Uniform stabilization of a coupled structural acoustic system by boundary dissipation (Q5926236)

Coupled elastic and acoustic systems have been studied extensively in recent years. The author considers the acoustic wave in a chamber \(\Omega:z_{tt}=\Delta z\), interacting with the boundary conditions on the plate floor of the chamber: \(\partial z/\partial\nu\) \((\text{on }\Gamma_1)= k_1z_t\), and \(\partial z/\partial\nu\) \((\text{on }\Gamma_2)= k_2z_t\), for all \(t\), and vibration of the floor of the chamber whose displacements are governed by Kirchhoff's (hyperbolic) equation \(v_{tt}= \Delta^2v- \gamma\Delta v_{tt}- z_t= -\delta'(x_0) u(t)\) on \(\Gamma_0\) for all \(t\), where \(\Gamma_0\cup\Gamma_1\cup \Gamma_2= \partial\Omega\) (boundary on \(\Omega\)). The derivative of the Dirac delta function represents a unit point moment and \(u(t)\) is the reaction of the piezoelastic ceramic elements, exerting a stabilizing control. These two hyperbolic systems are coupled by trace operators. The author reduces this system to an abstract form \(dy/dt= Ay+ Bu\), for the undamped case. This leads to the form \[ (Lu)(t)= \int^t e^{A(t-\tau)} Bu(\tau) d\tau, \] which in turn indicates regularity, and with additional assumptions implies uniform stability. If damping is present the author constructs a maximal dissipative operator, which is the infinitesimal generator of a strongly continuous semigroup. Following this, the author studies properties of the Kirchhoff operator deriving some interesting estimates, which allow him to prove the main result of this paper: The coupled model introduced here is uniformly stabilized by a boundary dissipation. Physically, this is not surprising, but the proof offered here is certainly nontrivial. Looking at the physics of this problem, one may comment that the real-life application of piezo-ceramic patches represents a complex mathematical feedback control process, which has been simplified here to the form \(-\delta'(x_0) u(t)\). This is not a serious criticism, since we have to start somewhere, and this may well be considered to be the first step.