Penalty functions,Newton's method,and quadratic programming

In this paper, the search directions computed by two versions of the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm are compared with that computed by attempting to minimize a quadratic penalty function by Newton's method, and it is shown that the differences are attributable to ignoring certain terms in the equation for the Newton correction. Since the effect of ignoring these terms may be to make the resultant direction a poor descent direction for the quadratic penalty function, it is argued that the latter is an inappropriate merit function for use with SQP. A method is then suggested by which these terms may be included without losing the benefits gained from the use of the orthogonal transformations derived from the constraints Jacobian.The authors wish to thank A. R. Conn and N. I. M. Gould for spirited discussions which took place when the second author spent some time at Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; they also thank L. C. W. Dixon for the clarifications that he suggested to the penultimate draft of this paper.     

A gradient projection-multiplier method for nonlinear programming

This paper describes a gradient projection-multiplier method for solving the general nonlinear programming problem. The algorithm poses a sequence of unconstrained optimization problems which are solved using a new projection-like formula to define the search directions. The unconstrained minimization of the augmented objective function determines points where the gradient of the Lagrangian function is zero. Points satisfying the constraints are located by applying an unconstrained algorithm to a penalty function. New estimates of the Lagrange multipliers and basis constraints are made at points satisfying either a Lagrangian condition or a constraint satisfaction condition. The penalty weight is increased only to prevent cycling. The numerical effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated on a set of test problems.The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful suggestions of W. H. Ailor, J. L. Searcy, and D. A. Schermerhorn during the preparation of this paper. The author would also like to thank D. M. Himmelblau for supplying a number of interesting test problems.     

An RQP algorithm using a differentiable exact penalty function for inequality constrained problems

In this paper we propose a recursive quadratic programming algorithm for nonlinear programming problems with inequality constraints that uses as merit function a differentiable exact penalty function. The algorithm incorporates an automatic adjustment rule for the selection of the penalty parameter and makes use of an Armijo-type line search procedure that avoids the need to evaluate second order derivatives of the problem functions. We prove that the algorithm possesses global and superlinear convergence properties. Numerical results are reported.     

Inexact-Restoration Algorithm for Constrained Optimization1

We introduce a new model algorithm for solving nonlinear programming problems. No slack variables are introduced for dealing with inequality constraints. Each iteration of the method proceeds in two phases. In the first phase, feasibility of the current iterate is improved; in second phase, the objective function value is reduced in an approximate feasible set. The point that results from the second phase is compared with the current point using a nonsmooth merit function that combines feasibility and optimality. This merit function includes a penalty parameter that changes between consecutive iterations. A suitable updating procedure for this penalty parameter is included by means of which it can be increased or decreased along consecutive iterations. The conditions for feasibility improvement at the first phase and for optimality improvement at the second phase are mild, and large-scale implementation of the resulting method is possible. We prove that, under suitable conditions, which do not include regularity or existence of second derivatives, all the limit points of an infinite sequence generated by the algorithm are feasible, and that a suitable optimality measure can be made as small as desired. The algorithm is implemented and tested against the LANCELOT algorithm using a set of hard-spheres problems.     

SEQUENTIAL QUADRATIC PROGRAMMING METHODS FOR OPTIMAL CONTROL PROBLEMS WITH STATE CONSTRAINTS

A Kind of direct methods is presented for the solution of optimal control problems with state constraints.These methods are sequential quadratic programming methods.At every iteration a quadratic programming which is obtained by quadratic approximation to Lagrangian function and Linear approximations to constraints is solved to get a search direction for a merit function.The merit function is formulated by augmenting the Lagrangian funetion with a penalty term.A line search is carried out along the search direction to determine a step length such that the merit function is decreased.The methods presented in this paper include continuous sequential quadratic programming methods and discreate sequential quadrade programming methods.     

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.     

A Superlinearly Convergent SSLE Algorithm for Optimization Problems with Linear Complementarity Constraints

In this paper we study a special kind of optimization problems with linear complementarity constraints. First, by a generalized complementarity function and perturbed technique, the discussed problem is transformed into a family of general nonlinear optimization problems containing parameters. And then, using a special penalty function as a merit function, we establish a sequential systems of linear equations (SSLE) algorithm. Three systems of equations solved at each iteration have the same coefficients. Under some suitable conditions, the algorithm is proved to possess not only global convergence, but also strong and superlinear convergence. At the end of the paper, some preliminary numerical experiments are reported.     

