The development of mathematical simulation and optimization models and algorithms for solving gas transport problems is an active field of research. In order to test and compare these models and algorithms, gas network instances together with demand data are needed. The goal of GasLib is to provide a set of publicly available gas network instances … Read more
We discuss an application of the well-known Multiplicative Weights Update (MWU) algorithm to non-convex and mixed-integer nonlinear programming. We present applications to: (a) the distance geometry problem, which arises in the positioning of mobile sensors and in protein conformation; (b) a hydro unit commitment problem arising in the energy industry, and (c) a class of … Read more
When using the standard McCormick inequalities twice to convexify trilinear monomials, as is often the practice in modeling and software, there is a choice of which variables to group first. For the important case in which the domain is a nonnegative box, we calculate the volume of the resulting relaxation, as a function of the … Read more
Expansion of natural gas networks is a critical process involving substantial capital expenditures with complex decision-support requirements. Given the non-convex nature of gas transmission constraints, global optimality and infeasibility guarantees can only be offered by global optimisation approaches. Unfortunately, state-of-the-art global optimisation solvers are unable to scale up to real-world size instances. In this study, … Read more
We propose an equilibrium model that allows to analyze the long-run impact of the regulatory environment on transmission line expansion by the regulator and investment in generation capacity by private firms in liberalized electricity markets. The model incorporates investment decisions of the transmission operator and private firms in expectation of an energy-only market and cost-based … Read more
With the fast-growing demand in the electricity market of the last decades, attention has been focused on alternative and flexible sources of energy such as hydro valleys. Managing the hydroelectricity produced by the plants in hydro valleys is called the hydro unit commitment problem. This problem consists in finding the optimal power production schedule of … Read more
We present polynomial-time algorithms for constrained optimization problems overwhere the intersection graph of the constraint set has bounded tree-width. In the case of binary variables we obtain exact, polynomial-size linear programming formulations for the problem. In the mixed-integer case with bounded variables we obtain polynomial-size linear programming representations that attain guaranteed optimality and feasibility bounds. … Read more
Motivated by stochastic 0-1 integer programming problems with an expected utility objective, we study the mixed-integer nonlinear set: $P = \cset{(w,x)\in \reals \times \set{0,1}^N}{w \leq f(a’x + d), b’x \leq B}$ where $N$ is a positive integer, $f:\reals \mapsto \reals$ is a concave function, $a, b \in \reals^N$ are nonnegative vectors, $d$ is a real … Read more
We present a specialized branch-and-bound (b&b) algorithm for the Euclidean Steiner tree problem (ESTP) in R^n and apply it to a convex mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) formulation of the problem, presented by Fampa and Maculan. The algorithm contains procedures to avoid difficulties observed when applying a b&b algorithm for general MINLP problems to solve the … Read more
The Euclidean Steiner Tree Problem in dimension greater than two is notoriously difficult. The successful methods for exact solution are not based on mathematical-optimization methods — rather, they involve very sophisticated enumeration. There are two types of mathematical-optimization formulations in the literature, and it is an understatement to say that neither scales well enough to … Read more