53A10 Minimal surfaces, surfaces with prescribed mean curvature [See also 49Q05, 49Q10, 53C42]
Some mathematical problems related to the 2nd order optimal shape of a crystallization interface
(2012)
We consider the problem to optimize the stationary temperature distribution and the equilibrium shape of the solid-liquid interface in a two-phase system subject to a temperature gradient. The interface satisfies the minimization principle of the free energy, while the temperature is solving the heat equation with a radiation boundary conditions at the outer wall. Under the condition that the temperature gradient is uniformly negative in the direction of crystallization, the interface is expected to have a global graph representation. We reformulate this condition as a pointwise constraint on the gradient of the state, and we derive the first order optimality system for a class of objective functionals that account for the second surface derivatives, and for the surface temperature gradient.
A capillary surface in a negative gravitational field describes the shape of the surface of a hanging drop in a capillary tube with wetting material on the bottom. Mathematical modeling leads to the volume- and obstacle-constrained minimization of a nonconvex nonlinear energy functional of mean curvature type which is unbounded from below. In 1984 Huisken proved the existence and regularity of local minimizers of this energy under the condition on gravitation being sufficiently weak. We prove convergence of a first order finite element approximation of these minimizers. Numerical results demonstrating the theoretic convergence order are given.
We define a discrete Laplace-Beltrami operator for simplicial surfaces. It depends only on the intrinsic geometry of the surface and its edge weights are positive. Our Laplace operator is similar to the one defined by Pinkall and Polthier (the so called “cotan formula”) except that it is based on the intrinsic Delaunay triangulation of the simplicial surface. This leads to new definitions of discrete harmonic and holomorphic functions, discrete mean curvature, and discrete minimal surfaces.