Robust control problems in fluid mechanics (Q5936240)

The author considers the controlled Navier-Stokes equations \[ \begin{align*}{ &{\partial U \over \partial t} - \nu \Delta U + (U \cdot \nabla)U + \nabla P = F \cr &\text{div} U = 0, \quad U = 0 \ \ \text{on} \ \partial \Omega, \quad U = U_0 \ \ \text{at} \ t = 0 }\end{align*} \] in a bounded 2- or 3-dimensional domain \(\Omega.\) The control problem is motivated by applications in oceanography and meteorology, such as the data assimilation problem where one adjusts initial conditions in order to obtain a flow that agrees with observations. In these problems, measurements may be incomplete and/or noisy and the emphasis in this paper is on designing controls that are insensitive to both state disturbances and measurement noise. The author provides existence and uniqueness results and constructive iteration methods for the solution of the nonlinear control problem.