DERIVATIVE-FREE METHODS FOR BOUND CONSTRAINED MIXED-INTEGER OPTIMIZATION

We consider the problem of minimizing a continuously differentiable function of several variables subject to simple bound constraints where some of the variables are restricted to take integer values. We assume that the first order derivatives of the objective function can be neither calculated nor approximated explicitly. This class of mixed integer nonlinear optimization problems … Read more

Effective Separation of Disjunctive Cuts for Convex Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programs

We describe a computationally effective method for generating disjunctive inequalities for convex mixed-integer nonlinear programs (MINLPs). The method relies on solving a sequence of cut-generating linear programs, and in the limit will generate an inequality as strong as can be produced by the cut-generating nonlinear program suggested by Stubbs and Mehrotra. Using this procedure, we … Read more

Symmetry-exploiting cuts for a class of mixed-0/1 second order cone programs

We will analyze mixed 0/1 second order cone programs where the fractional and binary variables are solely coupled via the conic constraints. For this special type of mixed-integer second order cone programs we devise a cutting-plane framework based on the generalized Benders cut and an implicit Sherali-Adams reformulation. We show that the resulting cuts are … Read more

Combinatorial Integral Approximation

We are interested in structures and efficient methods for mixed-integer nonlinear programs (MINLP) that arise from a first discretize, then optimize approach to time-dependent mixed-integer optimal control problems (MIOCPs). In this study we focus on combinatorial constraints, in particular on restrictions on the number of switches on a fixed time grid. We propose a novel … Read more

Perspective Reformulation and Applications

In this paper we survey recent work on the perspective reformulation approach that generates tight, tractable relaxations for convex mixed integer nonlinear programs (MINLP)s. This preprocessing technique is applicable to cases where the MINLP contains binary indicator variables that force continuous decision variables to take the value 0, or to belong to a convex set. … Read more

Code verification by static analysis: a mathematical programming approach

Automatic verification of computer code is of paramount importance in embedded systems supplying essential services. One of the most important verification techniques is static code analysis by abstract interpretation: the concrete semantics of a programming language (i.e.the values $\chi$ that variable symbols {\tt x} appearing in a program can take during its execution) are replaced … Read more

Disjunctive cuts for non-convex MINLP

Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) problems present two main challenges: the integrality of a subset of variables and nonconvex (nonlinear) objective function and constraints. Many exact solvers for MINLP are branch-and-bound algorithms that compute a lower bound on the optimal solution using a linear programming relaxation of the original problem. In order to solve these … Read more

Nonlinear Integer Programming

Research efforts of the past fifty years have led to a development of linear integer programming as a mature discipline of mathematical optimization. Such a level of maturity has not been reached when one considers nonlinear systems subject to integrality requirements for the variables. This chapter is dedicated to this topic.  The primary goal is … Read more

An algorithmic framework for MINLP with separable non-convexity

Global optimization algorithms, e.g., spatial branch-and-bound approaches like those implemented in codes such as BARON and COUENNE, have had substantial success in tackling complicated, but generally small scale, non-convex MINLPs (i.e., mixed-integer nonlinear programs having non-convex continuous relaxations). Because they are aimed at a rather general class of problems, the possibility remains that larger instances … Read more

On convex relaxations of quadrilinear terms

The best known method to find exact or at least epsilon-approximate solutions to polynomial programming problems is the spatial Branch-and-Bound algorithm, which rests on computing lower bounds to the value of the objective function to be minimized on each region that it explores. These lower bounds are often computed by solving convex relaxations of the … Read more