Tight-and-cheap conic relaxation for the optimal reactive power dispatch problem

The optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) problem is an alternating current optimal power flow (ACOPF) problem where discrete control devices for regulating the reactive power, such as shunt elements and tap changers, are considered. The ORPD problem is modelled as a mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problem and its complexity is increased compared to the ACOPF problem, … Read more

The Mesh Adaptive Direct Search Algorithm for Granular and Discrete Variables

The mesh adaptive direct search (Mads) algorithm is designed for blackbox optimization problems for which the functions defining the objective and the constraints are typically the outputs of a simulation seen as a blackbox. It is a derivative-free optimization method designed for continuous variables and is supported by a convergence analysis based on the Clarke … Read more

Unified approach for solving Box-Constrained models with continuous or discrete variables by Non monotonous Derivative Free Optimization techniques.

This paper describes a unified approach for solving Box-Constrained Optimization Problems (BCOP) in Euclidian spaces. The variables may be either continuous or discrete; in which case, they range on a grid of isolated points regularly spaced. For the continuous case, convergence is shown under standard assumptions; for the discrete case, slight modifications ensure that the … Read more