Computation of optimal controls using a piecewise polynomial parameterization
H. Sirisena · IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control · 1973
A class of optimal control problems is treated. The mathematical programming approach is used by employing a special piecewise polynomial parameterization of the control profile. A method for evaluating the gradient of the cost with respect to the various parameters is developed; this enables the optimal values of the parameters to be determined by minimizing the cost through a gradient search method. The algorithm is illustrated by a computed example.