Economic receding horizon control without terminal constraints

We consider a receding horizon control scheme without terminal constraints in which the stage cost is defined by economic criteria, i.e., not necessarily linked to a stabilization or tracking problem. We analyze the performance of the resulting receding horizon controller with a particular focus on the case of optimal steady states for the corresponding averaged infinite horizon problem. Using a turnpike property and suitable controllability properties we prove near optimal performance of the controller and convergence of the closed loop solution to a neighborhood of the optimal steady state. Two examples illustrate our Findings numerically and show how to verify the imposed assumptions. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.