Boundaries of the receding horizon control for interconnected systems

In recent years, the finite-horizon quadratic minimization problem has become popular in process control, where the horizon is constantly rolled back. In this paper, this type of control, which is also called the receding horizon control, is considered for interconnected systems. First, the receding horizon control equations are formulated; then, some stability conditions depending on the interconnection norms and the horizon lengths are presented. For -coupled systems, stability results similar to centralized systems are obtained. For interconnected systems which are not -coupled, the existence of a horizon length and a corresponding stabilizing receding horizon control are derived. Finally, the performance of a locally computed receding horizon control for time-invariant and time-varying systems with different updating intervals is examined in an example.     

Markov跳变系统滚动时域有限记忆控制

针对离散时间Markov跳变系统,提出滚动时域有限记忆控制的方法.在一段有限滤波时域上,利用系统输入与输出变量的线性组合构造一段有限控制时域上的输出反馈控制器.首先,不考虑跳变系统均方可镇定,基于最优控制的方法,获得以迭代计算形式给出的控制器,并使其在无偏条件下能优化二次型性能指标.其次,进一步考虑在成本衰减条件下确定终端加权矩阵,并以它作为边界条件计算得到最优控制律,调节系统均方稳定.为便于求解,成本衰减条件以线性矩阵不等式的形式给出.仿真实例验证了所提方法的可行性和有效性.     

Square indefinite LQ-problem: Existence of a unique solution

In this paper, we consider discrete-time systems. We study conditions under which there is a unique control that minimizes a general quadratic cost functional. The system considered is described by a linear time-invariant recurrence equation in which the number of inputs equals the number of states. The cost functional differs from the usual one considered in optimal control theory, in the sense that we do not assume that the weight matrices considered are semipositive definite. For both a finite planning horizon and an infinite horizon, necessary and sufficient solvability conditions are given. Furthermore, necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for the existence of a solution for an arbitrary finite planning horizon.The author dedicates this paper to the memory of his late grandfather Jacob Oosterwold.     

一类稳定的连续时间广义预测控制

引入无穷时域的1-范数性能指标,通过施加新的终端等式约束确定出无穷时域性能指标的一个上界,将不可解的优化问题转化为可解的优化问题,从而提出保证连续时间广义预测控制闭环稳定性的准无穷时域方法.仿真例子证明了算法的有效性.     

Risk-sensitive control of continuous time Markov chains

We study risk-sensitive control of continuous time Markov chains taking values in discrete state space. We study both finite and infinite horizon problems. In the finite horizon problem we characterize the value function via Hamilton Jacobi Bellman equation and obtain an optimal Markov control. We do the same for infinite horizon discounted cost case. In the infinite horizon average cost case we establish the existence of an optimal stationary control under certain Lyapunov condition. We also develop a policy iteration algorithm for finding an optimal control.     

Saddle-point equilibrium sequence in one class of singular infinite horizon zero-sum linear-quadratic differential games with state delays

ABSTRACT

We consider an infinite horizon zero-sum linear-quadratic differential game with state delays in the dynamics. The cost functional of this game does not contain a control cost of the minimizing player (the minimizer), meaning that the considered game is singular. For this game, definitions of the saddle-point equilibrium and the game value are proposed. These saddle-point equilibrium and game value are obtained by a regularization of the singular game. Namely, we associate this game with a new differential game for the same equation of dynamics. The cost functional in the new game is the sum of the original cost functional and an infinite horizon integral of the square of the minimizer's control with a small positive weight coefficient. This new game is regular, and it is a cheap control game. An asymptotic analysis of this cheap control game is carried out. Using this asymptotic analysis, the existence of the saddle-point equilibrium and the value of the original game is established, and their expressions are derived. Illustrative example is presented.     

A stochastic programming approach for planning horizons of infinite horizon capacity planning problems

Planning horizon is a key issue in production planning. Different from previous approaches based on Markov Decision Processes, we study the planning horizon of capacity planning problems within the framework of stochastic programming. We first consider an infinite horizon stochastic capacity planning model involving a single resource, linear cost structure, and discrete distributions for general stochastic cost and demand data (non-Markovian and non-stationary). We give sufficient conditions for the existence of an optimal solution. Furthermore, we study the monotonicity property of the finite horizon approximation of the original problem. We show that, the optimal objective value and solution of the finite horizon approximation problem will converge to the optimal objective value and solution of the infinite horizon problem, when the time horizon goes to infinity. These convergence results, together with the integrality of decision variables, imply the existence of a planning horizon. We also develop a useful formula to calculate an upper bound on the planning horizon. Then by decomposition, we show the existence of a planning horizon for a class of very general stochastic capacity planning problems, which have complicated decision structure.     

