Simplex-inspired algorithms for solving a class of convex programming problems

We consider a class of convex programming problems whose objective function is given as a linear function plus a convex function whose arguments are linear functions of the decision variables and whose feasible region is a polytope. We show that there exists an optimal solution to this class of problems on a face of the constraint polytope of dimension not more than the number of arguments of the convex function. Based on this result, we develop a method to solve this problem that is inspired by the simplex method for linear programming. It is shown that this method terminates in a finite number of iterations in the special case that the convex function has only a single argument. We then use this insight to develop a second algorithm that solves the problem in a finite number of iterations for an arbitrary number of arguments in the convex function. A computational study illustrates the efficiency of the algorithm and suggests that the average-case performance of these algorithms is a polynomial of low order in the number of decision variables. The work of T. C. Sharkey was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The work of H. E. Romeijn was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMI-0355533.     

Parallel algorithms for nonlinear programming problems

This paper describes several parallel algorithms for solving nonlinear programming problems. Two approaches where parallelism can successfully be introduced have been explored: a quadratic approximation method based on penalty function and a dual method. These methods are improved by using two algorithms originally proposed for solving unconstrained problems: the parallel variable metric algorithm and the parallel Jacobson-Oksman algorithm. Even though general problems are dealt with, particular emphasis is placed on the potential of these parallel methods for separable programming problems. The numerical effectiveness of the algorithms is demonstrated on a set of test problems using a Cray-1S vector computer and serial computers (with respect to sequential versions of the same methods).These studies were sponsored in part by the CERT. The author would particularly like to thank Ph. Berger (LSI-ENSEEIHT), the researchers of the DERI (CERT) and of the Groupe Structures, Aerospatiale, for their assistance.     

The decomposition of nonlinear problems

We show that under certain conditions nonlinear programming problems can be decomposed into a series of smaller problems.A Decomposition Theorem and example are presented.     

On the solution of a nonlinear programming problem by decomposition

A decomposition method, used in least-weight plastic design, is extended to solve problems with nonlinearity arising from variable structure geometry. The problem considered is that of finding vectorsx ₁,x ₂, andq that minimize [l max{|x ₁|, |x ₂|}], subject toAx ₁=b ₁ andAx ₂=b ₂, where both the vectorl and the matrixA are nonlinear functions ofq.     

An ellipsoid algorithm for nonlinear programming

We investigate an ellipsoid algorithm for nonlinear programming. After describing the basic steps of the algorithm, we discuss its computer implementation and present a method for measuring computational efficiency. The computational results obtained from experimenting with the algorithm are discussed and the algorithm's performance is compared with that of a widely used commercial code. This research was supported in part by The National Science Foundation, Grant No. MCS78-02096.     

Pseudo-invexity and duality in nonlinear programming

The purpose of this paper is to study various duality results in nonlinear programming for pseudo-invex functions. Such results were known in the literature for invex functions.     

Mathematical programming time-based decomposition algorithm for discrete event simulation

Mathematical programming has been proposed in the literature as an alternative technique to simulating a special class of Discrete Event Systems. There are several benefits to using mathematical programs for simulation, such as the possibility of performing sensitivity analysis and the ease of better integrating the simulation and optimisation. However, applications are limited by the usually long computational times. This paper proposes a time-based decomposition algorithm that splits the mathematical programming model into a number of submodels that can be solved sequentially to make the mathematical programming approach viable for long running simulations. The number of required submodels is the solution of an optimisation problem that minimises the expected time for solving all of the submodels. In this way, the solution time becomes a linear function of the number of simulated entities.     

On stability concepts in nonlinear programming

Kojima's strong stability of stationary solutions can be characterized by means of first and second order terms. We treat the problem whether there is a characterization of the stability concept allowing perturbations of the objective function only, keeping the feasible set unchanged. If the feasible set is a convex polyhedron, then there exists a characterization which is in fact weaker than that one of strong stability. However, in general it appears that data of first and second order do not characterize that kind of stability. As an interpretation we have that the strong stability is the only concept of stability which both admits a characterization and works for large problem classes.Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Graduiertenkolleg Analyse und Konstruktion in der Mathematik.Partial support under Support Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology Research.     

On the stability of some integer programming algorithms

In the present paper we develop our approach for studying the stability of integer programming problems. We prove that the L-class enumeration method is stable on integer linear programming problems in the case of bounded relaxation sets [9]. The stability of some cutting plane algorithms is discussed.     

Some computational issues in optimal control by nonlinear programming

The Roppenecker [11] parameterization of multi-input eigenvalue assignment, which allows for common open- and closed-loop eigenvalues, provides a platform for the investigation of several issues of current interest in robust control. Based on this parameterization, a numerical optimization method for designing a constant gain feedback matrix which assigns the closed-loop eigenvalues to desired locations such that these eigenvalues have low sensitivity to variations in the open-loop state space model was presented in Owens and O'Reilly [8]. In the present paper, two closely related numerical optimization methods are presented. The methods utilize standard (NAG library) unconstrained optimization routines. The first is for designing a minimum gain state feedback matrix which assigns the closed-loop eigenvalues to desired locations, where the measure of gain taken is the Frobenius norm. The second is for designing a state feedback matrix which results in the closed-loop system state matrix having minimum condition number. These algorithms have been shown to give results which are comparable to other available algorithms of far greater conceptual complexity.     

