An Interior-Point Algorithm for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming

The paper describes an interior-point algorithm for nonconvex nonlinear programming which is a direct extension of interior-point methods for linear and quadratic programming. Major modifications include a merit function and an altered search direction to ensure that a descent direction for the merit function is obtained. Preliminary numerical testing indicates that the method is robust. Further, numerical comparisons with MINOS and LANCELOT show that the method is efficient, and has the promise of greatly reducing solution times on at least some classes of models.     

求解非线性互补问题的内点正算法

针对非线性互补问题,提出了与其等价的非光滑方程的内点正算法,并在一定条件下证明了该算法的收敛性定理。数值结果表明,该算法是十分有效的。     

Globally Convergent Interior-Point Algorithm for Nonlinear Programming

This paper presents a primal-dual interior-point algorithm for solving general constrained nonlinear programming problems. The inequality constraints are incorporated into the objective function by means of a logarithmic barrier function. Also, satisfaction of the equality constraints is enforced through the use of an adaptive quadratic penalty function. The penalty parameter is determined using a strategy that ensures a descent property for a merit function. Global convergence of the algorithm is achieved through the monotonic decrease of a merit function. Finally, extensive computational results show that the algorithm can solve large and difficult problems in an efficient and robust way.Communicated by L. C. W. DixonThe research reported in this paper was done while the first author was at Imperial College. The authors gratefully acknowledge constructive comments from Professor L. C. W. Dixon and an anonymous referee. They are also grateful to Dr. Stanislav Zakovic for helpful suggestions and comments. Financial support was provided by EPSRC Grants M16016 and GR/G51377/01.     

A Nonlinear Lagrange Algorithm for Minimax Problems with General Constraints

This article presents a novel nonlinear Lagrange algorithm for solving minimax optimization problems with both inequality and equality constraints, which eliminates the nonsmoothness of the considered problems and the numerical difficulty of the penalty method. The convergence of the proposed algorithm is analyzed under some mild assumptions, in which the sequence of the generated solutions converges locally to a Karush-Kuhn-Tucker solution at a linear rate when the penalty parameter is less than a threshold and the error bound of the solutions is also obtained. Finally, the detailed numerical results for several typical testproblems are given in order to show the performance of the proposed algorithm.     

A New Superlinearly Convergent SQP Algorithm for Nonlinear Minimax Problems

In this paper, the nonlinear minimax problems are discussed. By means of the Sequential Quadratic Programming （SQP）, a new descent algorithm for solving the problems is presented. At each iteration of the proposed algorithm, a main search direction is obtained by solving a Quadratic Programming （QP） which always has a solution. In order to avoid the Maratos effect, a correction direction is obtained by updating the main direction with a simple explicit formula. Under mild conditions without the strict complementarity, the global and superlinear convergence of the algorithm can be obtained. Finally, some numerical experiments are reported.     

On the Newton Interior-Point Method for Nonlinear Programming Problems

Interior-point methods have been developed largely for nonlinear programming problems. In this paper, we generalize the global Newton interior-point method introduced in Ref. 1 and we establish a global convergence theory for it, under the same assumptions as those stated in Ref. 1. The generalized algorithm gives the possibility of choosing different descent directions for a merit function so that difficulties due to small steplength for the perturbed Newton direction can be avoided. The particular choice of the perturbation enables us to interpret the generalized method as an inexact Newton method. Also, we suggest a more general criterion for backtracking, which is useful when the perturbed Newton system is not solved exactly. We include numerical experimentation on discrete optimal control problems.     

Minimax问题的一个滤子算法

本文提出一个求解不等式约束的Minimax问题的滤子算法,结合序列二次规划方法,并利用滤子以避免罚函数的使用.在适当的条件下,证明了此方法的全局收敛性及超线性收敛性.数值实验表明算法是有效的.     

A Polynomial Interior-Point Algorithm for Monotone Linear Complementarity Problems

In this paper, we propose an interior-point algorithm for monotone linear complementarity problems. The algorithm is based on a new technique for finding the search direction and the strategy of the central path. At each iteration, we use only full-Newton steps. Moreover, it is proven that the number of iterations of the algorithm coincides with the well-known best iteration bound for monotone linear complementarity problems.     

Local Convergence of the Affine-Scaling Interior-Point Algorithm for Nonlinear Programming

This paper addresses the local convergence properties of the affine-scaling interior-point algorithm for nonlinear programming. The analysis of local convergence is developed in terms of parameters that control the interior-point scheme and the size of the residual of the linear system that provides the step direction. The analysis follows the classical theory for quasi-Newton methods and addresses q-linear, q-superlinear, and q-quadratic rates of convergence.     

An improved Interior-Point Algorithm for Large-Scale Shakedown Analysis

This work focuses on the calculation of shakedown load-factors of structures by using the lower-bound theorem of shakedown analysis. The resultant optimization problem is solved by an interior-point algorithm. In general, the application of shakedown analysis to practical problems leads to large-scale problems with large numbers of unknowns and constraints. Thus the solution turns out to be computationally intensive. For this reason it is important to reduce the dimension of the considered problem. Therefore, the major improvement of the presented algorithm consists of a problem-oriented reformulation of the problem reducing the size of the system to be solved. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Nonmonotone Line Search Algorithm for Constrained Minimax Problems

In this paper, an algorithm for constrained minimax problems is presented which is globally convergent and whose rate of convergence is two-step superlinear. The algorithm applies SQP to the constrained minimax problems by combining a nonmonotone line search and a second-order correction technique, which guarantees a full steplength while close to a solution, such that the Maratos effect is avoided and two-step superlinear convergence is achieved.     