Hilbert空间中具无界控制的无限时区线性二次最优控制问题

本文研究了Hilbert空间中一类由解析半群支配的具无界控制的无限时区线性二次最优控制问题,其中指标中的控制项加权算子要求强制而状态项加权算子可允许为不定号.在指数能稳条件下,证明了任意的最优控制及其最优轨线必定连续,建立了正实引理作为此问题唯一可解的充要条件,并用代数Riccati方程的解给出了最优控制的闭环综合。     

Optimal policy for a two-facility inventory problem with storage constraints and two freight modes

This paper considers a two-facility supply chain for a single product in which facility 1 orders the product from facility 2 and facility 2 orders the product from a supplier in each period. The orders placed by each facility are delivered in two possible nonnegative integer numbers of periods. The difference between them is one period. Random demands in each period arise only at facility 1. There are physical storage constraints at both facilities in each period. The objective of the supply chain is to find an ordering policy that minimizes the expected cost over a finite horizon and the discounted stationary expected cost over an infinite horizon. We characterize the structure of the minimum expected cost and the optimal ordering policy for both the finite and the discounted stationary infinite horizon problems.     

A rolling horizon approach for disruption management of railway rolling stock

This paper deals with real-time disruption management of rolling stock in passenger railway transportation. We describe a generic framework for dealing with disruptions of railway rolling stock schedules. The framework is presented as an online combinatorial decision problem, where the uncertainty of a disruption is modeled by a sequence of information updates. To decompose the problem and to reduce the computation time, we propose a rolling horizon approach: rolling stock decisions are only considered if they are within a certain time horizon from the time of rescheduling. The schedules are then revised as time progresses and new information becomes available. We extend an existing model for rolling stock scheduling to the specific requirements of the real-time situation, and we apply it in the rolling horizon framework. We perform computational tests on instances constructed from real-life cases of Netherlands Railways (NS), the main operator of passenger trains in the Netherlands. We explore the consequences of different settings of the approach for the trade-off between solution quality and computation time.     

Application of doubly reflected BSDEs to an impulse control problem

We establish existence results for adapted solutions of infinite horizon backward stochastic differential equations with two reflected barriers. We also apply these results to get the existence of an optimal impulse control strategy for the infinite horizon impulse control problem. The properties of the Snell envelope reduce our problem to the existence of a pair of continuous processes.     

Efficient robust optimization for robust control with constraints

This paper proposes an efficient computational technique for the optimal control of linear discrete-time systems subject to bounded disturbances with mixed linear constraints on the states and inputs. The problem of computing an optimal state feedback control policy, given the current state, is non-convex. A recent breakthrough has been the application of robust optimization techniques to reparameterize this problem as a convex program. While the reparameterized problem is theoretically tractable, the number of variables is quadratic in the number of stages or horizon length N and has no apparent exploitable structure, leading to computational time of per iteration of an interior-point method. We focus on the case when the disturbance set is ∞-norm bounded or the linear map of a hypercube, and the cost function involves the minimization of a quadratic cost. Here we make use of state variables to regain a sparse problem structure that is related to the structure of the original problem, that is, the policy optimization problem may be decomposed into a set of coupled finite horizon control problems. This decomposition can then be formulated as a highly structured quadratic program, solvable by primal-dual interior-point methods in which each iteration requires time. This cubic iteration time can be guaranteed using a Riccati-based block factorization technique, which is standard in discrete-time optimal control. Numerical results are presented, using a standard sparse primal-dual interior point solver, that illustrate the efficiency of this approach.     

