The Variational Analysis and Aerospace Engineering conference held in Erice, Italy in September 2007 at International School of Mathematics, Guido Stampacchia provided a platform for aerospace engineers and mathematicians to discuss the problems requiring an extensive application of mathematics. This work contains papers presented at the workshop.

This book presents papers surrounding the extensive discussions that took place from the ‘Variational Analysis and Aerospace Engineering’ workshop held at the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture in 2015. Contributions to this volume focus on advanced mathematical methods in aerospace engineering and industrial engineering such as computational fluid dynamics methods, optimization methods in aerodynamics, optimum controls, dynamic systems, the theory of structures, space missions, flight mechanics, control theory, algebraic geometry for CAD applications, and variational methods and applications. Advanced graduate students, researchers, and professionals in mathematics and engineering will find this volume useful as it illustrates current collaborative research projects in applied mathematics and aerospace engineering.

This volume consists of papers presented at the Variational Analysis and Aerospace Engineering Workshop II held in Erice, Italy in September 2010 at the International School of Mathematics "Guido Stampacchia". The workshop provided a platform for aerospace engineers and mathematicians (from universities, research centers and industry) to discuss the advanced problems requiring an extensive application of mathematics. The presentations were dedicated to the most advanced subjects in engineering and, in particular to computational fluid dynamics methods, introduction of new materials, optimization in aerodynamics, structural optimization, space missions, flight mechanics, control theory and optimization, variational methods and applications, etc. This book will capture the interest of researchers from both academia and industry.

This volume consists of papers presented at the Variational Analysis and Aerospace Engineering Workshop II held in Erice, Italy in September 2010 at the International School of Mathematics "Guido Stampacchia". The workshop provided a platform for aerospace engineers and mathematicians (from universities, research centers and industry) to discuss the advanced problems requiring an extensive application of mathematics. The presentations were dedicated to the most advanced subjects in engineering and, in particular to computational fluid dynamics methods, introduction of new materials, optimization in aerodynamics, structural optimization, space missions, flight mechanics, control theory and optimization, variational methods and applications, etc. This book will capture the interest of researchers from both academia and industry.

From its origins in the minimization of integral functionals, the notion of variations has evolved greatly in connection with applications in optimization, equilibrium, and control. This book develops a unified framework and provides a detailed exposition of variational geometry and subdifferential calculus in their current forms beyond classical and convex analysis. Also covered are set-convergence, set-valued mappings, epi-convergence, duality, and normal integrands.

This book reflects the strong connection between calculus of variations and the applications for which variational methods form the foundation.

Much-needed, fresh approach that brings a greater insight into the physical understanding of aerodynamics Based on the author’s decades of industrial experience with Boeing, this book helps students and practicing engineers to gain a greater physical understanding of aerodynamics. Relying on clear physical arguments and examples, Mclean provides a much-needed, fresh approach to this sometimes contentious subject without shying away from addressing "real" aerodynamic situations as opposed to the oversimplified ones frequently used for mathematical convenience. Motivated by the belief that engineering practice is enhanced in the long run by a robust understanding of the basics as well as real cause-and-effect relationships that lie behind the theory, he provides intuitive physical interpretations and explanations, debunking commonly-held misconceptions and misinterpretations, and building upon the contrasts provided by wrong explanations to strengthen understanding of the right ones. Provides a refreshing view of aerodynamics that is based on the author’s decades of industrial experience yet is always tied to basic fundamentals. Provides intuitive physical interpretations and explanations, debunking commonly-held misconceptions and misinterpretations Offers new insights to some familiar topics, for example, what the Biot-Savart law really means and why it causes so much confusion, what “Reynolds number” and “incompressible flow” really mean, and a real physical explanation for how an airfoil produces lift. Addresses "real" aerodynamic situations as opposed to the oversimplified ones frequently used for mathematical convenience, and omits mathematical details whenever the physical understanding can be conveyed without them.

An increasing complexity of models used to predict real-world systems leads to the need for algorithms to replace complex models with far simpler ones, while preserving the accuracy of the predictions. This two-volume handbook covers methods as well as applications. This second volume focuses on applications in engineering, biomedical engineering, computational physics and computer science.

To describe the true behavior of most real-world systems with sufficient accuracy, engineers have to overcome difficulties arising from their lack of knowledge about certain parts of a process or from the impossibility of characterizing it with absolute certainty. Depending on the application at hand, uncertainties in modeling and measurements can be represented in different ways. For example, bounded uncertainties can be described by intervals, affine forms or general polynomial enclosures such as Taylor models, whereas stochastic uncertainties can be characterized in the form of a distribution described, for example, by the mean value, the standard deviation and higher-order moments. The goal of this Special Volume on Modeling, Design, and Simulation of Systems with Uncertainties is to cover modern methods for dealing with the challenges presented by imprecise or unavailable information. All contributions tackle the topic from the point of view of control, state and parameter estimation, optimization and simulation. Thematically, this volume can be divided into two parts. In the first we present works highlighting the theoretic background and current research on algorithmic approaches in the field of uncertainty handling, together with their reliable software implementation. The second part is concerned with real-life application scenarios from various areas including but not limited to mechatronics, robotics, and biomedical engineering.

This book contains the proceedings ofthe meeting on "Applied Mathematics in the Aerospace Field," held in Erice, Sicily, Italy from September 3 to September 10, 1991. The occasion of the meeting was the 12th Course of the School of Mathematics "Guido Stampacchia," directed by Professor Franco Giannessi of the University of Pisa. The school is affiliated with the International Center for Scientific Culture "Ettore Majorana," which is directed by Professor Antonino Zichichi of the University of Bologna. The objective of the course was to give a perspective on the state-of the-art and research trends concerning the application of mathematics to aerospace science and engineering. The course was structured with invited lectures and seminars concerning fundamental aspects of differential equa tions, mathematical programming, optimal control, numerical methods, per turbation methods, and variational methods occurring in flight mechanics, astrodynamics, guidance, control, aircraft design, fluid mechanics, rarefied gas dynamics, and solid mechanics. The book includes 20 chapters by 23 contributors from the United States, Germany, and Italy and is intended to be an important reference work on the application of mathematics to the aerospace field. It reflects the belief of the course directors that strong interaction between mathematics and engineering is beneficial, indeed essential, to progresses in both areas.