Abstract
The application of optimal control theory to minimum weight design of continuous one-dimensional structural elements subject to eigenvalue constraints is discussed. If not only the value of an eigenvalue is prescribed but also its position in the sequence of the ordered eigenvalues—for example, the critical buckling load of a column—the corresponding optimal control problem is shown to include necessarily all eigenvalues. Considering the unspecified eigenvalues as free parameters, necessary conditions for minimum weight design are derived. These conditions are compared with those obtained by use of variational methods. Attention is focused on the special case of multimodal solutions.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: