ON THE ANALYSIS AND CONTROL OF HYPERBOLIC SYSTEMS ASSOCIATED WITH VIBRATING NETWORKS

In this paper a general linear model for vibrating networks of one-dim ensional elements is derived. This is applied to various situations in cluding nonplanar networks of beams modelled by a three-dimensional va riant on the Timoshenko beam, described for the first time in this pap er. The existence and regularity of solutions is established for all t he networks under consideration. The methods of first-order hyperbolic systems are used to obtain estimates from which exact controllability follows for networks containing no closed loops.