Almost sure optimality and optimality in probability for stochastic linear-quadratic regulator with partial information

Partially observed linear-quadratic regulator is considered over an infinite time horizon. A limiting per unit time inequality is proved for the random difference between the cost corresponding to the feedback control based on Kalman filter estimates and the cost corresponding to an alternative control. Under suitable assumptions of admissibility for a control, it is shown that the feedback control mentioned above is asymptotically optimal almost surely and in probability     

Three kinds of horizon-like hypersurface of a uniformly accelerating, non-stationary charged black hole

Three kinds of horizon-like hypersurface of a uniformly rectilinearly accelerating, non-stationary charged black hole: event horizon, apparent horizon and time-like limit surface are studied. The result is that the event horizon is apart from the time-like limit surface and the apparent horizon in the case where the black hole is charged, uniformly accelerating and its mass is varying (evaporating and accreting). Some other new results are also given. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Necessary conditions of Pareto optimality for multiobjective optimal control problems under constraints

This paper studies multiobjective optimal control problems in presence of constraints in the discrete time framework. Both the finite- and infinite-horizon settings are considered. The paper provides necessary conditions of Pareto optimality under lighter smoothness assumptions compared to the previously obtained results. These conditions are given in the form of weak and strong Pontryagin principles which generalize the existing ones. To obtain some of these results, we provide new multiplier rules for multiobjective static optimization problems and new Pontryagin principles for the finite horizon multiobjective optimal control problems.     

Algorithms for solving discrete optimal control problems with infinite time horizon and determining minimal mean cost cycles in a directed graph as decision support tool

Time-discrete systems with a finite set of states are considered. Discrete optimal control problems with infinite time horizon for such systems are formulated. We introduce a certain graph-theoretic structure to model the transitions of the dynamical system. Algorithms for finding the optimal stationary control parameters are presented. Furthermore, we determine the optimal mean cost cycles. This approach can be used as a decision support strategy within such a class of problems; especially so-called multilayered decision problems which occur within environmental emission trading procedures can be modelled by such an approach.     

An Infinite Horizon Linear Quadratic Problem with Unbounded Controls in Hilbert Space

An infinite horizon linear quadratic optimal control problem for analytic semigroup with unbounded control in Hilbert space is considered. The state weight operator is allowed to be indefinite while the control weight operator is coercive. Under the exponential stabilization condition, it is proved that any optimal control and its optimal trajectory are continuous. The positive real lemma as a necessary and sufficient condition for the unique solvability of this problem is established. The closed-loop synthesis of optimal control is given via the solution to the algebraic Riccati equation. This work is partially supported by the National Key Project of China, the National Nature Science Foundation of China No. 19901030, NSF of the Chinese State Education Ministry and Lab. of Math. for Nonlinear Sciences at Fudan University     

A deterministic,multi-item inventory model with supplier selection and imperfect quality

This paper considers the scenario of supply chain with multiple products and multiple suppliers, all of which have limited capacity. We assume that received items from suppliers are not of perfect quality. Items of imperfect quality, not necessarily defective, could be used in another inventory situation. Imperfect items are sold as a single batch, prior to receiving the next shipment, at a discounted price. The demand over a finite planning horizon is known, and an optimal procurement strategy for this multi-period horizon is to be determined. Each of products can be sourced from a set of approved suppliers, a supplier-dependent transaction cost applies for each period in which an order is placed on a supplier. A product-dependent holding cost per period applies for each product in the inventory that is carried across a period in the planning horizon. Also a maximum storage space for the buyer in each period is considered. The decision maker, the buyer, needs to decide what products to order, in what quantities, with which suppliers, and in which periods. Finally, a genetic algorithm (GA) is used to solve the model.     

Pontryagin Type Maximum Principle for budget-constrained infinite horizon optimal control problems with linear dynamics

In this paper a class of infinite horizon optimal control problems with an isoperimetrical constraint, also interpreted as a budget constraint, is considered. Herein a linear both in the state and in the control dynamic is allowed. The problem setting includes a weighted Sobolev space as the state space. For this class of problems, we establish the necessary optimality conditions in form of a Pontryagin Type Maximum Principle including a transversality condition. The proved theoretical result is applied to a linear–quadratic regulator problem.     

Degeneracy in infinite horizon optimization

We consider sequential decision problems over an infinite horizon. The forecast or solution horizon approach to solving such problems requires that the optimal initial decision be unique. We show that multiple optimal initial decisions can exist in general and refer to their existence as degeneracy. We then present a conceptual cost perturbation algorithm for resolving degeneracy and identifying a forecast horizon. We also present a general near-optimal forecast horizon.This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants ECS-8409682 and ECS-8700836.