Simultaneous exact/approximate boundary controllability of thermo-elastic plates with variable thermal coefficient and moment control (Q1593753)

The thermoelastic motion of a thin plate is governed by a system of linear partial differential equations involving the normal displacement of the plate and the temperature. The system is completed by boundary conditions and initial conditions, and the solution must be sought for all times after the first instant at which motion and temperature propagation are prescribed. Let us consider a sufficiently large time \(T\). Since the problem is well posed, the full solution and, in particular, its value at \(T\) is uniquely determined. But let us suppose that we want to solve an ``approximate'' boundary control problem, in the sense that we require to adjust the boundary displacement, velocity, and temperature such that the displacement and velocity at \(T\) assume given values, while the temperature, though not exactly equal to a preassigned value, is arbitrarily close to it in the natural topology of the problem. The result is that, after a given time \(T_0\) depending on the shape of the boundary of the plate, the partial control is possible. The problem of controlling thermoelastic plates is important in the transmission of acoustic signals, and this explains the attention received by it in the literature. But, at difference from other studies, the present paper considers the case in which control acts on the boundary of the plate and not inside.