The <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis>th-Best Approach for Linear Bilevel Multi-follower Programming

The majority of research on bilevel programming has centered on the linear version of the problem in which only one leader and one follower are involved. This paper addresses linear bilevel multi-follower programming (BLMFP) problems in which there is no sharing information among followers. It explores the theoretical properties of linear BLMFP, extends the Kth-best approach for solving linear BLMFP problems and gives a computational test for this approach.     

Fuzzy bilevel programming with multiple objectives and cooperative multiple followers

Classic bilevel programming deals with two level hierarchical optimization problems in which the leader attempts to optimize his/her objective, subject to a set of constraints and his/her follower’s solution. In modelling a real-world bilevel decision problem, some uncertain coefficients often appear in the objective functions and/or constraints of the leader and/or the follower. Also, the leader and the follower may have multiple conflicting objectives that should be optimized simultaneously. Furthermore, multiple followers may be involved in a decision problem and work cooperatively according to each of the possible decisions made by the leader, but with different objectives and/or constraints. Following our previous work, this study proposes a set of models to describe such fuzzy multi-objective, multi-follower (cooperative) bilevel programming problems. We then develop an approximation Kth-best algorithm to solve the problems.     

下层独立的一主多从双层随机线性规划问题研究

Herminia I.Calvete等研究了一主多从双层确定性线性规划问题,证明了这类问题等价于一类常规的双层线性规划问题.本文在此基础上,推广确定型的问题到随机型优化情况,考虑了一类下层优化相互独立的一主多从双层随机优化问题(SLBMFP).在特定的随机变量分布条件下,理论上证明了该类问题可以转化为一主一从双层确定性优化问题.本文的研究对于求解一主多从双层随机优化模型,解决此类模型在实际应用中的问题具有一定的意义.     

The computational complexity of bilevel assignment problems

In bilevel optimization problems there are two decision makers, the leader and the follower, who act in a hierarchy. Each decision maker has his own objective function, but there are common constraints. This paper deals with bilevel assignment problems where each decision maker controls a subset of edges and each edge has a leader’s and a follower’s weight. The edges selected by the leader and by the follower need to form a perfect matching. The task is to determine which edges the leader should choose such that his objective value which depends on the follower’s optimal reaction is maximized. We consider sum- and bottleneck objective functions for the leader and follower. Moreover, if not all optimal reactions of the follower lead to the same leader’s objective value, then the follower either chooses an optimal reaction which is best (optimistic rule) or worst (pessimistic rule) for the leader. We show that all the variants arising if the leader’s and follower’s objective functions are sum or bottleneck functions are NP-hard if the pessimistic rule is applied. In case of the optimistic rule the problem is shown to be NP-hard if at least one of the decision makers has a sum objective function.     

An efficient evolutionary algorithm for the ring star problem

This paper addresses the ring star problem (RSP). The goal is to locate a cycle through a subset of nodes of a network aiming to minimize the sum of the cost of installing facilities on the nodes on the cycle, the cost of connecting them and the cost of assigning the nodes not on the cycle to their closest node on the cycle. A fast and efficient evolutionary algorithm is developed which is based on a new formulation of the RSP as a bilevel programming problem with one leader and two independent followers. The leader decides which nodes to include in the ring, one follower decides about the connections of the cycle and the other follower decides about the assignment of the nodes not on the cycle. The bilevel approach leads to a new form of chromosome encoding in which genes are associated to values of the upper level variables. The quality of each chromosome is evaluated by its fitness, by means of the objective function of the RSP. Hence, in order to compute the value of the lower level variables, two optimization problems are solved for each chromosome. The computational results show the efficiency of the algorithm in terms of the quality of the solutions yielded and the computing time. A study to select the best configuration of the algorithm is presented. The algorithm is tested on a set of benchmark problems providing very accurate solutions within short computing times. Moreover, for one of the problems a new best solution is found.     

