Sequential quadratic programming (SQP) methods have proved highly effective for solving constrained optimization problems with smooth nonlinear functions in the objective and constraints. Here we consider problems with general inequality constraints (linear and nonlinear). We assume that first derivatives are available, and that the constraint gradients are sparse.

In this paper a family of trust-region interior-point SQP algorithms for the solution of a class of minimization problems with nonlinear equality constraints and simple bounds on some of the variables is described and analyzed. Such nonlinear programs arise e.g. from the discretization of optimal control problems. The algorithms treat states and controls as independent variables. They are designed to take advantage of the structure of the problem. In particular they do not rely on matrix factorizations of the linearized constraints, but use solutions of the linearized state equation and the adjoint equation. They are well suited for large scale problems arising from optimal control problems governed by partial differential equations. The algorithms keep strict feasibility with respect to the bound constraints by using an affine scaling method proposed for a different class of problems by Coleman and Li and they exploit trust--region techniques for equality-constrained optimizatio...

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. In recent years, general-purpose sequential quadratic programming (SQP) methods have been developed that can reliably solve constrained optimization problems with many hundreds of variables and constraints. These methods require remarkably few evaluations of the problem functions and can be shown to converge to a solution under very mild conditions on the problem. Some practical and theoretical aspects of applying general-purpose SQP methods to optimal control problems are discussed, including the influence of the problem discretization and the zero/nonzero structure of the problem derivatives. We conclude with some recent approaches that tailor the SQP method to the control problem. Key words. large-scale optimization, sequential quadratic programming (SQP) methods, optimal control problems, multiple shooting methods, single shooting methods, collocation methods AMS subject classifications. 49J20, 49J15, 49M37, 49D37, 65F05, 65K05, 90C30 1. Introduction. Recently there has been c...

This paper is concerned with the implementation of optimization algorithms for the solution of smooth discretized optimal control problems. The problems under consideration can be written as min f(y; u)

Introduction Over the past decade, applications in dynamic simulation have increased signicantly in the process industries. These are driven by strong competitive markets faced by operating companies along with tighter specications on process performance and regulatory limits. Moreover, the developmentofpowerful commercial modeling tools for dynamic simulation, such as ASPEN Custom # ####### ########################## #### ############### ################### 1 Modeler and gProms, has led to their introduction in industry alongside their widely used steady state counterparts. Dynamic optimization is the natural extension of these dynamic simulation tools because it automates many of the decisions required for engineering studies. Applications of dynamic simulation can be classied into o-line and on-line tasks. O-line tasks include: # Design to avoid undesirable transients for chemical process

. Much progress has been made in constrained nonlinear optimization in the past ten years, but most large-scale problems still represent a considerable obstacle. In this survey paper we will attempt to give an overview of the current approaches, including interior and exterior methods and algorithms based upon trust regions and line searches. In addition, the importance of software, numerical linear algebra and testing will be addressed. We will try to explain why the difficulties arise, how attempts are being made to overcome them and some of the problems that still remain. Although there will be some emphasis on the LANCELOT and CUTE projects, the intention is to give a broad picture of the state-of-the-art. 1 IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, P.O.Box 218, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA 2 Parallel Algorithms Team, CERFACS, 42 Ave. G. Coriolis, 31057 Toulouse Cedex, France 3 Central Computing Department, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, England ...

A novel nonlinear programming (NLP) strategy is developed and applied to the optimization of differential algebraic equation (DAE) systems. Such problems, also referred to as dynamic optimization problems, are common in chemical process engineering and remain challenging applications of nonlinear programming. These applications often consist of large, complex nonlinear models that result from discretizations of DAEs. Variables in the NLP model include state and control variables, with far fewer control variables than states. Moreover, all of these discretized variables have associated upper and lower bounds which can be potentially active. To deal with this large, highly constrained problem, an interior point NLP strategy is developed. Here a log barrier function is used to deal with the large number of bound constraints in order to transform the problem to an equality constrained NLP. A modified Newton method is then applied directly to this problem. In addition, this method uses an efficient decomposition of the discretized DAEs and the solution of the Newton step is performed in the reduced space of the independent variables. The resulting approach exploits many of the features of the DAE system and is performed element by element in a forward manner. Several large dynamic process optimization problems are considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach; these include complex separation and reaction processes (including reactive distillation) with several hundred DAEs. NLP formulations with over 55,000 variables are considered. These problems are solved in 5 to 12 CPU minutes on small workstations. Key words: interior point; dynamic optimization; nonlinear programming 1 1

Discretization of optimal shape design problems leads to very large nonlinear optimization problems. For attaining maximum computational efficiency, a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm should achieve superlinear convergence while preserving sparsity and convexity of the resulting quadratic programs. Most classical SQP approaches violate at least one of the requirements. We show that, for a very large class of optimization problems, one can design SQP algorithms that satisfy all these three requirements. The improvements in computational efficiency are demonstrated for a cam design problem. Address all correspondence to this author. y The work of this author was supported by the Mathematical, Information and Computational Sciences Division subprogram of the Office of Computational and Technology Research, U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract W-31-109-Eng-38. 1 Introduction Within the class of potentially very large scale problems, shape optimization occupies ...

Introduction and Problem Statement Interest in dynamic simulation and optimization of chemical processes has increased significantly during the last two decades. Common problems include control and scheduling of batch processes; startup, upset, shutdown and transient analysis; safety studies and the evaluation of control schemes. Chemical processes are modeled dynamically using differentialalgebraic equations (DAEs). The DAE formulation consists of differential equations that describe the dynamic behavior of the system, such as mass and energy balances, and algebraic equations that ensure physical and thermodynamic relations. The general dynamic optimization problem can be stated as follows: min z(t);y(t);u(t);t f ;p '(z(t f ); y(t f ); u(t<F8