The null controllability of thermoelastic plates and singularity of the associated minimal energy function

We consider the null controllability problem for thermoelastic plates, defined on a two dimensional domain Ω, and subject to hinged, clamped or free boundary conditions. The uncontrolled partial differential equation system generates an analytic semigroup on the space of finite energy. Consequently, the concept of null controllability is indeed appropriate for consideration here. It is shown that all finite energy states can be driven to zero by means of just one L2((0,T ) × Ω) control be it either mechanical or thermal. The singularity, as T ↓ 0, of the associated minimal energy function is the main object studied in the paper. Singularity and blow-up rates for minimal energy function are not only of interest in their own right but are also of critical importance in Stochastic PDEs. In this paper, we establish the optimal blow-up rate O(T −5/2) for this function. It is shown that the rate of singularity is the same as for finite-dimensional truncations of the model. In view of sharp estimates available in the finite dimensional setting [Math. Control Signals Systems 9 (1997) 327], the singularity rates provided in this paper are optimal.  2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.