Bilevel linear programming with ambiguous objective function of the follower

Bilevel linear optimization problems are the linear optimization problems with two sequential decision steps of the leader and the follower. In this paper, we focus on the ambiguity of coefficients of the follower in his objective function that hinder the leader from exactly calculating the rational response of the follower. Under the assumption that the follower’s possible range of the ambiguous coefficient vector is known as a certain convex polytope, the leader can deduce the possible set of rational responses of the follower. The leader further assumes that the follower’s response is the worst-case scenario to his objective function, and then makes a decision according to the maximin criteria. We thus formulate the bilevel linear optimization problem with ambiguous objective function of the follower as a special kind of three-level programming problem. In our formulation, we show that the optimal solution locates on the extreme point and propose a solution method based on the enumeration of possible rational responses of the follower. A numerical example is used to illustrate our proposed computational method.     

Bundle Trust-Region Algorithm for Bilinear Bilevel Programming

The bilevel programming problem (BLPP) is equivalent to a two-person Stackelberg game in which the leader and follower pursue individual objectives. Play is sequential and the choices of one affect the choices and attainable payoffs of the other. The purpose of this paper is to investigate an extension of the linear BLPP where the objective functions of both players are bilinear. To overcome certain discontinuities in the master problem, a regularized term is added to the follower objective function. Using ideas from parametric programming, the generalized Jacobian and the pseudodifferential of the regularized follower solution function are computed. This allows us to develop a bundle trust-region algorithm. Convergence analysis of the proposed methodology is given.     

Solving Bilevel Linear Programs Using Multiple Objective Linear Programming

We present an algorithm for solving bilevel linear programs that uses simplex pivots on an expanded tableau. The algorithm uses the relationship between multiple objective linear programs and bilevel linear programs along with results for minimizing a linear objective over the efficient set for a multiple objective problem. Results in multiple objective programming needed are presented. We report computational experience demonstrating that this approach is more effective than a standard branch-and-bound algorithm when the number of leader variables is small.     

An algorithm for the mixed-integer nonlinear bilevel programming problem

The bilevel programming problem (BLPP) is a two-person nonzero sum game in which play is sequential and cooperation is not permitted. In this paper, we examine a class of BLPPs where the leader controls a set of continuous and discrete variables and tries to minimize a convex nonlinear objective function. The follower's objective function is a convex quadratic in a continuous decision space. All constraints are assumed to be linear. A branch and bound algorithm is developed that finds global optima. The main purpose of this paper is to identify efficient branching rules, and to determine the computational burden of the numeric procedures. Extensive test results are reported. We close by showing that it is not readily possible to extend the algorithm to the more general case involving integer follower variables.This work was supported by a grant from the Advanced Research Program of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.     

带有限反馈下层的二层规划问题的部分合作模型

对下层最优反馈为离散有限多个的二层规划问题的部分合作模型进行探讨. 当下层的合作程度依赖于上层的决策变量时, 给出一个确定合作系数函数的一般方法, 进而得到一个新的部分合作模型. 在适当地假设下, 可保证所给的部分合作模型一定可以找到比悲观解要好的解, 并结合新的部分合作模型对原不适定问题进行分析, 得到了一些有益的结论. 最后以实际算例说明了所给部分合作模型的可行性.     

The bilevel linear/linear fractional programming problem

Bilevel programming involves two optimization problems where the constraint region of the first level problem is implicitly determined by another optimization problem. In this paper we consider the bilevel linear/linear fractional programming problem in which the objective function of the first level is linear, the objective function of the second level is linear fractional and the feasible region is a polyhedron. For this problem we prove that an optimal solution can be found which is an extreme point of the polyhedron. Moreover, taking into account the relationship between feasible solutions to the problem and bases of the technological coefficient submatrix associated to variables of the second level, an enumerative algorithm is proposed that finds a global optimum to the problem.     

