Data Assimilation in Weather Forecasting: A Case Study in PDE-Constrained Optimization

Variational data assimilation is used at major weather prediction centers to produce the initial conditions for 7- to 10-day weather forecasts. This technique requires the solution of a very large data-fitting problem in which the major element is a set of partial differential equations that models the evolution of the atmosphere over a time window … Read more

An Inexact SQP Method for Equality Constrained Optimization

We present an algorithm for large-scale equality constrained optimization. The method is based on a characterization of inexact sequential quadratic programming (SQP) steps that can ensure global convergence. Inexact SQP methods are needed for large-scale applications for which the iteration matrix cannot be explicitly formed or factored and the arising linear systems must be solved … Read more

Steplength Selection in Interior-Point Methods for Quadratic Programming

We present a new strategy for choosing primal and dual steplengths in a primal-dual interior-point algorithm for convex quadratic programming. Current implementations often scale steps equally to avoid increases in dual infeasibility between iterations. We propose that this method can be too conservative, while safeguarding an unequally-scaled steplength approach will often require fewer steps toward … Read more

Knitro: An Integrated Package for Nonlinear Optimization

This paper describes Knitro 5.0, a C-package for nonlinear optimization that combines complementary approaches to nonlinear optimization to achieve robust performance over a wide range of application requirements. The package is designed for solving large-scale, smooth nonlinear programming problems, and it is also effective for the following special cases: unconstrained optimization, nonlinear systems of equations, … Read more

Adaptive Barrier Strategies for Nonlinear Interior Methods

This paper considers strategies for selecting the barrier parameter at every iteration of an interior-point method for nonlinear programming. Numerical experiments suggest that adaptive choices, such as Mehrotra’s probing procedure, outperform static strategies that hold the barrier parameter fixed until a barrier optimality test is satisfied. A new adaptive strategy is proposed based on the … Read more

Interior Methods for Mathematical Programs with Complementarity Constraints

This paper studies theoretical and practical properties of interior-penalty methods for mathematical programs with complementarity constraints. A framework for implementing these methods is presented, and the need for adaptive penalty update strategies is motivated with examples. The algorithm is shown to be globally convergent to strongly stationary points, under standard assumptions. These results are then … Read more

Steering Exact Penalty Methods for Optimization

This paper reviews, extends and analyzes a new class of penalty methods for nonlinear optimization. These methods adjust the penalty parameter dynamically; by controlling the degree of linear feasibility achieved at every iteration, they promote balanced progress toward optimality and feasibility. In contrast with classical approaches, the choice of the penalty parameter ceases to be … Read more

On the Convergence of Successive Linear-Quadratic Programming Algorithms

The global convergence properties of a class of penalty methods for nonlinear programming are analyzed. These methods include successive linear programming approaches, and more specifically, the successive linear-quadratic programming approach presented by Byrd, Gould, Nocedal and Waltz (Math. Programming 100(1):27–48, 2004). Every iteration requires the solution of two trust-region subproblems involving piecewise linear and quadratic … Read more

KNITRO-Direct: A Hybrid Interior Algorithm for Nonlinear Optimization

A hybrid interior-point method for nonlinear programming is presented. It enjoys the flexibility of switching between a line search based method which computes steps by factoring the primal-dual equations and an iterative method using a conjugate gradient algorithm and globalized by means of trust regions. Steps computed by a direct factorization are always tried first, … Read more

A Starting-Point Strategy for Nonlinear Interior Methods

This paper presents a strategy for choosing the initial point, slacks and multipliers in interior methods for nonlinear programming. It consists of first computing a Newton-like step to estimate the magnitude of these three variables and then shifting the slacks and multipliers so that they are sufficiently positive. The new strategy has the option of … Read more