Continuité et différentiabilité d'éléments propres: application à l'optimisation de structures. (Continuity and differentiability of eigen-elements: Application to the optimization of structures) (Q1813568)

The sensitivity analysis of static structural eigenvalue response with respect to design variation is presented in this important paper. The effect of design variation on buckling of a beam is considered. The buckling load of a structure (computed by an eigenvalue problem, the eigenvalue of the smallest absolute value) is described by a linear, elliptic eigenvalue problem. In optimizing structures with a constraint on the buckling load, repeated eigenvalues are likely to occur. The main results are: The work brings some new ideas in the proof of continuity and differentiability results of eigen-elements with respect to design variables (by using the variational characterization of eigenvalues). Finally the authors illustrate these results by a classical problem: buckling of a beam.