Optimal boundary controls for a phase field model

The phase field model is a nonlinear system of parabolic equationswhich describes the phase transitions between two differentphases, e.g. solid and liquid. In this paper, we consider ageneral optimal boundary control problem which is governed bythis model. The existence of the solutions of the phase fieldmodel is established by a rigorous analysis of the method oflines. The existence of the optimal solutions and the necessaryconditions for optimality are proved. For a special unconstrainedboundary control problem, we also prove some results concerningthe uniqueness of the optimal solutions. For a special constrainedboundary control problem, we obtain a result concerning thebang-bang principle.