On the use of intersection cuts for bilevel optimization

We address a generic mixed-integer bilevel linear program (MIBLP), i.e., a bilevel optimization problem where all objective functions and constraints are linear, and some/all variables are required to take integer values. We first propose necessary modifications needed to turn a standard branch-and-bound MILP solver into an exact and finitely-convergent MIBLP solver, also addressing MIBLP unboundedness and infeasibility. As in other approaches from the literature, our scheme is finitely-convergent in case both the leader and the follower problems are pure integer. In addition, it is capable of dealing with continuous variables both in the leader and in follower problems—provided that the leader variables influencing follower’s decisions are integer and bounded. We then introduce new classes of linear inequalities to be embedded in this branch-and-bound framework, some of which are intersection cuts based on feasible-free convex sets. We present a computational study on various classes of benchmark instances available from the literature, in which we demonstrate that our approach outperforms alternative state-of-the-art MIBLP methods.     

On a class of bilevel linear mixed-integer programs in adversarial settings

We consider a class of bilevel linear mixed-integer programs (BMIPs), where the follower’s optimization problem is a linear program. A typical assumption in the literature for BMIPs is that the follower responds to the leader optimally, i.e., the lower-level problem is solved to optimality for a given leader’s decision. However, this assumption may be violated in adversarial settings, where the follower may be willing to give up a portion of his/her optimal objective function value, and thus select a suboptimal solution, in order to inflict more damage to the leader. To handle such adversarial settings we consider a modeling approach referred to as \(\alpha \)-pessimistic BMIPs. The proposed method naturally encompasses as its special classes pessimistic BMIPs and max–min (or min–max) problems. Furthermore, we extend this new modeling approach by considering strong-weak bilevel programs, where the leader is not certain if the follower is collaborative or adversarial, and thus attempts to make a decision by taking into account both cases via a convex combination of the corresponding objective function values. We study basic properties of the proposed models and provide numerical examples with a class of the defender–attacker problems to illustrate the derived results. We also consider some related computational complexity issues, in particular, with respect to optimistic and pessimistic bilevel linear programs.     

A discrete bilevel brain storm algorithm for solving a sales territory design problem: a case study

A sales territory design problem faced by a manufacturing company that supplies products to a group of customers located in a service region is addressed in this paper. The planning process of designing the territories has the objective to minimizing the total dispersion of the customers without exceeding a limited budget assigned to each territory. Once territories have been determined, a salesperson has to define the day-by-day routes to satisfy the demand of customers. Currently, the company has established a service level policy that aims to minimize total waiting times during the distribution process. Also, each territory is served by a single salesperson. A novel discrete bilevel optimization model for the sales territory design problem is proposed. This problem can be seen as a bilevel problem with a single leader and multiple independent followers, in which the leader’s problem corresponds to the design of territories (manager of the company), and the routing decision for each territory corresponds to each follower. The hierarchical nature of the current company’s decision-making process triggers some particular characteristics of the bilevel model. A brain storm algorithm that exploits these characteristics is proposed to solve the discrete bilevel problem. The main features of the proposed algorithm are that the workload is used to verify the feasibility and to cluster the leader’s solutions. In addition, four discrete mechanisms are used to generate new solutions, and an elite set of solutions is considered to reduce computational cost. This algorithm is used to solve a real case study, and the results are compared against the current solution given by the company. Results show a reduction of more than 20% in the current costs with the solution obtained by the proposed algorithm. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is performed, providing interesting managerial insights to improve the current operations of the company.     

Model and extended Kuhn–Tucker approach for bilevel multi-follower decision making in a referential-uncooperative situation

When multiple followers are involved in a bilevel decision problem, the leader’s decision will be affected, not only by the reactions of these followers, but also by the relationships among these followers. One of the popular situations within this bilevel multi-follower issue is where these followers are uncooperatively making their decisions while having cross reference to decision information of the other followers. This situation is called a referential-uncooperative situation in this paper. The well-known Kuhn–Tucker approach has been previously successfully applied to a one-leader-and-one-follower linear bilevel decision problem. This paper extends this approach to deal with the above-mentioned linear referential-uncooperative bilevel multi-follower decision problem. The paper first presents a decision model for this problem. It then proposes an extended Kuhn–Tucker approach to solve this problem. Finally, a numerical example illustrates the application of the extended Kuhn–Tucker approach.     

