Feasible rounding approaches for equality constrained mixed-integer optimization problems

A feasible rounding approach is a novel technique to compute good feasible points for mixed-integer optimization problems. The central idea of this approach is the construction of a continuously described inner parallel set for which any rounding of any of its elements is feasible in the original mixed-integer problem. It is known that this approach … Read more

The Bipartite Boolean Quadric Polytope with Multiple-Choice Constraints

We consider the bipartite boolean quadric polytope (BQP) with multiple-choice constraints and analyse its combinatorial properties. The well-studied BQP is defined as the convex hull of all quadric incidence vectors over a bipartite graph. In this work, we study the case where there is a partition on one of the two bipartite node sets such … Read more

Solving AC Optimal Power Flow with Discrete Decisions to Global Optimality

We present a solution framework for general alternating current optimal power flow (AC OPF) problems that include discrete decisions. The latter occur, for instance, in the context of the curtailment of renewables or the switching of power generation units and transmission lines. Our approach delivers globally optimal solutions and is provably convergent. We model AC … Read more

A disjunctive cut strengthening technique for convex MINLP

Generating polyhedral outer approximations and solving mixed-integer linear relaxations remains one of the main approaches for solving convex mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problems. There are several algorithms based on this concept, and the efficiency is greatly affected by the tightness of the outer approximation. In this paper, we present a new framework for strengthening cutting … Read more

On Refinement Strategies for Solving MINLPs by Piecewise Linear Relaxations: A Generalized Red Refinement

We investigate the generalized red refinement for n-dimensional simplices that dates back to Freudenthal in a mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP) context. We show that the red refinement meets sufficient convergence conditions for a known MINLP solution framework that is essentially based on solving piecewise linear relaxations. In addition, we prove that applying this refinement procedure … Read more

An Adaptive Patch Approximation Algorithm for Bicriteria Convex Mixed Integer problems

Pareto frontiers of bicriteria continuous convex problems can be efficiently computed and optimal theoretical performance bounds have been established. In the case of bicriteria mixed-integer problems, the approximation of the Pareto frontier becomes, however, significantly harder. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for approximating the Pareto frontier of bicriteria mixed-integer programs with convex … Read more

The confined primal integral

It is a challenging task to fairly compare local solvers and heuristics against each other and against global solvers. How does one weigh a faster termination time against a better quality of the found solution? In this paper, we introduce the confined primal integral, a new performance measure that rewards a balance of speed and … Read more

Conflict Analysis for MINLP

The generalization of MIP techniques to deal with nonlinear, potentially non-convex, constraints have been a fruitful direction of research for computational MINLP in the last decade. In this paper, we follow that path in order to extend another essential subroutine of modern MIP solvers towards the case of nonlinear optimization: the analysis of infeasible subproblems … Read more

Improved optimization models for potential-driven network flow problems via ASTS orientations

The class of potential-driven network flow problems provides important models for a range of infrastructure networks that lead to hard-to-solve MINLPs in real-world applications. On large-scale meshed networks the relaxations usually employed are rather weak due to cycles in the network. To address this situation, we introduce the concept of ASTS orientations, a generalization of … Read more

A Decision Space Algorithm for Multiobjective Convex Quadratic Integer Optimization

We present a branch-and-bound algorithm for minimizing multiple convex quadratic objective functions over integer variables. Our method looks for efficient points by fixing subsets of variables to integer values and by using lower bounds in the form of hyperplanes in the image space derived from the continuous relaxations of the restricted objective functions. We show … Read more