Optimal control computation for integro-differential aerodynamic equations

In order to maintain spectrally accurate solutions, the grids on which a non-linear physical problem is to be solved must also be obtained by spectrally accurate techniques. The purpose of this paper is to describe a pseudospectral computational method of solving integro-differential systems with quadratic performance index. The proposed method is based on the idea of relating grid points to the structure of orthogonal interpolating polynomials. The optimal control and the trajectory are approximated by the m th degree interpolating polynomial. This interpolating polynomial is spectrally constructed using Legendre–Gauss–Lobatto grid points as the collocation points, and Lagrange polynomials as trial functions. The integrals involved in the formulation of the problem are calculated by Gauss–Lobatto integration rule, thereby reducing the problem to a mathematical programming one to which existing well-developed algorithms may be applied. The method is easy to implement and yields very accurate results. An illustrative example is included to confirm the convergence of the pseudospectral Legendre method, and a comparison is made with an existing result in the literature. © 1998 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart–John Wiley & Sons Ltd.