Benha University

Shoubra Faculty of Engineering

Mechanical Power Department

SHOOTING METHOD IN SOLVING BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS

Ahmed Nouh Mabrouk, Mohamed Emam Galal

Abstract: this research aims to use the shooting method (SM) to the numerical solutions to the boundary
value problems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Applied mathematics, theoretical physics,
engineering, control, and optimization theory all have two-point boundary value problems. If the two-point
boundary value problem cannot be solved analytically, numerical approaches must be used. The method
works as follows: first, a guess for the initial condition is made and an integration of the differential equation
is performed to obtain an initial value problem solution; then, the end value of the solution is used in a simple
iteration formula to correct the initial condition; the process is repeated until the second boundary condition
is satisfied.

Keywords: Shooting Method, Boundary Value Problem, Ode-RK4.

1. Introduction
Differential equations are well known to be the basis of most physical systems. Ordinary
differential or partial differential equations are commonly used to modeled physical systems. In
applied science and engineering, many linear problems, such as second-order ODEs with
numerous types of boundary conditions, are solved analytically or numerically. Two-point BVPs
arise in a wide range of situations where boundary layer theory in fluid dynamics, modeling
chemical reactions, and heat power transfer are only a few examples. Boundary value problems
have a wide range of applications in applied science and engineering, necessitating the
development of faster and more reliable numerical methods. Shooting method have a significant
advantage for solving nonlinear differential equations. The shooting techniques are quite broad
and can be used to solve a wide range of differential equations. The foremost objective of this
research is to solve two-point boundary value problems using a simple and proficient shooting
method.

2. Boundary value problem (BVP)

A general second-order boundary value problem asks for a solution of

y’’ = f (t, y, y’)

y(a) = ya
y(b) = yb

Figure 1 Comparison of IVP and BVP. In an

initial value problem, the initial value ya = y(a)
and initial slope sa = y’(a) are specified as part
of the problem. In a boundary value problem,
boundary values ya and yb are specified instead; sa is
unknown
SHOOTING METHOD IN SOLVING BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS

3. Description of the Method

The shooting approach reduces the boundary value issue to identifying the starting
conditions that yield a root by viewing boundary conditions as a multivariate function of initial
conditions at some point. The name of the shooting technique comes from a comparison to target
shooting. We shoot the target and examine where it hits the target; based on the inaccuracies, we
can modify our aim and shoot again in the hopes of hitting the target near to the mark. The
shooting methods are designed to convert ODE boundary value issues into similar initial value
problems, which may then be solved using appropriate methods. The shooting method is an
iterative method that is well suited to solving any kind of BVPs of ODEs, regardless of the boundary
conditions form. The shooting method is a computational method for solving two points boundary
value problems of linear ODEs where the problem must be reduced as a system of an initial value
problem.

There are three stages to the linear shooting method:

(1) The provided BVPs is split into two initial value problems (IVPs)
(2) Taylor’s series, Runge–Kutta method, or any other approach
(3) The required solution of the given BVP is a combination of these two solutions

The Shooting Method solves the BVP by finding the IVP that has the same solution. A
sequence of IVPs is produced, converging to the correct one. The sequence begins with an initial
guess for the slope sa, provided to go along with the initial value ya. The IVP that results from this
initial slope is solved and compared with the boundary value yb. By trial and error, the initial slope
is improved until the boundary value is matched. To put a more formal structure on this method,
define the following function:

With this definition, the boundary value problem is reduced to solving the equation
F(s) = 0

Figure 2. The Shooting Method. To solve the BVP, the IVP with
initial conditions y(a) = ya,y’(a) = s0 is solved with initial guess s0.
The value of F(s0) is y(b) − yb. Then a new s1 is chosen, and the
process is repeated with the goal of solving F(s) = 0 for s.

The shooting method algorithm is:

1. Guess a value of the missing initial condition.
2. Integrate the ODE like an initial-value problem, using our existing numerical methods, to
get the given boundary condition(s).
3. Assuming your trial solution for does not match the given boundary condition, adjust your
guess for and repeat.
SHOOTING METHOD IN SOLVING BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS 3 of 7

4. Problem statement
The conservation of heat can be used to develop a
heat balance for a long, thin rod (Fig.3). If the rod is not
insulated along its length and the system is at a steady
state, the equation that results is
𝑑2𝑇
+ h′(Ta − T) = 0 (1)
𝑑𝑥 2
where h′ is a heat transfer coefficient (m−2) that
parameterizes the rate of heat dissipation to the surrounding air and Ta is the temperature of the
surrounding air (°C).
To obtain a solution for Eq.(1) , there must be appropriate boundary conditions. A simple
case is where the temperatures at the ends of the rod are held at fixed values. These can be
expressed mathematically as
T(0) = T1
T(L) = T2
With these conditions, Eq. (1) can be solved analytically using calculus. For a 10-m
rod with Ta = 20, T1 = 40, T2 = 200, and h′ = 0.01, the solution is
T = 73.4523e0.1x − 53.4523e−0.1x + 20

5. The Shooting Method

The shooting method is based on converting the boundary-value problem into an equivalent
initial-value problem. A trial-and-error approach is then implemented to solve the initial-value
version.
Convert the second order diff. eq. into first diff. eq.
𝑑𝑇
Let =𝑧
𝑑𝑥
𝑑2𝑇
= -h′(Ta − T)
𝑑𝑥 2

Then
𝑑𝑇
= 𝑓1 (𝑥, 𝑇, 𝑧) = 𝑧 𝑇(0) = 40°∁
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑧
= 𝑓2 (𝑥, 𝑇, 𝑧) = ℎ′(𝑇 − 𝑇𝑎 ) 𝐴𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑧(0) = 40°∁
𝑑𝑥

To solve these equations, we require an initial value for z. For the shooting method, we guess
a value—say, z (0) = 10. For example, using a fourth order RK method with a step size of 2.

