Global Optimization of Nonlinear Network Design

A novel approach for obtaining globally optimal solutions to design of networks with nonlinear resistances and potential driven flows is proposed. The approach is applicable to networks where the potential loss on an edge in the network is governed by a convex and strictly monotonically increasing function of flow rate. We introduce a relaxation of … Read more

An Alternating Direction Method for Chance-Constrained Optimization Problems with Discrete Distributions

We consider a chance-constrained optimization problem (CCOP), where the random variables follow finite discrete distributions. The problem is in general nonconvex and can be reformulated as a mixed-integer program. By exploiting the special structure of the probabilistic constraint, we propose an alternating direction method for finding suboptimal solutions of CCOP. At each iteration, this method … Read more

Solving Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs by QP-Diving

We present a new tree-search algorithm for solving mixed-integer nonlinear programs (MINLPs). Rather than relying on computationally expensive nonlinear solves at every node of the branch-and-bound tree, our algorithm solves a quadratic approximation at every node. We show that the resulting algorithm retains global convergence properties for convex MINLPs, and we present numerical results on … Read more

A Dynamic Programming Heuristic for the Quadratic Knapsack Problem

It is well known that the standard (linear) knapsack problem can be solved exactly by dynamic programming in O(nc) time, where n is the number of items and c is the capacity of the knapsack. The quadratic knapsack problem, on the other hand, is NP-hard in the strong sense, which makes it unlikely that it … Read more

Non-Convex Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming: A Survey

A wide range of problems arising in practical applications can be formulated as Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLPs). For the case in which the objective and constraint functions are convex, some quite effective exact and heuristic algorithms are available. When non-convexities are present, however, things become much more difficult, since then even the continuous relaxation is … Read more

The Lagrangian Relaxation for the Combinatorial Integral Approximation Problem

We are interested in methods to solve mixed-integer nonlinear optimal control problems (MIOCPs) constrained by ordinary di erential equations and combinatorial constraints on some of the control functions. To solve these problems we use a rst discretize, then opti- mize approach to get a specially structured mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP). We decompose this MINLP into an … Read more

On feasibility based bounds tightening

Mathematical programming problems involving nonconvexities are usually solved to optimality using a (spatial) Branch-and-Bound algorithm. Algorithmic efficiency depends on many factors, among which the widths of the bounding box for the problem variables at each Branch-and-Bound node naturally plays a critical role. The practically fastest box-tightening algorithm is known as FBBT (Feasibility-Based Bounds Tightening): an … Read more

The Asymmetric Quadratic Traveling Salesman Problem

The quadratic traveling salesman problem asks for a tour of minimal costs where the costs are associated with each two arcs that are traversed in succession. This structure arises, e. g., if the succession of two arcs represents the costs of loading processes in transport networks or a switch between different technologies in communication networks. … Read more

n-step Conic Mixed Integer Rounding Inequalities

We introduce the n-step conic MIR inequalities for the so-called polyhedral second-order conic (PSOC) mixed integer sets. PSOC sets arise in the polyhedral reformulation of the second-order conic mixed integer programs. Moreover, they are an equivalent representation for any mixed integer set defined by two linear constraints. The simple conic MIR inequalities of Atamtürk and … Read more

Derivative-free methods for constrained mixed-integer optimization

We consider the problem of minimizing a continuously di erentiable function of several variables subject to simple bound and general nonlinear inequality constraints, where some of the variables are restricted to take integer values. We assume that the rst order derivatives of the objective and constraint functions can be neither calculated nor approximated explicitly. This class … Read more