使用非单调线搜索正割方法解约束优化的整体收敛性

基于Powell和Yuan所建议的近似Fetcher罚函数作为函数使用单调线搜索的技术,本文提供了一类正割方法解约束优化。在合理的条件下,证明了所提供的算法的整体收敛性和收敛速率。     

Convergence of an Interior Point Algorithm for Continuous Minimax

We propose an algorithm for the constrained continuous minimax problem. The algorithm uses a quasi-Newton search direction, based on subgradient information, conditional on maximizers. The initial problem is transformed to an equivalent equality constrained problem, where the logarithmic barrier function is used to ensure feasibility. In the case of multiple maximizers, the algorithm adopts semi-infinite programming iterations toward epiconvergence. Satisfaction of the equality constraints is ensured by an adaptive quadratic penalty function. The algorithm is augmented by a discrete minimax procedure to compute the semi-infinite programming steps and ensure overall progress when required by the adaptive penalty procedure. Progress toward the solution is maintained using merit functions.     

A primal–dual augmented Lagrangian penalty-interior-point filter line search algorithm

Interior-point methods have been shown to be very efficient for large-scale nonlinear programming. The combination with penalty methods increases their robustness due to the regularization of the constraints caused by the penalty term. In this paper a primal–dual penalty-interior-point algorithm is proposed, that is based on an augmented Lagrangian approach with an \(\ell 2\)-exact penalty function. Global convergence is maintained by a combination of a merit function and a filter approach. Unlike the majority of filter methods, no separate feasibility restoration phase is required. The algorithm has been implemented within the solver WORHP to study different penalty and line search options and to compare its numerical performance to two other state-of-the-art nonlinear programming algorithms, the interior-point method IPOPT and the sequential quadratic programming method of WORHP.     

A new penalty-free-type algorithm based on trust region techniques

In this paper, we propose a new penalty-free-type method for nonlinear equality constrained problems. The new algorithm uses trust region framework and feasibility safeguarding technique. Moreover, it has no choice of penalty parameter and penalty function as a merit function, and it does not use the filter technique to avoid the penalty function either. We analyze the global convergence of the main algorithm under the standard assumptions. The preliminary numerical tests are reported.     

Generalized stationary points and an interior-point method for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints

Generalized stationary points of the mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) are studied to better describe the limit points produced by interior point methods for MPEC. A primal-dual interior-point method is then proposed, which solves a sequence of relaxed barrier problems derived from MPEC. Global convergence results are deduced under fairly general conditions other than strict complementarity or the linear independence constraint qualification for MPEC (MPEC-LICQ). It is shown that every limit point of the generated sequence is a strong stationary point of MPEC if the penalty parameter of the merit function is bounded. Otherwise, a point with certain stationarity can be obtained. Preliminary numerical results are reported, which include a case analyzed by Leyffer for which the penalty interior-point algorithm failed to find a stationary point.Mathematics Subject Classification (1991):90C30, 90C33, 90C55, 49M37, 65K10     

Algorithms for parametric nonconvex programming

In this paper, we consider a general family of nonconvex programming problems. All of the objective functions of the problems in this family are identical, but their feasibility regions depend upon a parameter . This family of problems is called a parametric nonconvex program (PNP). Solving (PNP) means finding an optimal solution for every program in the family. A prototype branch-and-bound algorithm is presented for solving (PNP). By modifying a prototype algorithm for solving a single nonconvex program, this algorithm solves (PNP) in one branch-and-bound search. To implement the algorithm, certain compact partitions and underestimating functions must be formed in an appropriate manner. We present an algorithm for solving a particular (PNP) which implements the prototype algorithm by forming compact partitions and underestimating functions based upon rules given by Falk and Soland. The programs in this (PNP) have the same concave objective function, but their feasibility regions are described by linear constraints with differing right-hand sides. Computational experience with this algorithm is reported for various problems.The author would like to thank Professors R. M. Soland, T. L. Morin, and P. L. Yu for their helpful comments. Thanks also go to two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments concerning an earlier version of this paper.     

