Receding horizon control based on the variational iteration method

In this paper, a new indirect method is proposed for the receding horizon control of dynamical systems. It consists in solving, over a control horizon, the optimality conditions using the variational iteration method. The optimality conditions are given by the Euler-Lagrange equations and their associated boundary conditions. This two-boundary values problem is solved iteratively using a correction functional that yields both the optimal state and the optimal control. Then by imposing, at each sampling time, the current boundary conditions, a system of algebraic equations is obtained and solved, which allows to define the piecewise optimal control to be applied at the current sampling time. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated by two application examples.