     

Shape optimization of a body located in incompressible flow using adjoint method and partial control algorithm

The purpose of this study is to obtain an optimal shape of a body located in an incompressible viscous flow. The optimal shape of the body is defined so as to minimize the fluid forces acting on it by determining the surface coordinates based on the finite element method and the optimal control theory. The performance function, which is used to judge the optimality of a shape, is defined as the square sum of the drag and lift forces. The minimization problem is solved using an adjoint equation method. The gradient in the adjoint equation is affected by the finite element configuration. The use of a finite element mesh whose shape is appropriate for the procedure is important in shape optimization. If the finite element mesh used is not suitable for computations, the exact gradient is not calculated. Therefore, a structured mesh is used for the adjacent area of the body and all finite element meshes are refined using the Delaunay triangulation at each iteration computation. The weighted gradient method is applied as the minimization technique. Using an algorithm in which all nodal coordinates on the surface of the body are employed and starting from a circle as an initial shape, a front‐edged and rear‐round shape is obtained because of the vortices at the back of the body. To overcome this difficulty, we introduced the partial control algorithm, in which some of the nodal coordinates on the surface of the body are updated. From four cases of computational studies, we reveal that the optimal shape has both sharp front and sharp rear edges. All computations are conducted at Reynolds number Re=250. The minimum value of the performance function is obtained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

以孔边绝对值最大的切向应力最小为优化准则的孔洞形状优化

提出了一个新的孔形优化准则－－孔边绝对值最大的切向应力最小，并给出了了基于这种优化准则寻找最优孔形的方法，在所得的孔洞周边，应力集中程度最小。     

Use of natural instabilities for generation of streamwise vortices in a laminar channel flow

An analysis of pressure-gradient-driven flows in channels with walls modified by transverse ribs has been carried out. The ribs have been introduced intentionally in order to generate streamwise vortices through centrifugally driven instabilities. The cost of their introduction, i.e. the additional pressure losses, have been determined. Linear stability theory has been used to determine conditions required for the formation of the vortices. It has been demonstrated that there exists a finite range of rib wave numbers capable of creating vortices. Within this range, there exists an optimal wave number which results in the minimum critical Reynolds number for the specified rib amplitude. The optimal wave numbers marginally depend on the rib positions and amplitudes. As the formation of the vortices can be interfered with by viscosity-driven instabilities, the critical conditions for the onset of such instabilities have also been determined. The rib geometries which result in the vortex formation with the smallest drag penalty and without interference from the viscosity-driven instabilities have been identified.     

Optimal design of a torsional shaft system using Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle

Optimal problems are investigated in the present work in order to control the natural frequencies of a torsional shaft system including the total weight constraint and effects of tuned mass dampers. Maier objective functional is used. Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle is employed to derive necessary optimality conditions of the optimal problems. Numerical simulations are performed to study effects of tuned mass dampers on controlling natural frequencies as well as minimizing the system’s weight. Advantages of the proposed method are also discussed.