Minimax Theorems And Qualitative Properties Of The Solutions Of Hemivariational Inequalities

Boundary value problems which have variational expressions in form of inequal ities can be divided into two main classes. The class of boundary value prob lems (BVPs) leading to variational inequalities and the class of BVPs leading to hemivariational inequalities. The first class is related to convex energy functions and has being studied over the last forty years and the second class is related to nonconvex energy functions and has a shorter research "life" beginning with the works of the second author of the present book in the year 1981. Nevertheless a variety of important results have been produced within the framework of the theory of hemivariational inequalities and their numerical treatment, both in Mathematics and in Applied Sciences, especially in Engineering. It is worth noting that inequality problems, i. e. BVPs leading to variational or to hemivariational inequalities, have within a very short time had a remarkable and precipitate development in both Pure and Applied Mathematics, as well as in Mechanics and the Engineering Sciences, largely because of the possibility of applying and further developing new and efficient mathematical methods in this field, taken generally from convex and/or nonconvex Nonsmooth Analy sis. The evolution of these areas of Mathematics has facilitated the solution of many open questions in Applied Sciences generally, and also allowed the formu lation and the definitive mathematical and numerical study of new classes of interesting problems.

This volume is comprised of articles providing new results on variational and hemivariational inequalities with applications to Contact Mechanics unavailable from other sources. The book will be of particular interest to graduate students and young researchers in applied and pure mathematics, civil, aeronautical and mechanical engineering, and can be used as supplementary reading material for advanced specialized courses in mathematical modeling. New results on well posedness to stationary and evolutionary inequalities and their rigorous proofs are of particular interest to readers. In addition to results on modeling and abstract problems, the book contains new results on the numerical methods for variational and hemivariational inequalities.

This contributed volume discusses aspects of nonlinear analysis in which optimization plays an important role, as well as topics which are applied to the study of optimization problems. Topics include set-valued analysis, mixed concave-convex sub-superlinear Schroedinger equation, Schroedinger equations in nonlinear optics, exponentially convex functions, optimal lot size under the occurrence of imperfect quality items, generalized equilibrium problems, artificial topologies on a relativistic spacetime, equilibrium points in the restricted three-body problem, optimization models for networks of organ transplants, network curvature measures, error analysis through energy minimization and stability problems, Ekeland variational principles in 2-local Branciari metric spaces, frictional dynamic problems, norm estimates for composite operators, operator factorization and solution of second-order nonlinear difference equations, degenerate Kirchhoff-type inclusion problems, and more.

Nonlinear Differential Problems with Smooth and Nonsmooth Constraints systematically evaluates how to solve boundary value problems with smooth and nonsmooth constraints. Primarily covering nonlinear elliptic eigenvalue problems and quasilinear elliptic problems using techniques amalgamated from a range of sophisticated nonlinear analysis domains, the work is suitable for PhD and other early career researchers seeking solutions to nonlinear differential equations. Although an advanced work, the book is self-contained, requiring only graduate-level knowledge of functional analysis and topology. Whenever suitable, open problems are stated and partial solutions proposed. The work is accompanied by end-of-chapter problems and carefully curated references. Builds from functional analysis and operator theory, to nonlinear elliptic systems and control problems Outlines the evolution of the main ideas of nonlinear analysis and their roots in classical mathematics Presented with numerous end-of-chapter exercises and sophisticated open problems Illustrated with pertinent industrial and engineering numerical examples and applications Accompanied by hundreds of curated references, saving readers hours of research in conducting literature analysis

The aim of the book is to cover the three fundamental aspects of research in equilibrium problems: the statement problem and its formulation using mainly variational methods, its theoretical solution by means of classical and new variational tools, the calculus of solutions and applications in concrete cases. The book shows how many equilibrium problems follow a general law (the so-called user equilibrium condition). Such law allows us to express the problem in terms of variational inequalities. Variational inequalities provide a powerful methodology, by which existence and calculation of the solution can be obtained.

This book provides a modern and comprehensive presentation of a wide variety of problems arising in nonlinear analysis, game theory, engineering, mathematical physics and contact mechanics. It includes recent achievements and puts them into the context of the existing literature. The volume is organized in four parts. Part I contains fundamental mathematical results concerning convex and locally Lipschits functions. Together with the Appendices, this foundational part establishes the self-contained character of the text. As the title suggests, in the following sections, both variational and topological methods are developed based on critical and fixed point results for nonsmooth functions. The authors employ these methods to handle the exemplary problems from game theory and engineering that are investigated in Part II, respectively Part III. Part IV is devoted to applications in contact mechanics. The book will be of interest to PhD students and researchers in applied mathematics as well as specialists working in nonsmooth analysis and engineering.

Nonsmooth and nonconvex models arise in several important applications of mechanics and engineering. The interest in this field is growing from both mathematicians and engineers. The study of numerous industrial applications, including contact phenomena in statics and dynamics or delamination effects in composites, require the consideration of nonsmoothness and nonconvexity. The mathematical topics discussed in this book include variational and hemivariational inequalities, duality, complementarity, variational principles, sensitivity analysis, eigenvalue and resonance problems, and minimax problems. Applications are considered in the following areas among others: nonsmooth statics and dynamics, stability of quasi- static evolution processes, friction problems, adhesive contact and debonding, inverse problems, pseudoelastic modeling of phase transitions, chaotic behavior in nonlinear beams, and nonholonomic mechanical systems. This volume contains 22 chapters written by various leading researchers and presents a cohesive and authoritative overview of recent results and applications in the area of nonsmooth and nonconvex mechanics. Audience: Faculty, graduate students, and researchers in applied mathematics, optimization, control and engineering.

Bilevel programming problems are hierarchical optimization problems where the constraints of one problem (the so-called upper level problem) are defined in part by a second parametric optimization problem (the lower level problem). If the lower level problem has a unique optimal solution for all parameter values, this problem is equivalent to a one-level optimization problem having an implicitly defined objective function. Special emphasize in the book is on problems having non-unique lower level optimal solutions, the optimistic (or weak) and the pessimistic (or strong) approaches are discussed. The book starts with the required results in parametric nonlinear optimization. This is followed by the main theoretical results including necessary and sufficient optimality conditions and solution algorithms for bilevel problems. Stationarity conditions can be applied to the lower level problem to transform the optimistic bilevel programming problem into a one-level problem. Properties of the resulting problem are highlighted and its relation to the bilevel problem is investigated. Stability properties, numerical complexity, and problems having additional integrality conditions on the variables are also discussed. Audience: Applied mathematicians and economists working in optimization, operations research, and economic modelling. Students interested in optimization will also find this book useful.