Classification of Inverse Problems Arising in Field Problems and Their Treatments

An overview of inverse problems related to field problems and inverse approaches for their treatments is made. Discussion is made on the classification of inverse problems arising in field problems and it is shown that inverse problems can be classified into domain/boundary inverse problems, governing equation inverse problems, boundary value/initial value inverse problems, force inverse problems, and material properties inverse problems. Examples of inverse analyses conducted by the author’s group for dealing with these 5 categories of inverse problems are shown with special emphasis on the applicability of the representative inverse approaches and the regularization schemes.