An efficient nonmonotone trust-region method for unconstrained optimization

The monotone trust-region methods are well-known techniques for solving unconstrained optimization problems. While it is known that the nonmonotone strategies not only can improve the likelihood of finding the global optimum but also can improve the numerical performance of approaches, the traditional nonmonotone strategy contains some disadvantages. In order to overcome to these drawbacks, we introduce a variant nonmonotone strategy and incorporate it into trust-region framework to construct more reliable approach. The new nonmonotone strategy is a convex combination of the maximum of function value of some prior successful iterates and the current function value. It is proved that the proposed algorithm possesses global convergence to first-order and second-order stationary points under some classical assumptions. Preliminary numerical experiments indicate that the new approach is considerably promising for solving unconstrained optimization problems.     

An efficient alternating minimization method for fourth degree polynomial optimization

Journal of Global Optimization - In this paper, we consider a class of fourth degree polynomial problems, which are NP-hard. First, we are concerned with the bi-quadratic optimization problem...     

An efficient Newton's method for optimization under equality constraints

An efficient procedure for optimizing a nonlinear objective functional ?(x) under linear and/or nonlinear equality constraints is given. The linearly constrained, quadratic ?(x) case is shown to have a solution given by the explicit formula x = x_p - N(N′AN)^-1N′(Ax_p + b/2), where ?(x) = a+b′x+x′Ax(x?Rⁿ) is convex, and both x_p?R_n and N [an n×(n-r) matrix]; can be obtained simultaneously from the constraint set, Kx=c (K of rank r<n), by a single Gaussian elimination. The nonlinearly constrained, arbitrary ?(x) case is treated by an interative scheme in which the above formula is used to “project” onto approximate solutions satisfying linear approximations of the constraints. This method does not require the initial guess or the iterated values to be in the feasible region. The resulting algorithm does appear to be efficient.     

An efficient gradient method with approximate optimal stepsize for large-scale unconstrained optimization

In this paper, we introduce a new concept of approximate optimal stepsize for gradient method, use it to interpret the Barzilai-Borwein (BB) method, and present an efficient gradient method with approximate optimal stepsize for large unconstrained optimization. If the objective function f is not close to a quadratic on a line segment between the current iterate x _k and the latest iterate x _k?1, we construct a conic model to generate the approximate optimal stepsize for gradient method if the conic model is suitable to be used. Otherwise, we construct a new quadratic model or two other new approximation models to generate the approximate optimal stepsize for gradient method. We analyze the convergence of the proposed method under some suitable conditions. Numerical results show the proposed method is very promising.     

An efficient co-swarm particle swarm optimization for non-linear constrained optimization

This paper proposes a new co-swarm PSO (CSHPSO) for constrained optimization problems, which is obtained by hybridizing the recently proposed shrinking hypersphere PSO (SHPSO) with the differential evolution (DE) approach. The total swarm is subdivided into two sub swarms in such a way that the first sub swarms uses SHPSO and second sub swarms uses DE. Experiments are performed on a state-of-the-art problems proposed in IEEE CEC 2006. The results of the CSHPSO is compared with SHPSO and DE in a variety of fashions. A statistical approach is applied to provide the significance of the numerical experiments. In order to further test the efficacy of the proposed CSHPSO, an economic dispatch (ED) problem with valve points effects for 40 generating units is solved. The results of the problem using CSHPSO is compared with SHPSO, DE and the existing solutions in the literature. It is concluded that CSHPSO is able to give the minimal cost for the ED problem in comparison with the other algorithms considered. Hence, CSHPSO is a promising new co-swarm PSO which can be used to solve any real constrained optimization problem.     

A steepest-descent method for optimization of mechanical systems

Steepest-descent optimal control techniques have been used extensively for dynamic systems in one independent variable and with a full set of initial conditions. This paper presents an extension of the steepest-descent technique to mechanical design problems that are described by boundary-value problems with one or more independent variables. The method is illustrated by solving finite-dimensional problems, problems with distribution of design over one space dimension, and problems with distribution of design over two space dimensions.     

Tikhonov-type regularization method for efficient solutions in vector optimization

The paper is devoted to developing the Tikhonov-type regularization algorithm of finding efficient solutions to the vector optimization problem for a mapping between finite dimensional Hilbert spaces with respect to the partial order induced by a pointed closed convex cone. We prove that under some suitable conditions either the sequence generated by our method converges to an efficient solution or all of its cluster points belong to the set of all efficient solutions of this problem.     

An efficient and safe framework for solving optimization problems

Interval methods have shown their ability to locate and prove the existence of a global optima in a safe and rigorous way. Unfortunately, these methods are rather slow. Efficient solvers for optimization problems are based on linear relaxations. However, the latter are unsafe, and thus may overestimate, or, worst, underestimate the very global minima. This paper introduces QuadOpt, an efficient and safe framework to rigorously bound the global optima as well as its location. QuadOpt uses consistency techniques to speed up the initial convergence of the interval narrowing algorithms. A lower bound is computed on a linear relaxation of the constraint system and the objective function. All these computations are based on a safe and rigorous implementation of linear programming techniques. First experimental results are very promising.     

