Betweenness Central Nodes Under Uncertainty: An Absorbing Markov Chain Approach

We propose a betweenness centrality measure and algorithms for stochastic networks, where edges can fail and weights vary across realizations, making the most central node random. Our approach models the sequence of reported central nodes as an absorbing Markov chain and measures node importance by the share of pre-absorption time spent at each node. This … Read more

Storage Participation in Electricity Markets: Time Discretization through Robust Optimization

Electricity storage is used for intertemporal price arbitrage and for ancillary services that balance unforeseen supply and demand fluctuations via frequency regulation. We present an optimization model that computes bids for both arbitrage and frequency regulation and ensures that storage operators can honor their market commitments at all times for all fluctuation signals in an … Read more

Benders Cut Filtering for Affine Potential-Based Flow Problems with Robustness Scenarios and Topology Switching

Many large-scale optimization problems decompose into a master problem and scenario subproblems, a structure that can be exploited by Benders decomposition. In Benders decomposition, each iteration may generate many cuts from scenario subproblems, and adding all of them as constraints then causes the master problem to grow rapidly. These are constraints that may need to … Read more

Multi-Fidelity Benders Decomposition for Generation, Storage, and Transmission Expansion Planning

Modern energy grid expansion planning, by necessity, includes timeseries data to accurately model storage and renewable assets. Representative time periods are commonly used as a way to decrease problem size and therefore mitigate the increased complexity from this inclusion. However, there are many choices around these representative periods: length; location in planning horizon; boundary conditions. … Read more

Computation of Least Trimmed Squares: A Branch-and-Bound framework with Hyperplane Arrangement Enhancements

We study computational aspects of a key problem in robust statistics—the penalized least trimmed squares (LTS) regression problem, a robust estimator that mitigates the influence of outliers in data by capping residuals with large magnitudes. Although statistically attractive, penalized LTS is NP-hard, and existing mixed-integer optimization (MIO) formulations scale poorly due to weak relaxations and … Read more

Multi-Leader Single-Follower Power-Market Modeling: The Impact of DC Market-Clearing on AC Feasibility

We study the impact of DC power flow modeling in multi-leader single-follower market models on the AC feasibility of the market outcome. To this end, we consider strategically bidding power producers that are connected to an electricity network and a market-clearing executed by an ISO. The focus is on a pay-as-bid electricity market in which … Read more

An Inexact Trust-Region Method for Structured Nonsmooth Optimization with Application to Risk-Averse Stochastic Programming

We develop a trust-region method for efficiently minimizing the sum of a smooth function, a nonsmooth convex function, and the composition of a finite-valued support function with a smooth function. Optimization problems with this structure arise in numerous applications including risk-averse stochastic programming and subproblems for nonsmooth penalty nonlinear programming methods. Our method permits the … Read more

Distributionally Robust Chance-Constrained Optimal Load Shedding Model for Active Distribution Networks Based on KDE

With the high penetration of distributed energy resources in active distribution networks(ADNs), forecast errors from renewables and loads pose significant risks of bilateral violations, including overvoltage/undervoltage and line overloads. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a KDE-DRCCO model that integrates kernel density estimation (KDE) with distributionally robust chance-constrained optimization (DRCCO). Leveraging the radial topology … Read more

Sequential Nonlinear-Programming Approach to Thermal-Aware VLSI Floorplanning using Multi-boundary Shapes

In this paper we develop and implement sequential nonlinear-programming methods for solving the thermal-aware soft-macro VLSI floorplanning problem with IO-block placement and a dynamic floorplan-boundary.  We develop a multi-stage nonlinear-programming approach to this floorplanning problem.   We break the floorplanning process into two main stages, a simplified first-stage, which omits any consideration of the floorplan boundary … Read more

The value of storage in electricity distribution: The role of markets

Electricity distribution companies deploy battery storage to defer grid upgrades by reducing peak demand. In deregulated jurisdictions, such storage often sits idle because regulatory constraints bar participation in electricity markets. Here, we develop an optimization framework that, to our knowledge, provides the first formal model of market participation constraints within storage investment and operation planning. … Read more