Energy decay rates for the Timoshenko system of thermoelastic plates (Q2581703)

The author considers the following model of thermoelastic vibrations of a plate, which includes the Timoshenko correction to plate dynamics. The state equation is: \[ u_{tt}+\Delta^2u-\Delta u_{tt}- M \biggl(\int_{\mathbb R^n}|\nabla u|^2\,dx\biggr)\Delta u + \Delta u - \theta + \Delta\theta = 0.\tag{1} \] \(M\) is a nondecreasing real valued function. Since the setting is \(\mathbb R^n\times \mathbb R^+\) it is a generalization of a fairly general model of a 3-dimensional problem to \(n\) dimensions. Also, since all dimensional quantities have been ``homogenized'', making all coefficients equal to one, as is the practice in abstract mathematical research, the engineers are at a loss, and are reluctant to read these papers which gave them no idea what kind of plate obeys these equations. Equation, like the one displayed here, models the behavior of a ``thin'' plate, and it models the response of such a plate satisfying limitations on magnitude of thickness, and also satisfying some relations between the physical properties of that plate. The original Kirchhoff equations were of the type (1) less terms involving temperature, and less the Timoshenko term, but every term carried a coefficient, such as mass density \(p\), cylindrical rigidity \(D(x,y)\), Poisson ratio constant \(\nu\), or rather \((1-\nu)\), etc. The model studied here is not applicable to some plates, and lack of information makes it of doubtful value to the engineer trying to predict the behavior of a real-life physical system. But in the study of existence w.r.t. some property, such as decay of energy, the physical coefficients really do not affect the outcome. They only affect the value of some constant which controls the rate of decay. However the author's main theorem asserts that there exists a constant \(\gamma > 0\), such that \(E(t) < 4E(0)e^{-\gamma t}\), for all \(t>0\). That statement is true no matter how we scale the coefficients of equation (1). As a study of fourth order nonlinear partial differential equations applicable to engineering problems this is a well-written study of decay rates for such systems. The author uses competently tools as semigroup arguments, Lyapunov function, Fourier transform, etc.