An efficient deterministic optimization approach for rectangular packing problems

The rectangular packing problem aims to seek the best way of placing a given set of rectangular pieces within a large rectangle of minimal area. Such a problem is often constructed as a quadratic mixed-integer program. To find the global optimum of a rectangular packing problem, this study transforms the original problem as a mixed-integer linear programming problem by logarithmic transformations and an efficient piecewise linearization approach that uses a number of binary variables and constraints logarithmic in the number of piecewise line segments. The reformulated problem can be solved to obtain an optimal solution within a tolerable error. Numerical examples demonstrate the computational efficiency of the proposed method in globally solving rectangular packing problems.     

An efficient feasible SQP algorithm for inequality constrained optimization

In this paper, an efficient feasible SQP method is proposed to solve nonlinear inequality constrained optimization problems. Here, a new modified method is presented to obtain the revised feasible descent direction. Per single iteration, it is only necessary to solve one QP subproblem and a system of linear equations with only a subset of the constraints estimated as active. In addition, its global and superlinear convergence are obtained under some suitable conditions.     

An efficient mixture method

We present a new method for generating random variables from a mixture of two distributions and find conditions under which the new method is faster then the conventional one. Some extensions to the general mixture problem are presented as well. Simulation results indicate the efficiency of the proposed method.     

An efficient method for nonlinearly constrained networks

Many nonlinear network flow problems (in addition to the balance constraints in the nodes and capacity constraints on the arc flows) have nonlinear side constraints, which specify a flow relationship between several of the arcs in the network flow model. The short-term hydrothermal coordination of electric power generation is an example of this type. In this work we solve this kind of problem using an approach in which the efficiency of the well-known techniques for network flow can be preserved. It lies in relaxing the side constraints in an augmented Lagrangian function, and minimizing a sequence of these functions subject only to the network constraints for different estimates of the Lagrange multipliers of the side constraints. This method gives rise to an algorithm, which combines first- and superlinear-order multiplier methods to estimate these multipliers. When the number of free variables is very high we can obtain a superlinear-order estimate by means of the limited memory BFGS method fitted to our problem. An extensive computational comparison with other methods has been performed. The numerical results reported indicate that the algorithm described may be employed advantageously to solve large-scale network flow problems with nonlinear side constraints.     

An efficient hybrid method for uncertainty quantification

BIT Numerical Mathematics - A technique for coupling an intrusive and non-intrusive uncertainty quantification method is proposed. The intrusive approach uses a combination of polynomial chaos and...     

An optimization approach for winner determination problem considering transportation cost discounts

Journal of Global Optimization - This study proposes a mixed-integer nonconvex programming (MINP) model for the winner determination problem (WDP) considering two discount functions in a...     

An optimization procedure for maximizing the energy absorption capability of composite shells

Composite cylindrical shells are being used more extensively for structural applications in both rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft where low weight and high strength are important design issues. This paper addresses the energy absorption capability of such shells, under axial compressive loading. A design optimization procedure is developed to improve the energy absorption by maximizing the buckling and postbuckling characteristics of the shells. The sensitivity of both geometric and material properties is investigated by studying thin-walled shells of several thicknesses, made of different types of orthotropic laminates. Constraints are imposed on the longitudinal, normal, and in-plane shear stresses of each ply by utilizing a failure criteria. Design variables include shell diameter and ply orientations. The optimization is performed using the nonlinear programming method of feasible directions. A two-point exponential approximation is also used to reduce computational effort. Results are presented for Graphite/Epoxy, Glass/Epoxy, and Kevlar/Epoxy composite cylindrical shells with symmetric ply arrangements.     

An efficient interval computing technique for bound-constrained uncertain optimization problems

In this article, a competent interval-oriented approach is proposed to solve bound-constrained uncertain optimization problems. This new class of problems is considered here as an extension of the classical bound-constrained optimization problems in an inexact environment. The proposed technique is nothing but an imitation of the well-known interval analysis-based branch-and-bound optimization approach. Efficiency of this technique is strongly dependent on division, bounding, selection/rejection and termination criteria. The technique involves a multisection division criterion of the accepted/proposed search region. Then, we have employed the interval-ranking definitions with respect to the pessimistic decision makers’ point of view given by Mahato and Bhunia [Interval-arithmetic-oriented interval computing technique for global optimization, Appl. Math. Res. Express 2006 (2006), pp. 1–19] to compare the interval-valued objectives calculated in each subregion and also to select the subregion containing the best interval objective value. The process is continued until the interval width for each variable in the accepted subregion is negligible and ultimately the global or close-to-global interval-valued optimal solution is obtained. The proposed technique has been evaluated numerically using a wide set of newly introduced univariate/multivariate test problems. Finally, to compare the computational results obtained by the proposed method, the graphical representation for some test problems is given.     

A robust desirability function method for multi-response surface optimization considering model uncertainty

A robust desirability function approach to simultaneously optimizing multiple responses is proposed. The approach considers the uncertainty associated with the fitted response surface model. The uniqueness of the proposed method is that it takes account of all values in the confidence interval rather than a single predicted value for each response and then defines the robustness measure for the traditional desirability function using the worst case strategy. A hybrid genetic algorithm is developed to find the robust optima. The presented method is compared with its conventional counterpart through an illustrated example from the literature.     

An inner approximation method incorporating a branch and bound procedure for optimization over the weakly efficient set

In this paper, we consider an optimization problem which aims to minimize a convex function over the weakly efficient set of a multiobjective programming problem. From a computational viewpoint, we may compromise our aim by getting an approximate solution of such a problem. To find an approximate solution, we propose an inner approximation method for such a problem. Furthermore, in order to enhance the efficiency of the solution method, we propose an inner approximation algorithm incorporating a branch and bound procedure.