New class of hybrid explicit methods for numerical solution of optimal control problems

Forward-backward sweep method (FBSM) is an indirect numerical method used for solving optimal control problems, in which the differential equation arising from this method is solved by the Pontryagin’s maximum principle. In this paper, a set of hybrid methods based on explicit 6th-order Runge– Kutta method is presented for the FBSM solution of optimal control problems. Order of truncation error, stability region, and numerical results of the new hybrid methods were compared with those of the 6th-order Runge– Kutta method. Numerical results show that new hybrid methods are more accurate than the 6th-order Runge–Kutta method and that their stability regions are also wider than that of the 6th-order Runge–Kutta method.