A saddle-point theorem with application to structural optimization (Q1331124)

The paper deals with a relaxation for problems of compliance optimization for three-dimensional structures made from two isotropic materials with elasticities specified by shear and bulk moduli. A goal is to minimize the compliance over all material layouts subject to a constraint on the amount of expended material. The problem is formulated variationally either in terms of stresses or elastic displacements. The saddle-point theorem is established with the aid of a convexity property enjoyed by the effective tensors of finite-rank laminates and the use of a tensor- valued family of Young measures. The relationship between the relaxed Lagrangian for the displacement problem and its counterparts for the stress-based problem is given. The relaxed integrands appearing in both Lagrangians are nonquadratic functions of their arguments; nevertheless, there exists a duality relation between the two Lagrangians. The conclusion is that, in general, it is not possible to exchange minimization over volume fraction and maximization over displacement fields, as the resulting integrand may not be quasiconcave in the displacement. The paper has a cognizable character.