A method for determining the equilibrium states of dynamic systems

A heuristic method is presented for determining the equilibrium states of motion of dynamic systems, in particular, spacecraft. The method can also be applied to the solution of sets of linear or nonlinear algebraic equations. A positive-semidefinite functional is formed to convert the problem to that of finding those minimum points where the functional vanishes. The process is initiated within a selecteddomain of interest by random search; convergence to a minimum is obtained by a modified Davidon's deflected gradient technique. To render this approach feasible in the presence of constraints, the functional is modified to include penalty terms which cause the functional to approach infinity at the constraint boundaries. Close approximations to solutions near the constraint boundaries are found by applying Carroll's approach in successively reducing the weighting factors of the penalty terms. After finding a minimum, the local domain around this point is eliminated by adding to the functional an interior constraint term, representing the surface under a hypersphere centered at the minimum point. The domain of consideration now becomes the subdomain formed by subtracting the space contained within this hypersphere from the previous domain of interest. Minima are now sought within the remaining space, as before.This paper is derived from research performed by the author while employed by TRW Systems Group, Redondo Beach, California.The author acknowledges the helpful suggestions of Dr. G. Bekey, University of Southern California, and those of Mr. E. A. Quast, Dr. M. P. Scher, and Dr. R. J. Wiley, Dynamics Department, TRW Systems Group, Redondo Beach, California.