A new filled function algorithm for constrained global optimization problems

A new filled function with one parameter is proposed for solving constrained global optimization problems without the coercive condition, in which the filled function contains neither exponential term nor fractional term and is easy to be calculated. A corresponding filled function algorithm is established based on analysis of the properties of the filled function. At last, we perform numerical experiments on some typical test problems using the algorithm and the detailed numerical results show that the algorithm is effective.     

A new filled function method for unconstrained global optimization

In this paper, a new filled function which has better properties is proposed for identifying a global minimum point for a general class of nonlinear programming problems within a closed bounded domain. An algorithm for unconstrained global optimization is developed from the new filled function. Theoretical and numerical properties of the proposed filled function are investigated. The implementation of the algorithm on seven test problems is reported with satisfactory numerical results.     

A filled function method with one parameter for unconstrained global optimization

The filled function method is considered as an efficient approach to solve the global optimization problems. In this paper, a new filled function method is proposed. Its main idea is as follows: a new continuously differentiable filled function with only one parameter is constructed for unconstrained global optimization when a minimizer of the objective function is found, then a minimizer of the filled function will be found in a lower basin of the objective function, thereafter, a better minimizer of the objective function will be found. The above process is repeated until the global optimal solution is found. The numerical experiments show the efficiency of the proposed filled function method.     

A parameter free filled function for unconstrained global optimization

The filled function method is considered as an efficient method to find the global minimum of multidimensional functions. A number of filled functions were proposed recently, most of which have one or two adjustable parameters. However, there is no efficient criterion to choose the parameter appropriately. In this paper, we propose a filled function without parameter. And this function includes neither exponential terms nor logarithmic terms so it is superior to the traditional ones. Theories of the filled function are investigated. And an algorithm which does not compute gradients during minimizing the filled function is presented. Moreover, the numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed filled function.     

A new discrete filled function algorithm for discrete global optimization

A definition of the discrete filled function is given in this paper. Based on the definition, a discrete filled function is proposed. Theoretical properties of the proposed discrete filled function are investigated, and an algorithm for discrete global optimization is developed from the new discrete filled function. The implementation of the algorithms on several test problems is reported with satisfactory numerical results.     

A new constructing auxiliary function method for global optimization

A new auxiliary function method based on the idea which executes a two-stage deterministic search for global optimization is proposed. Specifically, a local minimum of the original function is first obtained, and then a stretching function technique is used to modify the objective function with respect to the obtained local minimum. The transformed function stretches the function values higher than the obtained minimum upward while it keeps the ones with lower values unchanged. Next, an auxiliary function is constructed on the stretched function, which always descends in the region where the function values are higher than the obtained minimum, and it has a stationary point in the lower area. We optimize the auxiliary function and use the found stationary point as the starting point to turn to the first step to restart the search. Repeat the procedure until termination. A theoretical analysis is also made. The main feature of the new method is that it relaxes significantly the requirements for the parameters. Numerical experiments on benchmark functions with different dimensions (up to 50) demonstrate that the new algorithm has a more rapid convergence and a higher success rate, and can find the solutions with higher quality, compared with some other existing similar algorithms, which is consistent with the analysis in theory.     

An interval algorithm for constrained global optimization

An interval algorithm for bounding the solutions of a constrained global optimization problem is described. The problem functions are assumed only to be continuous. It is shown how the computational cost of bounding a set which satisfies equality constraints can often be reduced if the equality constraint functions are assumed to be continuously differentiable. Numerical results are presented.     

A new filled function method for nonlinear equations

In this paper, a new global optimization approach based on the filled function method is proposed for solving box-constrained systems of nonlinear equations. We first convert the nonlinear system into an equivalent global optimization problem, and then propose a new filled function method to solve the converted global optimization problem. Several numerical examples are presented and solved by using different local minimization methods, which illustrate the efficiency of the present approach.     

求解带箱子集约束的非光滑全局优化问题的填充函数方法

提出了一个求解带箱子集约束的非光滑全局优化问题的填充函数方法.构造的填充函数只包含一个参数,且此参数在迭代过程中容易调节.分析了填充函数的理论性质,在此基础上设计了填充函数算法.数值计算验证了该算法的有效性.     

全局优化问题的一个新的无参数填充函数

求全局最优化问题的填充函数算法被提出以来,参数的选取和调整一直是制约算法有效性的因素.如何在实际的计算过程中选取合适的参数,直接影响和决定了运算速度和效率.因此,构造不含参数的填充函数就显得极为重要.提出一个新的无参数的填充函数,对其理论性质进行了分析,并给出相应的填充函数算法,数值计算验证了算法的有效性.     

求解带箱式约束全局优化问题的滤子填充函数方法

提出一个基于滤子技术的填充函数算法, 用于求解带箱式约束的非凸全局优化问题. 填充函数算法是求解全局优化问题的有效方法之一, 而滤子技术以其良好的数值效果广泛应用于局部优化算法中. 为优化填充函数方法, 应用滤子来监控迭代过程. 首先给出一个新的填充函数并讨论了其特性, 在此基础上提出了理论算法及算法性质. 最后列出数值实验结果以说明算法的有效性.     

