Construction of the control realizing the rotation of a Timoshenko beam (Q5925733)

The authors study the controllability of a slowly rotating Timoshenko beam. The Timoshenko beam has been the subject of several recent investigations. In particular the controllability was studied extensively by the mathematical team led by Irena Lasiecka and R. Triggiani offering a sophisticated functional analytic approach. The present authors represent a different school of thought, more mundane, more in classical analysis, with greater emphasis on real-life solutions, on the engineering viewpoint, stressing that their mathematical models must agree with the known experimental results. It would be nice if these groups decided to cooperate. At the present time the results of the functional analytic, evolution semigroup researchers, and those pursuing the classical analysis approach, do not even seem to read each others' papers, and certainly do not reference them. The linearized model of the beam is given by a system of two equations which are generalizations of Timoshenko's equation, derived in 1999 by W. Krabs and G. M. Sklyar. It includes the effects of a rotating motor disk: \[ {\partial^2\over\partial t^2} w(x,t)- {\partial^2\over\partial x^2}w(x,t)- {\partial\over \partial x} \xi(x,t)= -(r+x){\partial^2\over\partial t^2} \theta(t), \] \[ {\partial^2\over\partial t^2} \xi(x,t)- {\partial^2\over\partial x^2} w(x,t)+ \xi(x,t)+ {\partial\over\partial x} w(x,t)= -{\partial^2\over\partial t^2}\theta(t). \] Here, \(w\) and \(\xi\) represent respectively the deflection of the center line and the angle of rotation of the cross-sectional area of the beam at the location \(x\in [0,1]\). The boundary conditions are: \(w(0,t)= \xi(0,t)= 0\), \({\partial\over\partial x}w(1,t)+ \xi(1,t)= 0\), \({\partial\over\partial x}\xi(1,t)= 0\). The initial conditions are: \(w(x,t)= \partial w/\partial t(x,0)= \xi(x,0)= \partial\xi/\partial t(x,0)= 0\), \(\theta(0)= \partial\theta/\partial t(0)= 0\). The motion of the beam is controlled by the angular acceleration of the motor disk. The control problem consists of reducing the beam to rest at a given time \(T\) at a given angle \(\theta(T)\) by exerting the control \(\partial^2\theta/\partial t^2\leq c\), for a given \(c>0\). The authors offer both the analysis and a constructive approach to the solution of this problem. Observing that an associated operator \(A\) is selfadjoint and positive definite, and that the eigenvalues and orthogonal eigenfunctions are easily determined, the authors use the moment theorem in a ``mixed'' form, where the powers of \(t\) and trigonometric functions are consecutively ``mixed''. Now, the problem is restated in terms of moments for the control function \(u(t)\). This is of course an infinite system of equalities. For constant controls it amounts to solving an (infinite) matrix equation. Now they assume that controls are piecewise constant (i.e. step functions). Subsequently, they cut off all moments corresponding to eigenvalues higher than some \(N\). The following controllability theorem is announced. By controlling the acceleration \(u= \partial^2\theta/\partial t^2\) the beam can be driven from the state of rest to a given position (angle) of the motor disk with the first \(N\) fundamental frequencies of the beam extinguished. They also produce an upper bound estimate on the total energy.