In this paper, a priori error estimates are derived for the mixed finite element discretization of optimal control problems governed by fourth order elliptic partial differential equations. The state and co-state are discretized by Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces and the control variable is approximated by piecewise constant functions. The error estimates derived for the state variable as well as those for the control variable seem to be new. We illustrate with a numerical example to confirm our theoretical results.

In this paper, we investigate the error estimates of mixed finite element methods for optimal control problems governed by general elliptic equations. The state and co-state are approximated by the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces and the control variable is approximated by piecewise constant functions. We derive L2 and H–1-error estimates both for the control variable and the state variables. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the theoretical results.

A posteriori error estimates of semidiscrete mixed finite element methods for quadratic optimal control problems involving linear parabolic equations are developed. The state and co-state are discretised by Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces of order k, and the control is approximated by piecewise polynomials of order k (k ≥ 0). We derive our a posteriori error estimates for the state and the control approximations via a mixed elliptic reconstruction method. These estimates seem to be unavailable elsewhere in the literature, although they represent an important step towards developing reliable adaptive mixed finite element approximation schemes for the control problem.

In this paper, we will investigate the error estimates and the superconvergence property of mixed finite element methods for a semilinear elliptic control problem with an integral constraint on control. The state and co-state are approximated by the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element and the control variable is approximated by piecewise constant functions. We derive some superconvergence properties for the control variable and the state variables. Moreover, we derive L∞- and H−1 -error estimates both for the control variable and the state variables. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the theoretical results.

In this article, a fully discrete finite element approximation is investigated for constrained parabolic optimal control problems with time-dependent coefficients. The spatial discretisation invokes finite elements, and the time discretisation a nonstandard backward Euler method. On introducing some appropriate intermediate variables and noting properties of the L2 projection and the elliptic projection, we derive the superconvergence for the control, the state and the adjoint state. Finally, we discuss some numerical experiments that illustrate our theoretical results.

A quadratic optimal control problem governed by parabolic equations with integral constraints is considered. A fully discrete finite element scheme is constructed for the optimal control problem, with finite elements for the spatial but the backward Euler method for the time discretisation. Some superconvergence results of the control, the state and the adjoint state are proved. Some numerical examples are performed to confirm theoretical results.

In this paper, we investigate the error estimates and superconvergence property of mixed finite element methods for elliptic optimal control problems. The state and co-state are approximated by the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces and the control variable is approximated by piecewise constant functions. We derive L2 and L∞-error estimates for the control variable. Moreover, using a recovery operator, we also derive some superconvergence results for the control variable. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the theoretical results.

In this paper, we investigate the superconvergence property and the L∞-error estimates of mixed finite element methods for a semilinear elliptic control problem with an integral constraint. The state and co-state are approximated by the order one Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element space and the control variable is approximated by piecewise constant functions or piecewise linear functions. We derive some super-convergence results for the control variable and the state variables when the control is approximated by piecewise constant functions. Moreover, we derive L∞-error estimates for both the control variable and the state variables when the control is discretized by piecewise linear functions. Finally, some numerical examples are given to demonstrate the theoretical results.

The paper deals with deterministic optimal control problems with state constraints and non-linear dynamics. It is known for such problems that the value function is in general discontinuous and its characterization by means of a Hamilton-Jacobi equation requires some controllability assumptions involving the dynamics and the set of state constraints. Here, we first adopt the viability point of view and look at the value function as its epigraph. Then, we prove that this epigraph can always be described by an auxiliary optimal control problem free of state constraints, and for which the value function is Lipschitz continuous and can be characterized, without any additional assumptions, as the unique viscosity solution of a Hamilton-Jacobi equation. The idea introduced in this paper bypasses the regularity issues on the value function of the constrained control problem and leads to a constructive way to compute its epigraph by a large panel of numerical schemes. Our approach can be extended to more general control problems. We study in this paper the extension to the infinite horizon problem as well as for the two-player game setting. Finally, an illustrative numerical example is given to show the relevance of the approach.

In this paper we use two numerical methods to solve constrained optimal control problems governed by elliptic equations with rapidly oscillating coefficients: one is finite element method and the other is multiscale finite element method. We derive the convergence analysis for those two methods. Analytical results show that finite element method can not work when the parameter ε is small enough, while multiscale finite element method is useful for any parameter ε.

In this paper, we carry out the numerical analysis of adistributed optimal control problem governed by a quasilinearelliptic equation of non-monotone type. The goal is to prove thestrong convergence of the discretization of the problem by finiteelements. The main issue is to get error estimates for thediscretization of the state equation. One of the difficulties inthis analysis is that, in spite of the partial differentialequation has a unique solution for any given control, theuniqueness of a solution for the discrete equation is an openproblem.

We propose a general approach for the numerical approximation ofoptimal control problems governed by a linear advection–diffusionequation, based on a stabilization method applied to theLagrangian functional, rather than stabilizing the state andadjoint equations separately. This approach yields a coherentlystabilized control problem. Besides, it allows a straightforward a posteriori error estimate in which estimates of higher order termsare needless. Our a posteriori estimates stems from splitting theerror on the cost functional into the sum of an iteration errorplus a discretization error. Once the former is reduced below agiven threshold (and therefore the computed solution is “near”the optimal solution), the adaptive strategy is operated on thediscretization error. To prove the effectiveness of the proposedmethods, we report some numerical tests, referring to problems inwhich the control term is the source term of theadvection–diffusion equation.

We consider an optimal control problem for a class of non-linearelliptic equations. A result of existence and uniqueness of the state equation is proven under weaker hypotheses than in theliterature. We also prove the existence of an optimalcontrol. Applications to some lubrication problems and numericalresults are given.

We consider control problems governed by semilinear parabolic equations with pointwise state constraints and controls in an Lp-space (p < ∞). We construct a correct relaxed problem, prove some relaxation results, and derive necessary optimality conditions.