A decomposition approach to solve a bilevel capacitated facility location problem with equity constraints

In this paper, we study a capacitated facility location problem with two decision makers. One (say, the leader) decides on which subset of facilities to open and the capacity to be installed in each facility with the goal of minimizing the overall costs; the second decision maker (say, the follower), once the facilities have been designed, aims at maximizing the profit deriving from satisfying the demands of a given set of clients beyond a certain threshold imposed by the leader. The leader can foresee but cannot control the follower’s behavior. The resulting mathematical formulation is a discrete–continuous bilevel optimization problem. We propose a decomposition approach to cope with the bilevel structure of the problem and the integrality of a subset of variables under the control of the leader. Such a proposal has been tested on a set of benchmark instances available in the literature.     

Bilevel optimization applied to strategic pricing in competitive electricity markets

In this paper, we present a bilevel programming formulation for the problem of strategic bidding under uncertainty in a wholesale energy market (WEM), where the economic remuneration of each generator depends on the ability of its own management to submit price and quantity bids. The leader of the bilevel problem consists of one among a group of competing generators and the follower is the electric system operator. The capability of the agent represented by the leader to affect the market price is considered by the model. We propose two solution approaches for this non-convex problem. The first one is a heuristic procedure whose efficiency is confirmed through comparisons with the optimal solutions for some instances of the problem. These optimal solutions are obtained by the second approach proposed, which consists of a mixed integer reformulation of the bilevel model. The heuristic proposed is also compared to standard solvers for nonlinearly constrained optimization problems. The application of the procedures is illustrated in case studies with configurations derived from the Brazilian power system.     

An interval approach based on expectation optimization for fuzzy random bilevel linear programming problems

This paper considers a class of bilevel linear programming problems in which the coefficients of both objective functions are fuzzy random variables. The main idea of this paper is to introduce the Pareto optimal solution in a multi-objective bilevel programming problem as a solution for a fuzzy random bilevel programming problem. To this end, a stochastic interval bilevel linear programming problem is first introduced in terms of α-cuts of fuzzy random variables. On the basis of an order relation of interval numbers and the expectation optimization model, the stochastic interval bilevel linear programming problem can be transformed into a multi-objective bilevel programming problem which is solved by means of weighted linear combination technique. In order to compare different optimal solutions depending on different cuts, two criterions are given to provide the preferable optimal solutions for the upper and lower level decision makers respectively. Finally, a production planning problem is given to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.     

求解线性二层规划问题的多表旋转算法

多表旋转算法是一种基于旋转算法来求解线性二层规划问题的方法,通过表格组合还可以求解线性多层规划、以及线性一主多从有关联的stackelberg-nash均衡等问题,求解的思想是使用旋转算法,在多个主体间通过约束传递达到均衡。通过算例显示该方法可以迅速地算出局部最优解,如果问题的诱导域是连通的,还可以计算出全局最优解。     

Parametric global optimisation for bilevel programming

We propose a global optimisation approach for the solution of various classes of bilevel programming problems (BLPP) based on recently developed parametric programming algorithms. We first describe how we can recast and solve the inner (follower’s) problem of the bilevel formulation as a multi-parametric programming problem, with parameters being the (unknown) variables of the outer (leader’s) problem. By inserting the obtained rational reaction sets in the upper level problem the overall problem is transformed into a set of independent quadratic, linear or mixed integer linear programming problems, which can be solved to global optimality. In particular, we solve bilevel quadratic and bilevel mixed integer linear problems, with or without right-hand-side uncertainty. A number of examples are presented to illustrate the steps and details of the proposed global optimisation strategy.