New filled functions for nonsmooth global optimization

The filled function method is an effective approach to find a global minimizer for a general class of nonsmooth programming problems with a closed bounded domain. This paper gives a new definition for the filled function, which overcomes some drawbacks of the previous definition. It proposes a two-parameter filled function and a one-parameter filled function to improve the efficiency of numerical computation. Based on these analyses, two corresponding filled function algorithms are presented. They are global optimization methods which modify the objective function as a filled function, and which find a better local minimizer gradually by optimizing the filled function constructed on the minimizer previously found. Numerical results obtained indicate the efficiency and reliability of the proposed filled function methods.     

Solving nonlinearly constrained global optimization problem via an auxiliary function method

This paper considers the nonlinearly constrained continuous global minimization problem. Based on the idea of the penalty function method, an auxiliary function, which has approximately the same global minimizers as the original problem, is constructed. An algorithm is developed to minimize the auxiliary function to find an approximate constrained global minimizer of the constrained global minimization problem. The algorithm can escape from the previously converged local minimizers, and can converge to an approximate global minimizer of the problem asymptotically with probability one. Numerical experiments show that it is better than some other well known recent methods for constrained global minimization problems.     

A new filled function method for an unconstrained nonlinear equation

In this paper, we transform an unconstrained system of nonlinear equations into a special optimization problem. A new filled function is constructed by employing the special properties of the transformed optimization problem. Theoretical and numerical properties of the proposed filled function are investigated and a solution of the algorithm is proposed. Under some conditions, we can find a solution or an approximate solution to the system of nonlinear equations in finite iterations. The implementation of the algorithm on six test problems is reported with satisfactory numerical results.     

On the use of the table method in constrained optimization

In this paper, we take advantage of the availability of higher-order derivatives through the table method (see Ref. 1) and suggest a simple variant of the Lagrangian method for constrained optimization. Our method, and the software that we currently have can be used to minimize functions with many variables subject to an arbitrary number of constraints.On leave from the Faculty of Management, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.     

Potential transformation methods for large-scale constrained global optimization

Several techniques for global optimization treat the objective functionf as a force-field potential. In the simplest case, trajectories of the differential equationmx=–f sample regions of low potential while retaining the energy to surmount passes which might block the way to regions of even lower local minima. Apotential transformation is an increasing functionV:. It determines a new potentialg=V(f), with the same minimizers asf and new trajectories satisfying . We discuss a class of potential transformations that greatly increase the attractiveness of low local minima.These methods can be applied to constrained problems through the use of Lagrange multipliers. We discuss several methods for efficiently computing approximate Lagrange multipliers, making this approach practical.     

A Lagrange penalty reformulation method for constrained optimization

In this paper a constrained optimization problem is transformed into an equivalent one in terms of an auxiliary penalty function. A Lagrange function method is then applied to this transformed problem. Zero duality gap and exact penalty results are obtained without any coercivity assumption on either the objective function or constraint functions. The work of the authors was supported by the Australian Research Council (grant DP0343998), the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (PolyU 5145/02E) and NNSF (10571174) of China, respectively.     

A discrete filled function algorithm for approximate global solutions of max-cut problems

A discrete filled function algorithm is proposed for approximate global solutions of max-cut problems. A new discrete filled function is defined for max-cut problems and the properties of the filled function are studied. Unlike general filled function methods, using the characteristic of max-cut problems, the parameters in proposed filled function need not be adjusted. This greatly increases the efficiency of the filled function method. By combining a procedure that randomly generates initial points for minimization of the filled function, the proposed algorithm can greatly reduce the calculation cost and be applied to large scale max-cut problems. Numerical results on different sizes and densities test problems indicate that the proposed algorithm is efficient and stable to get approximate global solutions of max-cut problems.     

Efficient interval partitioning for constrained global optimization

A new efficient interval partitioning approach to solve constrained global optimization problems is proposed. This involves a new parallel subdivision direction selection method as well as an adaptive tree search. The latter explores nodes (intervals in variable domains) using a restricted hybrid depth-first and best-first branching strategy. This hybrid approach is also used for activating local search to identify feasible stationary points. The new tree search management technique results in improved performance across standard solution and computational indicators when compared to previously proposed techniques. On the other hand, the new parallel subdivision direction selection rule detects infeasible and suboptimal boxes earlier than existing rules, and this contributes to performance by enabling earlier reliable deletion of such subintervals from the search space.     

A filled function method applied to nonsmooth constrained global optimization

The filled function method is an effective approach to find a global minimizer. In this paper, based on a new definition of the filled function for nonsmooth constrained programming problems, a one-parameter filled function is constructed to improve the efficiency of numerical computation. Then a corresponding algorithm is presented. It is a global optimization method which modify the objective function as a filled function, and which find a better local minimizer gradually by optimizing the filled function constructed on the minimizer previously found. Illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate the efficiency and reliability of the proposed filled function method.