The goal of this paper is to study the so-called worst-case or robust optimal design problem for minimal compliance. In the context of linear elasticity we seek an optimal shape which minimizes the largest, or worst, compliance when the loads are subject to some unknown perturbations. We first prove that, for a fixed shape, there exists indeed a worst perturbation (possibly non unique) that we characterize as the maximizer of a nonlinear energy. We also propose a stable algorithm to compute it....

The goal of this paper is to study the so-called worst-case or robust optimal design problem for minimal compliance. In the context of linear elasticity we seek an optimal shape which minimizes the largest, or worst, compliance when the loads are subject to some unknown perturbations. We first prove that, for a fixed shape, there exists indeed a worst perturbation (possibly non unique) that we characterize as the maximizer of a nonlinear energy. We also propose a stable algorithm to compute...