Refinements of necessary conditions for optimality in nonlinear programming

In this paper, a new set of necessary conditions for optimality is introduced with reference to the differentiable nonlinear programming problem. It is shown that these necessary conditions are sharper than the usual Fritz John ones. A constraint qualification relevant to the new necessary conditions is defined and extensions to the locally Lipschitz case are presented.     

Parallel decomposition of large-scale stochastic nonlinear programs

Many practical decision problems involve both nonlinear relationships and uncertainties. The resulting stochastic nonlinear programs become quite difficult to solve as the number of possible scenarios increases. In this paper, we provide a decomposition method for problems in which nonlinear constraints appear within periods. We also show how the method extends to lower bounding refinements of the set of scenarios when the random data are independent from period to period. We then apply the method to a stochastic model of the U.S. economy based on the Global 2100 method developed by Manne and Richels.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers SES-9211937 and DDM-9215921.The research was performed under appointment to the U.S. Department of Energy, Graduate Fellowships for Global Change Program, administered by Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.     

A linear programming-based optimization algorithm for solving nonlinear programming problems

In this paper a linear programming-based optimization algorithm called the Sequential Cutting Plane algorithm is presented. The main features of the algorithm are described, convergence to a Karush–Kuhn–Tucker stationary point is proved and numerical experience on some well-known test sets is showed. The algorithm is based on an earlier version for convex inequality constrained problems, but here the algorithm is extended to general continuously differentiable nonlinear programming problems containing both nonlinear inequality and equality constraints. A comparison with some existing solvers shows that the algorithm is competitive with these solvers. Thus, this new method based on solving linear programming subproblems is a good alternative method for solving nonlinear programming problems efficiently. The algorithm has been used as a subsolver in a mixed integer nonlinear programming algorithm where the linear problems provide lower bounds on the optimal solutions of the nonlinear programming subproblems in the branch and bound tree for convex, inequality constrained problems.     

A globally convergent method for nonlinear programming

Recently developed Newton and quasi-Newton methods for nonlinear programming possess only local convergence properties. Adopting the concept of the damped Newton method in unconstrained optimization, we propose a stepsize procedure to maintain the monotone decrease of an exact penalty function. In so doing, the convergence of the method is globalized.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ENG-75-10486.     

非线性半定规划若干算法介绍

介绍近几年国际上求解非线性半定规划的若干有效新算法, 包括增广Lagrangian函数法、序列半定规划法、序列线性方程组法以及交替方向乘子法. 最后, 对非线性半定规划的算法研究前景进行了探讨.     

A heuristic algorithm for nonlinear programming

In this paper, a heuristic algorithm for nonlinear programming is presented. The algorithm uses two search directions, and the Hessian of the Lagrangian function is approximated with the BFGS secant update. We show that the sequence of iterates convergeq-superlinearly if the sequence of approximating matrices satisfies a particular condition. Numerical results are presented.     

Experiments with successive quadratic programming algorithms

There are many variants of successive quadratic programming (SQP) algorithms. Important issues include: the choice of either line search or trust region strategies; the QP formulation to be used; and how the QP is to be solved. Here, we consider the QP's proposed by Fletcher and Powell and discuss a specialized reduced-gradient procedure for solving them. A computer implementation is described, and the various options are compared on some well-known test problems. Factors influencing robustness and speed are identified.     

Cross decomposition for mixed integer programming

Many methods for solving mixed integer programming problems are based either on primal or on dual decomposition, which yield, respectively, a Benders decomposition algorithm and an implicit enumeration algorithm with bounds computed via Lagrangean relaxation. These methods exploit either the primal or the dual structure of the problem. We propose a new approach, cross decomposition, which allows exploiting simultaneously both structures. The development of the cross decomposition method captures profound relationships between primal and dual decomposition. It is shown that the more constraints can be included in the Langrangean relaxation (provided the duality gap remains zero), the fewer the Benders cuts one may expect to need. If the linear programming relaxation has no duality gap, only one Benders cut is needed to verify optimality.     

Outer approximation algorithms for separable nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear programs

A rigorous decomposition approach to solve separable mixed-integer nonlinear programs where the participating functions are nonconvex is presented. The proposed algorithms consist of solving an alternating sequence of Relaxed Master Problems (mixed-integer linear program) and two nonlinear programming problems (NLPs). A sequence of valid nondecreasing lower bounds and upper bounds is generated by the algorithms which converge in a finite number of iterations. A Primal Bounding Problem is introduced, which is a convex NLP solved at each iteration to derive valid outer approximations of the nonconvex functions in the continuous space. Two decomposition algorithms are presented in this work. On finite termination, the first yields the global solution to the original nonconvex MINLP and the second finds a rigorous bound to the global solution. Convergence and optimality properties, and refinement of the algorithms for efficient implementation are presented. Finally, numerical results are compared with currently available algorithms for example problems, illuminating the potential benefits of the proposed algorithm.     

Interactions between nonlinear programming and modeling systems

Modeling systems are very important for bringing mathematical programming software to nonexpert users, but few nonlinear programming algorithms are today linked to a modeling system. The paper discussed the advantages of linking modeling systems with nonlinear programming. Traditional algorithms can be linked using black-box function and derivatives evaluation routines for local optimization. Methods for generating this information are discussed. More sophisticated algorithms can get access to almost any type of information: interval evaluations and constraint restructuring for detailed preprocessing, second order information for sequential quadratic programming and interior point methods, and monotonicity and convex relaxations for global optimization. Some of the sophisticated information is available today; the rest can be generated on demand.