Shape programming of a magnetic elastica

Abstract

We consider a cantilever beam which possesses a possibly non-uniform permanent magnetization, and whose shape is controlled by an applied magnetic field. We model the beam as a plane elastic curve and we suppose that the magnetic field acts upon the beam by means of a distributed couple that pulls the magnetization towards its direction. Given a list of target shapes, we look for a design of the magnetization profile and for a list of controls such that the shapes assumed by the beam when acted upon by the controls are as close as possible to the targets, in an averaged sense. To this effect, we formulate and solve an optimal design and control problem leading to the minimization of a functional which we study by both direct and indirect methods. In particular, we prove that minimizers exist, solve the associated Lagrange-multiplier formulation (besides non-generic cases), and are unique at least for sufficiently low intensities of the controlling magnetic fields. To achieve the latter result, we use two nested fixed-point arguments relying on the Lagrange-multiplier formulation of the problem, a method which also suggests a numerical scheme. Various relevant open question are also discussed.