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On the brachistochronic motion of a variable-mass mechanical system in general force fields

The problem of the brachistochronic motion of a mechanical system composed of rigid bodies and variable-mass particles is solved. The laws of the time-rate of mass variation of the particles as well as relative velocities of the expelled (or gained) masses are assumed to be known. The system moves in an arbitrary field of known potential and nonpotential forces. Applying Pontryagin’s minimum principle along with singular optimal control theory, a corresponding two-point boundary value problem is obtained. The appropriate numerical procedure based on the shooting method to solve the obtained two-point boundary value problem is presented. The considerations in the paper are illustrated by an example of determining the brachistochronic motion of a system composed of a rigid rod and two variable-mass particles attached to the rod.