A new fuzzy multi-objective programming: Entropy based geometric programming and its application of transportation problems

In this paper, we introduce a fuzzy mathematical programming with generalized fuzzy number as objective coefficients. We also examine a transportation problem with additional restriction. There is an additional entropy objective function in the transportation problem besides transportation cost objective function. Using new fuzzy mathematical programming, this multi-objective entropy transportation problem with generalized trapezoidal fuzzy number costs has been reduced to a primal geometric programming problem. Pareto optimal solution of the transportation model is found. Numerical examples have been provided to illustrate the problem.     

Using a Hybrid Genetic-Algorithm/Branch and Bound Approach to Solve Feasibility and Optimization Integer Programming Problems

The satisfiability problem in forms such as maximum satisfiability (MAX-SAT) remains a hard problem. The most successful approaches for solving such problems use a form of systematic tree search. This paper describes the use of a hybrid algorithm, combining genetic algorithms and integer programming branch and bound approaches, to solve MAX-SAT problems. Such problems are formulated as integer programs and solved by a hybrid algorithm implemented within standard mathematical programming software. Computational testing of the algorithm, which mixes heuristic and exact approaches, is described.     

互补约束数学规划问题的一个广义梯度投影罚算法

结合罚函数思想和广义梯度投影技术,提出求解非线性互补约束数学规划问题的一个广义梯度投影罚算法.首先,通过扰动技术和广义互补函数,将原问题转化为序列带参数的近似的标准非线性规划;其次,利用广义梯度投影矩阵构造搜索方向的显式表达式.一个特殊的罚函数作为效益函数,而且搜索方向能保证效益函数的下降性.在适当的假设条件下算法具有全局收敛性.     

Decision-dependent probabilities in stochastic programs with recourse

Stochastic programming with recourse usually assumes uncertainty to be exogenous. Our work presents modelling and application of decision-dependent uncertainty in mathematical programming including a taxonomy of stochastic programming recourse models with decision-dependent uncertainty. The work includes several ways of incorporating direct or indirect manipulation of underlying probability distributions through decision variables in two-stage stochastic programming problems. Two-stage models are formulated where prior probabilities are distorted through an affine transformation or combined using a convex combination of several probability distributions. Additionally, we present models where the parameters of the probability distribution are first-stage decision variables. The probability distributions are either incorporated in the model using the exact expression or by using a rational approximation. Test instances for each formulation are solved with a commercial solver, BARON, using selective branching.     

Nonlinear programming using minimax techniques

A minimax approach to nonlinear programming is presented. The original nonlinear programming problem is formulated as an unconstrained minimax problem. Under reasonable restrictions, it is shown that a point satisfying the necessary conditions for a minimax optimum also satisfies the Kuhn-Tucker necessary conditions for the original problem. A leastpth type of objective function for minimization with extremely large values ofp is proposed to solve the problem. Several numerical examples compare the present approach with the well-known SUMT method of Fiacco and McCormick. In both cases, a recent minimization algorithm by Fletcher is used.This paper is based on work presented at the 5th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1972. The authors are greatly indebted to V. K. Jha for his programming assistance and J. H. K. Chen who obtained some of the numerical results. This work was supported in part by the National Research Council of Canada under Grant No. A7239, by a Frederick Gardner Cottrell Grant from the Research Corporation, and through facilities and support from the Communications Research Laboratory of McMaster University.     

Posynomial geometric programming with interval exponents and coefficients

Geometric programming provides a powerful tool for solving nonlinear problems where nonlinear relations can be well presented by an exponential or power function. In the real world, many applications of geometric programming are engineering design problems in which some of the problem parameters are estimates of actual values. This paper develops a solution method when the exponents in the objective function, the cost and the constraint coefficients, and the right-hand sides are imprecise and represented as interval data. Since the parameters of the problem are imprecise, the objective value should be imprecise as well. A pair of two-level mathematical programs is formulated to obtain the upper bound and lower bound of the objective values. Based on the duality theorem and by applying a variable separation technique, the pair of two-level mathematical programs is transformed into a pair of ordinary one-level geometric programs. Solving the pair of geometric programs produces the interval of the objective value. The ability of calculating the bounds of the objective value developed in this paper might help lead to more realistic modeling efforts in engineering optimization areas.     

Saddle-Point Criteria in an η-Approximation Method for Nonlinear Mathematical Programming Problems Involving Invex Functions

In this paper, the η-approximation method introduced by Antczak (Ref. 1) for solving a nonlinear constrained mathematical programming problem involving invex functions with respect to the same function η is extended. In this method, a so-called η-approximated optimization problem associated with the original mathematical programming problems is constructed; moreover, an η-saddle point and an η-Lagrange function are defined. By the help of the constructed η-approximated optimization problem, saddle-point criteria are obtained for the original mathematical programming problem. The equivalence between an η-saddle point of the η-Lagrangian of the associated η-approximated optimization problem and an optimal solution in the original mathematical programming problem is established.     

