Optimal control problem for the Cahn-Hilliard/Allen-Cahn equation with state constraint (Q2198166)

In this paper, a distributed optimal control problem for the Cahn-Hilliard/Allen-Cahn equation \[ y_t + \kappa \Delta ^2 y -\Delta f(y) -\kappa \Delta y +f(y) = Bu \] is studied with state-constraint. Here \(Bu\) denotes the control term, \(y(x, t)\) is the coverage, and \(f (y)\) is the derivative of the double-well potential \(F(y)= \frac{1}{4}(y^2-1)^2 \). The Cahn-Hilliard term corresponds to surface diffusion, while the Allen-Cahn to adsorption/desorption. Homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions are imposed to noflux of the coverage at the boundary. The discontinuous cost functional is approximated by a cost functional with a penalty term. Considering the limits of the approximate cost functional, the necessary optimality conditions are derived to solve the optimal control problem. Furthermore, some estimates are established to prove the existence of the optimal solutions for the approximating problem.