A maximum principle approach to optimal control for one-dimensional hyperbolic systems with several state variables

The maximum principle developed by Sloss et al. [Optimal control of structural dynamic systems in one space dimension using a maximum principle, J. Vibr. Control 11 (2005) 245–261] is used to determine the optimal control functions for a class of one-dimensional distributed parameter structures. The distributed parameter structures are governed by systems of fourth order hyperbolic equations with constant coefficients. A quadratic performance index is formulated as the cost functional of the problem and can be used to represent the energy of the structure and the force spent in the control process. The developed maximum principle establishes a theoretical foundation for the solution of the optimal control problem and relates the optimal control vector to an adjoint variable vector. The method of solution is outlined which involves reducing the original problem to a system of ordinary differential equations. The solution of the general problem is given and a structural control problem is solved to illustrate the solution procedure. The effectiveness of the proposed control solution is shown by comparing the behavior of controlled and uncontrolled systems.