Optimized pump scheduling in water distribution systems

A method based on nonlinear programming for determining the optimal operation of general water distribution systems containing multiple sources and reservoirs is presented. The problem is formulated and solved so that, given the forecasted demands for the coming 24 hours, the initial and final conditions in the reservoirs, the unit and maximum demand electricity charge, and the constraints in the hydraulic properties of all system components, an optimized pumping schedule is found. An optimization algorithm which employs the generalized reduced gradient method and the nonlinear sensitivity analysis has been developed for a basic scheduling problem in which only unit charges are considered. The maximum demand charge, which is weighted by varying degrees from day to day, is incorporated into the scheduling problem. The algorithm uses a feasible initial solution as the starting solution and iterates so that all the interim solutions are feasible.The work described here was undertaken at Brunel University and the University of Durham, UK. The authors are grateful to SERC for dunding the project and also thank Professor Uri Shamir, Department of Civil Engineering, Israel Institute of Technology for his review and many useful comments.     

On solving general reverse convex programming problems by a sequence of linear programs and line searches

Many multiextremal global optimization problems can be formulated as problems of minimizing a linear function over the intersection of a convex set with the complement of a convex set (so-called canonical d.c. programs or general reverse convex programming problems). In this paper it is shown that these general reverse convex programming problems can be solved by a sequence of linear programs and univariate convex minimization problems (line searches).Parts of the present paper were accomplished while this author was on leave at the University of Trier as a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation.     

Acceleration of the leastpth algorithm for minimax optimization with engineering applications

Over the past few years a number of researchers in mathematical programming and engineering became very interested in both the theoretical and practical applications of minimax optimization. The purpose of the present paper is to present a new method of solving the minimax optimization problem and at the same time to apply it to nonlinear programming and to three practical engineering problems. The original problem is defined as a modified leastpth objective function which under certain conditions has the same optimum as the original problem. The advantages of the present approach over the Bandler-Charalambous leastpth approach are similar to the advantages of the augmented Lagrangians approach for nonlinear programming over the standard penalty methods.This work was supported by the National Research Council of Canada under Grant A4414, and from the University of Waterloo.     

Global optimization for the sum of generalized polynomial fractional functions

In this paper, a branch and bound approach is proposed for global optimization problem (P) of the sum of generalized polynomial fractional functions under generalized polynomial constraints, which arises in various practical problems. Due to its intrinsic difficulty, less work has been devoted to globally solving this problem. By utilizing an equivalent problem and some linear underestimating approximations, a linear relaxation programming problem of the equivalent form is obtained. Consequently, the initial non-convex nonlinear problem (P) is reduced to a sequence of linear programming problems through successively refining the feasible region of linear relaxation problem. The proposed algorithm is convergent to the global minimum of the primal problem by means of the solutions to a series of linear programming problems. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm is feasible and can successfully be used to solve the present problem (P).     

An elementary proof of the maximum principle for optimal control problems governed by a Volterra integral equation

An elementary proof of the maximum principle for optimal control problems whose states are governed by Volterra integral equations is given. Our proof is motivated by the work of Michel (Ref. 7) and utilizes only elementary results from analysis and mathematical programming. By appealing to Pontryagin-type perturbations of the controls, the above optimal control problem is effectively reduced to a mathematical programming problem. The results are then obtained by appealing to well-known mathematical programming results.     

Generalized Benders decomposition

J. F. Benders devised a clever approach for exploiting the structure of mathematical programming problems withcomplicating variables (variables which, when temporarily fixed, render the remaining optimization problem considerably more tractable). For the class of problems specifically considered by Benders, fixing the values of the complicating variables reduces the given problem to an ordinary linear program, parameterized, of course, by the value of the complicating variables vector. The algorithm he proposed for finding the optimal value of this vector employs a cutting-plane approach for building up adequate representations of (i) the extremal value of the linear program as a function of the parameterizing vector and (ii) the set of values of the parameterizing vector for which the linear program is feasible. Linear programming duality theory was employed to derive the natural families ofcuts characterizing these representations, and the parameterized linear program itself is used to generate what are usuallydeepest cuts for building up the representations.In this paper, Benders' approach is generalized to a broader class of programs in which the parametrized subproblem need no longer be a linear program. Nonlinear convex duality theory is employed to derive the natural families of cuts corresponding to those in Benders' case. The conditions under which such a generalization is possible and appropriate are examined in detail. An illustrative specialization is made to the variable factor programming problem introduced by R. Wilson, where it offers an especially attractive approach. Preliminary computational experience is given.Communicated by A. V. BalakrishnanAn earlier version was presented at the Nonlinear Programming Symposium at the University of Wisconsin sponsored by the Mathematics Research Center, US Army, May 4–6, 1970. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. GP-8740.     

