Boundary controllability of a one-dimensional phase-field system with one control force

Abstract

In this paper, we present some controllability results for linear and nonlinear phase-field systems of Caginalp type considered in a bounded interval of R when the scalar control force acts on the temperature equation of the system by means of the Dirichlet condition on one of the endpoints of the interval. In order to prove the linear result we use the moment method providing an estimate of the cost of fast controls. Using this estimate and following the methodology developed in [19], we prove a local exact boundary controllability result to constant trajectories of the nonlinear phase-field system. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first nonlinear boundary controllability result in the framework of non-scalar parabolic systems, framework in which some “hyperbolic” behaviors could arise.