This paper presents an analytical approximate solution for a class of nonlinear quadratic optimal control problems. The proposed method consists of a Variational Iteration Method (VIM) together with a shooting method like procedure, for solving the extreme conditions obtained from the Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle (PMP). This method is applicable for a large class of nonlinear quadratic optimal control problems. In order to use the proposed method, a control design algorithm with low computational complexity is presented. Through the finite iterations of algorithm, a suboptimal control law is obtained for the nonlinear optimal control problem. Two illustrative examples are given to demonstrate the simplicity and efficiency of the proposed method.

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