Optimality conditions using sum-convex approximations

The purpose of this paper is to give necessary and sufficient conditions of optimality for a general mathematical programming problem, using not a linear approximation to the constraint function but an approximation possessing certain convexity properties. Such approximations are called sum-convex. Theorems of the alternative involving sum-convex functions are also presented as part of the proof.This work is part of the author's PhD Thesis under the supervision of Professor S. Zlobec at McGill University.     

Semi-Infinite Programming Approach to Continuously-Constrained Linear-Quadratic Optimal Control Problems

Consider the class of linear-quadratic (LQ) optimal control problems with continuous linear state constraints, that is, constraints imposed on every instant of the time horizon. This class of problems is known to be difficult to solve numerically. In this paper, a computational method based on a semi-infinite programming approach is given. The LQ optimal control problem is formulated as a positive-quadratic infinite programming problem. This can be done by considering the control as the decision variable, while taking the state as a function of the control. After parametrizing the decision variable, an approximate quadratic semi-infinite programming problem is obtained. It is shown that, as we refine the parametrization, the solution sequence of the approximate problems converges to the solution of the infinite programming problem (hence, to the solution of the original optimal control problem). Numerically, the semi-infinite programming problems obtained above can be solved efficiently using an algorithm based on a dual parametrization method.     

Robust duality for generalized convex programming problems under data uncertainty

In this paper we present a robust duality theory for generalized convex programming problems in the face of data uncertainty within the framework of robust optimization. We establish robust strong duality for an uncertain nonlinear programming primal problem and its uncertain Lagrangian dual by showing strong duality between the deterministic counterparts: robust counterpart of the primal model and the optimistic counterpart of its dual problem. A robust strong duality theorem is given whenever the Lagrangian function is convex. We provide classes of uncertain non-convex programming problems for which robust strong duality holds under a constraint qualification. In particular, we show that robust strong duality is guaranteed for non-convex quadratic programming problems with a single quadratic constraint with the spectral norm uncertainty under a generalized Slater condition. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the nature of robust duality for uncertain nonlinear programming problems. We further show that robust duality continues to hold under a weakened convexity condition.     

一类特殊二维0-1规划的广义指派模型求解

二维0-1整数规划模型应用广泛,对广义指派问题的研究,解决了一些二维0-1整数规划问题.但有些实际问题具有特殊上限约束,目前还没有对应的方法.针对该实际情形,本文建立了相应的数学模型,利用对指派模型的推广,求得问题最优解,从理论上解决了这一类特殊约束二维0-1整数规划的最优解求取问题.并通过算例说明了方法的使用.     

On optimality and duality theorems of nonlinear disjunctive fractional minmax programs

This paper is concerned with the study of optimality conditions for disjunctive fractional minmax programming problems in which the decision set can be considered as a union of a family of convex sets. Dinkelbach’s global optimization approach for finding the global maximum of the fractional programming problem is discussed. Using the Lagrangian function definition for this type of problem, the Kuhn–Tucker saddle point and stationary-point problems are established. In addition, via the concepts of Mond–Weir type duality and Schaible type duality, a general dual problem is formulated and some weak, strong and converse duality theorems are proven.     

A global optimization using linear relaxation for generalized geometric programming

Many local optimal solution methods have been developed for solving generalized geometric programming (GGP). But up to now, less work has been devoted to solving global optimization of (GGP) problem due to the inherent difficulty. This paper considers the global minimum of (GGP) problems. By utilizing an exponential variable transformation and the inherent property of the exponential function and some other techniques the initial nonlinear and nonconvex (GGP) problem is reduced to a sequence of linear programming problems. The proposed algorithm is proven that it is convergent to the global minimum through the solutions of a series of linear programming problems. Test results indicate that the proposed algorithm is extremely robust and can be used successfully to solve the global minimum of (GGP) on a microcomputer.     

Robust scheduling of parallel machines with sequence-dependent set-up costs

In this paper we propose a robust approach for solving the scheduling problem of parallel machines with sequence-dependent set-up costs. In the literature, several mathematical models and solution methods have been proposed to solve such scheduling problems, but most of which are based on the strong assumption that input data are known in a deterministic way. In this paper, a fuzzy mathematical programming model is formulated by taking into account the uncertainty in processing times to provide the optimal solution as a trade-off between total set-up cost and robustness in demand satisfaction. The proposed approach requires the solution of a non-linear mixed integer programming (NLMIP), that can be formulated as an equivalent mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model. The resulting MILP model in real applications could be intractable due to its NP-hardness. Therefore, we propose a solution method technique, based on the solution of an approximated model, whose dimension is remarkably reduced with respect to the original counterpart. Numerical experiments conducted on the basis of data taken from a real application show that the average deviation of the reduced model solution over the optimum is less than 1.5%.