arXiv subjects

Lorenzo Freddi

Publications and source records attributed to Lorenzo Freddi.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

On Zermelo's planar navigation problem for convex bodies, and implications for non-convex optimal routing

We study a generalized version of Zermelo's navigation problem where the set of admissible velocities is a general compact convex set, replacing the classical Euclidean ball. After establishing existence results under the natural assumption of weak currents, we derive necessary optimality conditions via Pontryagin's maximum principle and convex analysis. Consequently, in the planar case, the domain of any optimal control is shown to be partitioned into regular and singular regimes. In the former, the optimal control is regular and satisfies a Zermelo-like navigation equation while in the latter it is largely undetermined. A necessary condition that can exclude singular regimes is stated and proved, providing a useful tool in applications. In regular regimes our results extend the classical Zermelo navigation equation to general convex control sets within a non-parametric setting. Furthermore, we discuss direct applications to the case of a non-convex control set. As an application, we develop the relevant case of an affine current. The results are illustrated with examples relevant to sailing and ship routing with asymmetric or sail-assisted propulsion, including the presence of waves.

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arXiv2026

Pattern preservation in finite to infinite-horizon optimal control problems for dissipative systems

This paper focuses on infinite-horizon optimal control problems for dissipative systems and the relations to their finite-horizon formulations. We show that, for a large class of problems, dissipativity of the state equation, when a coercive storage function exists, implies that infinite-horizon optimal controls can be obtained as limits of the corresponding finite-horizon ones. This property is referred to as pattern preservation, or pattern-preserving property. Our analysis establishes a formal link between dissipativity theory and the variational convergence framework in optimal control, thus providing a concrete and numerically tractable condition for verifying pattern preservation. Numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness and limitations of the proposed sufficient conditions.

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arXiv2025

Pattern-preserving optimal control problems with increasing time horizon

We establish a general framework that guarantees the preservation of optimal control patterns as the time horizon $[0,T]$ increases and becomes unbounded. A concept of pattern-preserving family of optimal control problems is introduced and the goal is achieved by analyzing the $Γ$-convergence of the corresponding variational formulations as $T\to\infty$. Special attention is given to scenarios involving state constraints. To illustrate the results, examples and applications are provided, with particular focus on switched systems and epidemic control.

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arXiv2024

Optimality of vaccination for an SIR epidemic with an ICU constraint

This paper studies an optimal control problem for a class of SIR epidemic models, in scenarios in which the infected population is constrained to be lower than a critical threshold imposed by the ICU (intensive care unit) capacity. The vaccination effort possibly imposed by the health-care deciders is classically modeled by a control input affecting the epidemic dynamic. After a preliminary viability analysis the existence of optimal controls is established, and their structure is characterized by using a state-constrained version of Pontryagin's theorem. The resulting optimal controls necessarily have a bang-bang regime with at most one switch. More precisely, the optimal strategies impose the maximum-allowed vaccination effort in an initial period of time, which can cease only once the ICU constraint can be satisfied without further vaccination. The switching times are characterized in order to identify conditions under which vaccination should be implemented or halted. The uniqueness of the optimal control is also discussed. Numerical examples illustrate our theoretical results and the corresponding optimal strategies. The analysis is eventually extended to the infinite horizon by $Γ$-convergence arguments.

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arXiv2024

Viability and control of a delayed SIR epidemic with an ICU state constraint

This paper studies viability and control synthesis for a delayed SIR epidemic. The model integrates a constant delay representing an incubation/latency time. The control inputs model non-pharmaceutical interventions, while an intensive care unit (ICU) state-constraint is introduced to reflect the healthcare system's capacity. The arising delayed control system is analyzed via functional viability tools, providing insights into fulfilling the ICU constraint through feedback control maps. In particular, we consider two scenarios: first, we consider the case of general continuous initial conditions. Then, as a further refinement of our analysis, we assume that the initial conditions satisfy a Lipschitz continuity property, consistent with the considered model. The study compares the (in general, sub-optimal) obtained control policies with the optimal ones for the delay-free case, emphasizing the impact of the delay parameter. The obtained results are supported and illustrated, in a concluding section, by numerical examples.

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arXiv2023

Infinite horizon optimal control of a SIR epidemic under an ICU constraint

The aim of this paper is to provide a rigorous mathematical analysis of an optimal control problem of a SIR epidemic on an infinite horizon. A state constraint related to intensive care units (ICU) capacity is imposed and the objective functional linearly depends on the state and the control. After preliminary asymptotic and viability analyses, a $Γ$-convergence argument is developed to reduce the problem to a finite horizon allowing to use a state constrained version of Pontryagin's theorem to characterize the structure of the optimal controls. Illustrating examples and numeric simulations are given according to the available data on Covid-19 epidemic in Italy.

