STERILIZATION OF CANNED VISCOUS FOODS: AN OPTIMAL CONTROL APPROACH

Abstract

In this paper, we study an optimal control problem with pointwise constraints on state and control, related to sterilization processes involving heat transfer by natural convection. We introduce the mathematical model for the state system, which couples the Boussinesq system for temperature-dependent viscosity and the convection-reaction-diffusion equations, and we set the whole problem as a control problem, assuring the micro-organism reduction, the nutrient retention and the energy saving. The existence and the regularity of the state are studied. Finally, we obtain existence results for the optimal solutions and a first-order optimality condition for their characterization.