A COMPARISON BETWEEN STEEPEST ASCENT AND DIFFERENTIAL CORRECTION OPTIMIZATION METHODS IN A PROBLEM OF BOLZA, WITH A METHOD FOR OBTAINING STARTING VALUES FOR THE ADJOINT VARIABLES FROM A NOMINAL PATH

Abstract

Two methods of treating the problem of maximum range atmospheric reentry for an orbiting lifting glider are compared. A comparison of results is made, showing large differences in control variable history, and longer range for the path obtained by differential corrections. The problem was characterized by a sharp ridge in the domain of the starting values of the adjoint variables and the effect of this on the convergence of both methods is discussed. Finally, the difficulty of choosing initial approximations for the starting values of the adjoint variables is discussed, and a method is presented for obtaining these from a nominal path as the first step in the computer routine.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1963
Accession Number
AD0481266

Entities

People

  • Robert C. Good
  • William W. Mccue

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheric Density
  • Boundary Value Problems
  • Calculus
  • Calculus Of Variations
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computational Science
  • Computations
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Differential Equations
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Euler Equations
  • Integrals
  • Real Variables
  • Variational Equations

Readers

  • Approximation Theory.
  • Operations Research
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Space