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arXiv2022

SIR Epidemics With State-Dependent Costs and ICU Constraints: A Hamilton-Jacobi Verification Argument and Dual LP Algorithms

The aim of this paper is twofold. On one hand, we strive to give a simpler proof of the optimality of greedy controls when the cost of interventions is control-affine and the dynamics follow a state-constrained controlled SIR model. This is achieved using the Hamilton-Jacobi characterization of the value function, via the verification argument and explicit trajectorybased computations. Aside from providing an alternative to the Pontryagin complex arguments in [5], this method allows one to consider more general classes of costs; in particular statedependent ones. On the other hand, the paper is completed by linear programming methods allowing to deal with possibly discontinuous costs. In particular, we propose a brief exposition of classes of linearized dynamic programming principles based on our previous work and ensuing dual linear programming algorithms. We emphasize the particularities of our state space and possible generations of forward scenarios using the description of reachable sets.

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arXiv2021

Stability of boundary conditions for the Sadowsky functional

It has been proved by the authors that the (extended) Sadowsky functional can be deduced as the Gamma-limit of the Kirchhoff energy on a rectangular strip of height $\varepsilon$, as $\varepsilon$ tends to 0. In this paper we show that this Gamma-convergence result is stable when affine boundary conditions are prescribed on the short sides of the strip. These boundary conditions include those corresponding to a Möbius band.

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arXiv2021

Optimal Control of a SIR Epidemic With ICU Constraints and Target Objectives

The aim of this paper is to provide a rigorous mathematical analysis of an optimal control problem with SIR dynamics. The main feature of our study is the presence of state constraints (related to intensive care units ICU capacity) and strict target objectives (related to the immunity threshold). The first class of results provides a comprehensive description of different zones of interest using viability tools. The second achievement is a thorough mathematical analysis of Pontryagin extremals for the aforementioned problem allowing to obtain an explicit closed-loop feedback optimal control. All our theoretical results are numerically illustrated for a further understanding of the geometrical features and scenarios.

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arXiv2021

Optimal control of the transmission rate in compartmental epidemics

We introduce a general system of ordinary differential equations that includes some classical and recent models for the epidemic spread in a closed population without vital dynamic in a finite time horizon. The model is vectorial, in the sense that it accounts for a vector valued state function whose components represent various kinds of exposed/infected subpopulations, with a corresponding vector of control functions possibly different for any subpopulation. In the general setting, we prove well-posedness and positivity of the initial value problem for the system of state equations and the existence of solutions to the optimal control problem of the coefficients of the nonlinear part of the system, under a very general cost functional. We also prove the uniqueness of the optimal solution for a small time horizon when the cost is superlinear in all control variables with possibly different exponents in the interval (1,2]. We consider then a linear cost in the control variables and study the singular arcs. Full details are given in the case n=1 and the results are illustrated by the aid of some numerical simulations.

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arXiv2017

One-dimensional von Kármán models for elastic ribbons

By means of a variational approach we rigorously deduce three one-dimensional models for elastic ribbons from the theory of von Kármán plates, passing to the limit as the width of the plate goes to zero. The one-dimensional model found starting from the "linearized" von Kármán energy corresponds to that of a linearly elastic beam that can twist but can deform in just one plane; while the model found from the von Kármán energy is a non-linear model that comprises stretching, bendings, and twisting. The "constrained" von Kármán energy, instead, leads to a new Sadowsky type of model.

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arXiv2016

A variational model for anisotropic and naturally twisted ribbons

We consider thin plates whose energy density is a quadratic function of the difference between the second fundamental form of the deformed configuration and a "natural" curvature tensor. This tensor either denotes the second fundamental form of the stress-free configuration, if it exists, or a target curvature tensor. In the latter case, residual stress arises from the geometrical frustration involved in the attempt to achieve the target curvature: as a result, the plate is naturally twisted, even in the absence of external forces or prescribed boundary conditions. Here, starting from this kind of plate energies, we derive a new variational one-dimensional model for naturally twisted ribbons by means of Gamma-convergence. Our result generalizes, and corrects, the classical Sadowsky energy to geometrically frustrated anisotropic ribbons with a narrow, possibly curved, reference configuration.

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