Decomposition Methods for Time-Dependent Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Optimization Problems on Graphs
- Decomposition can be the method of choice to deal with optimization problems that contain hard to solve model structures or that are of large scale. The main idea is to decompose the problematic aspects of the problem into multiple smaller blocks that can be solved more easily. Here, the challenge is to combine the single pieces to a solution that is not only feasible but maybe even optimal for the original problem. In many cases, this can be done by introducing an iteration that eventually converges to a desired solution.
In this cumulative dissertation, we present several iterative decomposition methods that are tailored to different types of optimization models and use distinct approaches to split up the problems. Our main motivation for this originates from the optimization of gas transport networks, where we encounter partial differential equations as well as discrete control decisions. Additionally, we engage in the related field of district heating network optimization to study the challenges arising from large-scale and fully discretized systems as well as undesirable model features such as, e.g., complementarity constraints. Here, we introduce two temperature mixing models that are well suited for optimization and a number of techniques to speed up the solution process, which are applied in numerical experiments.
As a next step, we develop an iterative time-domain decomposition method that is applied to optimal control problems subject to semilinear hyperbolic systems of partial differential equations. For this, we derive first-order optimality conditions that are then split using a non-overlapping decomposition of the time horizon. We exploit the fact that the resulting systems have a primal interpretation as so-called virtual control problems. We prove the convergence of the iterative method and develop a posteriori error estimates. Later, we extend the scheme to systems of ordinary differential equations with mixed- integer controls by using Pontryagin’s maximum principle. We again show the convergence and conduct a numerical case study.
Moreover, we use a consensus-based version of the classic penalty alternating direction method to solve tailored reformulations of transient gas network problems that allow us to minimize the number of coupling constraints between sub-problems. Here, we utilize the quasi-separable structure of the network to decompose it into sub-networks with more desirable properties. We also discuss different decomposition strategies and test them in a numerical case study. Finally, we present a successive linear relaxation method for mixed-integer nonlinear problems with multivariate Lipschitz continuous nonlinearities. The distinguishing feature of this algorithm is that it exploits no properties of the nonlinearities besides the Lipschitz constants. Therefore, the method is
applicable for problems with non-convex or even non-differentiable constraints. The nonlinearities do not even need to be given in a closed form, which allows us to integrate black-box constraints into the model. We prove that the algorithm converges to an approximate global optimum and we provide a worst-case estimate for the number of iterations. The iterative method is applied to stationary gas transport problems, where implicitly given solutions of the differential equations are modeled via black-box constraints.