Path-following proximal approach for solving Ill-posed convex semi-infinite programming problems

For a class of ill-posed, convex semi-infinite programming problems, a regularized path-following strategy is developed. This approach consists in a coordinated application of adaptive discretization and prox-regularization procedures combined with a penalty method. At each iteration, only an approximate minimum of a strongly convex differentiable function has to be calculated, and this can be done by any fast-convergent algorithm. The use of prox-regularization ensures the convergence of the iterates to some solution of the original problem. Due to regularization, an efficient deleting rule is applicable, which excludes an essential part of the constraints in the discretized problems.This research was supported by the German Research Society (DFG).The authors are grateful to the anonymous referees for their valuable comments.     

A null-space primal-dual interior-point algorithm for nonlinear optimization with nice convergence properties

We present a null-space primal-dual interior-point algorithm for solving nonlinear optimization problems with general inequality and equality constraints. The algorithm approximately solves a sequence of equality constrained barrier subproblems by computing a range-space step and a null-space step in every iteration. The ℓ₂ penalty function is taken as the merit function. Under very mild conditions on range-space steps and approximate Hessians, without assuming any regularity, it is proved that either every limit point of the iterate sequence is a Karush-Kuhn-Tucker point of the barrier subproblem and the penalty parameter remains bounded, or there exists a limit point that is either an infeasible stationary point of minimizing the ℓ ₂ norm of violations of constraints of the original problem, or a Fritz-John point of the original problem. In addition, we analyze the local convergence properties of the algorithm, and prove that by suitably controlling the exactness of range-space steps and selecting the barrier parameter and Hessian approximation, the algorithm generates a superlinearly or quadratically convergent step. The conditions on guaranteeing that all slack variables are still positive for a full step are presented.     

Convergence to a second-order point of a trust-region algorithm with a nonmonotonic penalty parameter for constrained optimization

In a recent paper (Ref. 1), the author proposed a trust-region algorithm for solving the problem of minimizing a nonlinear function subject to a set of equality constraints. The main feature of the algorithm is that the penalty parameter in the merit function can be decreased whenever it is warranted. He studied the behavior of the penalty parameter and proved several global and local convergence results. One of these results is that there exists a subsequence of the iterates generated by the algorithm that converges to a point that satisfies the first-order necessary conditions.In the current paper, we show that, for this algorithm, there exists a subsequence of iterates that converges to a point that satisfies both the first-order and the second-order necessary conditions.This research was supported by the Rice University Center for Research on Parallel Computation, Grant R31853, and the REDI Foundation.     

A numerical study of augmented penalty function algorithms for terminally constrained optimal control problems

Three augmented penalty function algorithms are tested and compared with an ordinary penalty function algorithm for two demonstration optimal control problems. Although the augmented penalty function is quite helpful in solving control problems with terminal state constraints, the convergence can be improved significantly by providing systematic increases in the penalty constant.     

仿射内点既约投影Hessian算法解非线性约束优化

本文结合非单调内点回代技术,提供了新的仿射信赖域方法解含有非负变量约束和非线性等式约束的优化问题.为求解大规模问题,采用等式约束的Jacobian矩阵的QR分解和两块校正的双边既约Hessian矩阵投影,将问题分解成零空间和值空间两个信赖域子问题.零空间的子问题为通常二次目标函数只带椭球约束的信赖域子问题,而值空间的子问题使用满足信赖域约束参数的值空间投影向量方向.通过引入Fletcher罚函数作为势函数,将由两个子问题结合信赖域策略构成的合成方向,并使用非单调线搜索技术回代于可接受的非负约束内点步长.在合理的条件下,算法具有整体收敛性且两块校正的双边既约Hessian投影法将保持超线性收敛速率.非单调技术将克服高度非线性情况,加快收敛进展.     

A constraint linearization method for nondifferentiable convex minimization

Summary This paper presents a readily implementable algorithm for solving constrained minimization problems involving (possibly nonsmooth) convex functions. The constraints are handled as in the successive quadratic approximations methods for smooth problems. An exact penalty function is employed for stepsize selection. A scheme for automatic limitation of penalty growth is given. Global convergence of the algorithm is established, as well as finite termination for piecewise linear problems. Numerical experience is reported.Sponsored by Program CPBP 02.15     

一般约束最优化拓广的强次可行方向法

本文讨论非线性等式与不等式最优化问题,引进一个拟罚函数及其相应的只带不等式约束的辅助问题,然后采用广义投影技术和强次可行方向法思想建立原问题的一个全局收敛新算法,该算法具有初点始任意,结构简单,计算量较小等特点。