By using m code
clear all;
fy=@(x,y,z) z;
fz=@(x,y,z) 0.01*(y-20);
x(1)=0;
z(1)=10;
y(1)=40;
h=2;
xfinal=10;
N=ceil((xfinal-x(1))/h);
for j=1:N
x(j+1)=x(j)+h;
k1y=fy(x(j),y(j),z(j));
k1z=fz(x(j),y(j),z(j));
k2y=fy(x(j)+h/2,y(j)+h/2*k1y,z(j)+h/2*k1z);
k2z=fz(x(j)+h/2,y(j)+h/2*k1y,z(j)+h/2*k1z);
SHOOTING METHOD IN SOLVING BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS

k3y=fy(x(j)+h/2,y(j)+h/2*k2y,z(j)+h/2*k2z);
k3z=fz(x(j)+h/2,y(j)+h/2*k2y,z(j)+h/2*k2z);
k4y=fy(x(j)+h,y(j)+h*k3y,z(j)+h*k3z);
k4z=fz(x(j)+h,y(j)+h*k3y,z(j)+h*k3z);

y(j+1)=y(j)+h/6*(k1y+2*k2y+2*k3y+k4y);

z(j+1)=z(j)+h/6*(k1z+2*k2z+2*k3z+k4z);

end
figure;
plot(x,y,'LineWidth',2);
xlabel('X');
fprintf('y z\n');
fprintf('%5.3f %11.7f\n', y, z);

We obtain a value at the end of the

interval of T(10) = 168.3797, which differs from
the boundary condition of T(10) = 200.
Therefore, we make another guess, z(0) = 20,
and perform the computation again. This time,
the result of T(10) = 285.8980 is obtained

Now, because the original ODE is linear,

the values
z (0) = 10 T (10) = 168.3797 and
z (0) = 20 T (10) = 285.8980

are linearly related. As such, they can be used to compute the value of z (0) that yields T (10)
= 200. A linear interpolation formula can be employed for this purpose:

𝑓(𝑥1)−𝑓(𝑥0)
f1 (x) =𝑓(𝑥0 ) + (𝑥 − 𝑥0)
𝑥1−𝑥0

20−10
z (0) =10 + (200 − 168.3797)= 12.6907
285.8980−168.3797

This value can then be used to determine the

correct solution
SHOOTING METHOD IN SOLVING BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS 5 of 7

The shooting method: (a) the first “shot,” (b) the second “shot,” and (c) the final exact “hit.

6. The Shooting Method Using MATLAB

We can do this with MATLAB’s ode45 function by first setting up an M-file to hold the
differential equations:

function cost=cost_function(Z0)

%parameters
Ta=20;
T0=40;
TL=200;
h=0.01;
Z0=10;

%initial condition
s0=[T0 Z0];

%domain and step

x0=0;
xL=10;

ode_system=@(t,s) [s(2); -h*(Ta-s(1))];

[xout,Tout]=ode45(ode_system, [x0 xL], s0)
cost=abs(Tout(end,1)-TL);
plot(xout,Tout)

There is another M-file

%%file shooting_rhs.m
function dydx = shooting_rhs(x, y)
dydx = zeros(2,1);
dydx(1) = y(2);
dydx(2) = 0.01*(y(1)-20);

clear all; clc

% target boundary condition
target = 200;
% Pick a guess for y'(0) of 1
guess1 = 10;
[X, Y] = ode45('shooting_rhs', [0 10], [40 guess1]);
solution1= Y(end,1);
fprintf('Solution 1: %5.2f\n', solution1);
% Pick a second guess for y'(0) of 4
guess2 = 20;
SHOOTING METHOD IN SOLVING BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS 6 of 7

[X, Y] = ode45('shooting_rhs', [0 10], [40 guess2]);

solution2 = Y(end,1);
fprintf('Solution 2: %5.2f\n', solution2);
% now use linear interpolation to find a new guess
m = (guess1 - guess2)/(solution1 - solution2);
guess3 = guess2 + m*(target-solution2);
fprintf('Guess 3: %5.2f\n', guess3);
[X, Y] = ode45('shooting_rhs', [0 10], [40 guess3]);
solution3 = Y(end,1);
fprintf('Solution 3: %5.2f\n', solution3);
fprintf('Target: %5.2f\n', target);
plot(X, Y(:,1)))

7. Conclusion
In this article, we discuss the shooting method to solve ordinary differential equations of
boundary value problems, in an efficient way. It has been implemented in numerous mathematical
tools and may be easily expanded to provide a solution method for practically any boundary value
problem based on its boundary conditions. We should anticipate that the shooting method can
play a significant role in the field of engineering and applied sciences when critical boundary value
problems of ODEs arise.
SHOOTING METHOD IN SOLVING BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS 7 of 7

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