Model predictive control problems for constrained hybrid systems are usually cast as mixed-integer optimization problems (MIP). However, commercial MIP solvers are designed to run on desktop computing platforms and are not suited for embedded applications which are typically restricted by limited computational power and memory. To alleviate these restrictions, we develop a novel low-complexity, iterative … Read more
The concept of the optimal partition was originally introduced for linear optimization and linear complementarity problems and subsequently extended to semidefinite optimization. For linear optimization and sufficient linear complementarity problems, from a central solution sufficiently close to the optimal set, the optimal partition and a maximally complementary optimal solution can be identified in strongly polynomial … Read more
We study the convergence rate of moment-sum-of-squares hierarchies of semidefinite programs for optimal control problems with polynomial data. It is known that these hierarchies generate polynomial under-approximations to the value function of the optimal control problem and that these under-approximations converge in the $L^1$ norm to the value function as their degree $d$ tends to … Read more
Energy efficiency and renewable energy become more attractive in smart grid. In order to efficiently reduce global energy usage in building energy systems and to improve local environmental sustainability, it is essential to optimize the operation and the performance of combined heat and power (CHP) systems. In addition, intermittent renewable energy and imprecisely predicted customer … Read more
We consider a linear problem over a finite set of integer vectors and assume that there is a verification oracle, which is an algorithm being able to verify whether a given vector optimizes a given linear function over the feasible set. Given an initial solution, the algorithm proposed in this paper finds an optimal solution … Read more
In this paper, we present a new, optimization-based method to exhibit cyclic behavior in non-reversible stochastic processes. While our method is general, it is strongly motivated by discrete simulations of ordinary differential equations representing non-reversible biological processes, in particular molecular simulations. Here, the discrete time steps of the simulation are often very small compared to … Read more
In this paper we propose a new Riemannian conjugate gradient method for optimization on the Stiefel manifold. We introduce two novel vector transports associated with the retraction constructed by the Cayley transform. Both of them satisfy the Ring-Wirth nonexpansive condition, which is fundamental for convergence analysis of Riemannian conjugate gradient methods, and one of them … Read more
The max-$k$-sum of a set of real scalars is the maximum sum of a subset of size $k$, or alternatively the sum of the $k$ largest elements. We study two extensions: First, we show how to obtain smooth approximations to functions that are pointwise max-$k$-sums of smooth functions. Second, we discuss how the max-$k$-sum can … Read more
We consider a distributionally robust optimization problem where the ambiguity set of probability distributions is characterized by a tractable conic representable support set and expectation constraints. Specifically, we propose and motivate a new class of infinitely constrained ambiguity sets in which the number of expectation constraints could potentially be infinite. We show how the infinitely … Read more
We study the vehicle routing problem with roaming delivery locations in which the goal is to find a least-cost set of delivery routes for a fleet of capacitated vehicles and in which a customer order has to be delivered to the trunk of the customer’s car during the time that the car is parked at … Read more