极大极小问题的广义投影算法

研究了无约束极大极小问题.通过引入一个可微的辅助函数,利用广义投影技术产生下降搜索方向,结合Armjio非精确线搜索建立了一个广义梯度投影算法.在初始点任意的条件下,证明了算法的全局收敛性.     

An Interior-Point Method for a Class of Saddle-Point Problems

We present a polynomial-time interior-point algorithm for a class of nonlinear saddle-point problems that involve semidefiniteness constraints on matrix variables. These problems originate from robust optimization formulations of convex quadratic programming problems with uncertain input parameters. As an application of our approach, we discuss a robust formulation of the Markowitz portfolio selection model.     

An Interior Point Algorithm for Mixed Complementarity Nonlinear Problems

Nonlinear complementarity and mixed complementarity problems arise in mathematical models describing several applications in Engineering, Economics and different branches of physics. Previously, robust and efficient feasible directions interior point algorithm was presented for nonlinear complementarity problems. In this paper, it is extended to mixed nonlinear complementarity problems. At each iteration, the algorithm finds a feasible direction with respect to the region defined by the inequality conditions, which is also monotonic descent direction for the potential function. Then, an approximate line search along this direction is performed in order to define the next iteration. Global and asymptotic convergence for the algorithm is investigated. The proposed algorithm is tested on several benchmark problems. The results are in good agreement with the asymptotic analysis. Finally, the algorithm is applied to the elastic–plastic torsion problem encountered in the field of Solid Mechanics.     

多约束非线性整数规划的一种改进的算法

多约束非线性整数规划是一类非常重要的问题,非线性背包问题是它的一类特殊而重要的问题.定义在有限整数集上极大化一个可分离非线性函数的多约束最优化问题.这类问题常常用于资源分配、工业生产及计算机网络的最优化模型中,运用一种新的割平面法来求解对偶问题以得到上界,不仅减少了对偶间隙,而且保证了算法的收敛性.利用区域割丢掉某些整数箱子,并把剩下的区域划分为一些整数箱子的并集,以便使拉格朗日松弛问题能有效求解,且使算法在有限步内收敛到最优解.算法把改进的割平面法用于求解对偶问题并与区域分割有效结合解决了多约束非线性背包问题的求解.数值结果表明了改进的割平面方法对对偶搜索更加有效.     

An Algorithm Based on Active Sets and Smoothing for Discretized Semi-Infinite Minimax Problems

We present a new active-set strategy which can be used in conjunction with exponential (entropic) smoothing for solving large-scale minimax problems arising from the discretization of semi-infinite minimax problems. The main effect of the active-set strategy is to dramatically reduce the number of gradient calculations needed in the optimization. Discretization of multidimensional domains gives rise to minimax problems with thousands of component functions. We present an application to minimizing the sum of squares of the Lagrange polynomials to find good points for polynomial interpolation on the unit sphere in ℝ³. Our numerical results show that the active-set strategy results in a modified Armijo gradient or Gauss-Newton like methods requiring less than a quarter of the gradients, as compared to the use of these methods without our active-set strategy. Finally, we show how this strategy can be incorporated in an algorithm for solving semi-infinite minimax problems.     

Solving Difficult Multicommodity Problems with a Specialized Interior-Point Algorithm

A scheduling problem with piecewise linear (PL) optimization extends conventional scheduling by imposing a conjunction of combinatorial PL constraints involving the objective function variables. To solve this problem, this paper presents a hybrid algorithm where Constraint Programming (CP) search is supported and driven by a (integer) linear programming solver running on a well-controlled subproblem which is dynamically tightened. The paper discusses and compares different ways of decomposing the problem constraints between the CP search and the solver. We show how the subproblem structure and the piecewise linearity are exploited by the search.     

Quadratic Convergence of a Long-Step Interior-Point Method for Nonlinear Monotone Variational Inequality Problems

This paper offers an analysis on a standard long-step primal-dual interior-point method for nonlinear monotone variational inequality problems. The method has polynomial-time complexity and its q-order of convergence is two. The results are proved under mild assumptions. In particular, new conditions on the invariance of the rank and range space of certain matrices are employed, rather than restrictive assumptions like nondegeneracy.     

Solving Problems with Semidefinite and Related Constraints Using Interior-Point Methods for Nonlinear Programming

 In this paper, we describe how to reformulate a problem that has second-order cone and/or semidefiniteness constraints in order to solve it using a general-purpose interior-point algorithm for nonlinear programming. The resulting problems are smooth and convex, and numerical results from the DIMACS Implementation Challenge problems and SDPLib are provided. Received: March 10, 2001 / Accepted: January 18, 2002 Published online: September 27, 2002 Key Words. semidefinite programming – second-order cone programming – interior-point methods – nonlinear programming Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 20E28, 20G40, 20C20     

On Complexity of the Translational-Cut Algorithm for Convex Minimax Problems

Burke, Goldstein, Tseng, and Ye (Ref. 1) have presented an interesting interior-point algorithm for a class of smooth convex minimax problems. They have also presented a complexity analysis leading to a worst-case bound on the total work necessary to obtain a solution within a prescribed tolerance. In this paper, we present refinements to the analysis of Burke et al. which show that the resulting complexity bound can be worse than those for other algorithms available at the time Ref. 1 was published.