We present a primal-dual interior-point algorithm with a filter line-search method for nonlinear programming. Local and global convergence properties of this method were analyzed in previous work. Here we provide a comprehensive description of the algorithm, including the feasibility restoration phase for the filter method, second-order corrections, and inertia correction of the KKT matrix. Heuristics are also considered that allow faster performance. This method has been implemented in the IPOPT code, which we demonstrate in a detailed numerical study based on 954 problems from the CUTEr test set. An evaluation is made of several line-search options, and a comparison is provided with two state-of-the-art interior-point codes for nonlinear programming.

Abstract. Augmented Lagrangian methods with general lower-level constraints are considered in the present research. These methods are useful when efficient algorithms exist for solving subproblems in which the constraints are only of the lower-level type. Inexact resolution of the lower-level constrained subproblems is considered. Global convergence is proved using the Constant Positive Linear Dependence constraint qualification. Conditions for boundedness of the penalty parameters are discussed. The reliability of the approach is tested by means of a comparison against Ipopt and Lancelot B. The resolution of location problems in which many constraints of the lower-level set are nonlinear is addressed, employing the Spectral Projected Gradient method for solving the subproblems. Problems of this type with more than 3 × 10 6 variables and 14 × 10 6 constraints are solved in this way, using moderate computer time. The codes are free for download in www.ime.usp.br/∼egbirgin/tango/

Recently, it has been shown that mathematical programs with complementarity constraints (MPCCs) can be solved efficiently and reliably as nonlinear programs. This paper examines various nonlinear formulations of the complementarity constraints. Several nonlinear complementarity functions are considered for use in MPCC. Unlike standard smoothing techniques, however, the reformulations do not require the control of a smoothing parameter. Thus they have the advantage that the smoothing is exact in the sense that Karush-Kuhn-Tucker points of the reformulation correspond to strongly stationary points of the MPCC. A new exact smoothing of the well-known min function is also introduced and shown to possess desirable theoretical properties. It is shown how the new formulations can be integrated into a sequential quadratic programming solver, and their practical performance is compared on a range of test problems.

A series of numerical experiments with interior point (LOQO, KNITRO) and active-set sequential quadratic programming (SNOPT, filterSQP) codes are reported and analyzed. The tests were performed with small, medium-size and moderately large problems, and are examined by problem classes. Detailed observations on the performance of the codes, and several suggestions on how to improve them are presented. Overall, interior methods appear to be strong competitors of active-set SQP methods, but all codes show much room for improvement. 1

Given a power grid modeled by a network together with equations describing the power flows, power generation and consumption, and the laws of physics, the so-called N − k problem asks whether there exists a set of k or fewer arcs whose removal will cause the system to fail. The case where k is small is of practical interest. We present theoretical and computational results involving a mixed-integer model and a continuous nonlinear model related to this question. 1

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In this paper we provide a general classification of mathematical optimization problems, followed by a matrix of applications that shows the areas in which these problems have been typically applied in process systems engineering. We then provide a review of solution methods of the major types of optimization problems for continuous and discrete variable optimization, particularly nonlinear and mixed-integer nonlinear programming. We also review their extensions to dynamic optimization and optimization under uncertainty. While these areas are still subject to significant research efforts, the emphasis in this paper is on major developments that have taken place over the last twenty five years.

Given an algorithm A for solving some mathematical problem based on the iterative solution of simpler subproblems, an Outer Trust-Region (OTR) modification of A is the result of adding a trust-region constraint to each subproblem. The trust-region size is adaptively updated according to the behavior of crucial variables. The new subproblems should not be more complex than the original ones and the convergence properties of the Outer Trust-Region algorithm should be the same as those of the Algorithm A. Some reasons for introducing OTR modifications are given in the present work. Convergence results for an OTR version of an Augmented Lagrangian method for nonconvex constrained optimization are proved and numerical experiments are presented.