A shape optimization method for moving interface problems governed by the heat equation

Abstract

Abstract The one dimensional Stefan problem is reformulated as a shape optimization problem for the position of the phase transition as a function of time. The functional to be minimized is the mismatch of the Dirichlet to Neumann map at the moving interface. We show that the minimizer is the only stationary point of the shape functional. A gradient based optimization method is derived using shape calculus. The state and adjoint equations of the heat equation are solved with integral equation techniques which avoid a discretization in the domain. A Nystrom quadrature method is analyzed and numerical results are presented.