Approximation and bounds in discrete event dynamic programming

We derive local error estimates for the discretization of optimal control problems governed by linear advection-diffusion partial differential equations (PDEs) using the streamline upwind/Petrov Galerkin (SUPG) stabilized finite element method. We show that if the SUPG method is used to solve optimization problems governed by an advection-dominated PDE, the convergence properties of the SUPG method is substantially different from the convergence properties of the SUPG method applied for the solution of an advection-dominated PDE. The reason is that the solution of the optimal control problem involves another advection-dominated PDE, the so-called adjoint equation, whose advection field is just the negative of the advection of the governing PDEs. For the solution of the optimal control problem, a coupled system involving both the original governing PDE as well as the adjoint PDE must be solved. We show that in the presence of a boundary layer, the local error between the solution of the SUPG discretized optimal control problem and the solution of the infinite dimensional problem is only of first order even if the error is computed locally in a region away from the boundary layer. In the presence of interior layers, we prove optimal convergence rates for the local error in a region away from the layer between the solution of the SUPG discretized optimal control problems and the solution of the infinite dimensional problem. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate some of the theoretical results.

Mathematical formulation and numerical solutions of an optimal Dirichlet boundary control problem for the Boussinesq equations are considered. The solution of the optimal control problem is obtained by adjusting of the temperature on the boundary. We analyze finite element approximations. A gradient method for the solution of the discrete optimal control problem is presented and analyzed. Finally, the results of some computational experiments are presented.

Three algorithms for efficient solution of optimal control problems for high-dimensional systems are presented. Each bypasses the intermediate (and, unnecessary) step of open-loop model reduction. Each also bypasses the solution of the full Riccati equation corresponding to the LQR problem, which is numerically intractable for large n. Motivation for this effort comes from the field of model-based flow control, where open-loop model reduction often fails to capture the dynamics of interest (governed by the Navier–Stokes equation). Our minimum control energy method is a simplified expression for the well-known minimum-energy stabilizing control feedback that depends only on the left eigenvectors corresponding to the unstable eigenvalues of the system matrix A. Our Adjoint of the Direct-Adjoint method is based on the repeated iterative computation of the adjoint of a forward problem, itself defined to be the direct-adjoint vector pair associated with the LQR problem. Our oppositely-shifted subspace iteration (OSSI, the main new result of the present paper) method is based on our new subspace iteration method for computing the Schur vectors corresponding, notably, to the \(m\ll n\) central eigenvalues (near the imaginary axis) of the Hamiltonian matrix related to the Riccati equation of interest. Prototype OSSI implementations are tested on a low-order control problem to illustrate its behavior.

This article presents a unified approach to simultaneous solution of optimization and optimal control problems in batch distillation, operating under different modes of operation: variable, constant, or optimal reflux. The simplified, computationally efficient short‐cut method and a novel algorithm to solve the optimal control problems in batch distillation is the basis of this unified approach. The short‐cut method identifies the feasible region of operation essential for optimization and optimal control problems, and provides analytical partial derivatives of the model parameters crucial to the solution.The new algorithm for the solution of optimal combination of the maximum principle and NLP optimization techniques. It circumvents the problems associated with the maximum principle approach (iterative solution of a two‐point boundary value problem, undounded control variables, and inability to handle the simultaneous optimization and optimal control problem), and the coupled ODE discretization‐NLP optimization scheme for nonlinear models (higher system nonlinearities, multiplicity of solutions, sensitivity of convergence to initial guesses). This algorithm reduces the dimensionality of the problem, and the nature of the algorithm allows a common platform to optimal solutions of different operating conditions. This article also shows that different categories of the optimal control problems in batch distillation essentially involve the solution of the maximum distillate problem.

The problem of optimal control with a variable structure depending on the particular way on the parameter is described in the article. In the considered issue, the object’s motion equations are described by two differential equations depending on the small parameter and these equations are bound to each other. The study investigated the solution of the problem depending on the small parameter that gives a certain functional minimum in the range of solutions described by differential equations, with a small parameter and the necessary conditions for the optimization of the solution are given. The validity of the theorems obtained in this study was proved by applying the Lagrangian principle to the Lagrangian functions and the application of the Farm Theorem to the Lagrangian problem. At the same time, the problem of optimal control with periodic boundary conditions is also explored. It can also be used extensively in solving some practical issues, for example, model in oil extraction by gas—lift method for the case when the reciprocal value of well’s depth represents a small parameter is considered. Problem of optimal mode construction (i.e., construction of optimal program trajectories and controls) is reduced to the linear—quadratic optimal control problem with a small parameter. This issue is investigated using the Lagrange coefficient and the Lagrange principle for the Lagrange problem. Although this issue has been studied in numerous works, the specificity of the issue under consideration makes it possible to investigate it differently. The considered method can be applied to the solution of optimal control problems for the problems described by some nonlinear differential equations.

A neural network based optimal control synthesis is presented for solving optimal control problems with control and state constraints. The optimal control problem is transcribed into nonlinear programming problem which is implemented with adaptive critic neural network. The proposed simulation methods is illustrated by the optimal control problem of feeding adaptation of filter feeders of Daphnia. Results show that adaptive critic based systematic approach holds promise for obtaining the optimal control with control and state constraints.

We present an optimal control approach to freeway traffic congestion control. A Link-Node Cell transmission model (LN-CTM) is used to represent the freeway traffic dynamics. The approach searches for solutions represented by a combination of ramp metering and variable speed control. The optimization problem corresponding to the optimal control problem based on the LN-CTM is non-convex and nonlinear. We relax the problem to a linear optimization problem, and propose an approach to map the solution of the linear optimization algorithm to the solution of the original optimal control problem. We prove that the solution derived from this approach is optimal for the original optimal control algorithm. Finally, we use a model predictive framework to demonstrate the optimal control formulation presented in this paper and discuss its potential use.

This paper describes a novel offline approach to estimate the parameters of a nonlinear system using the optimal control theory. In the conventional methods, only the output is considered in the identification process and the problem is stated as a nonlinear optimization problem. Nevertheless, the proposed method here is based on the least square error of both output and input. To do this, the problem is first stated as a tracking problem with some unknown parameters. The necessary and sufficiency conditions of optimality conditions are derived using the fundamental theorem of variational calculus. The problem is deployed as an effort optimal control problem which finally leads to a two point boundary value problem. To solve the resultant equations, a secondary optimal control problem is deployed to be solved using the homotopy algorithm. So the parameters are gradually converged to the real values. The proposed algorithm is analyzed for a one-link manipulator with the full measurements. Thereafter, the proposed method is applied on a real one-link manipulator and nonlinear model of permanent magnet dc motor. Application of the method for the identification of a few test beds at the AUT proves the validity and efficiency of the proposed approach.

A simplified approach to the solution of linear optimal control problems with quadratic performance indexes is described in this paper. The phase-variable canonical form is used to develop a new type of optimal system equivalence. This concept leads to a substantial simplification of the matrix Riccati equation. The simplified matrix Riccati equation is of the same form for any problem of a given order, say, n, and contains only n nonzero forcing functions. That is, it always corresponds to a set of constant-coefficient scalar differential equations; in various nth-order problems the n nonzero forcing functions and the terminal conditions simply assume different forms. In a very strong sense, this simplified matrix Riccati equation is the simplest possible Riccati equation arising from optimization problems. The method is developed for general time-varying systems with finite terminal time. It is developed also for the important special case of time-invariant systems with infinite terminal time.

Optimal Design and Control of Cyclically Operated Biological Wastewater Treatment Plants

Existing methods for nonlinear robust control often use scenario‐based approaches to formulate the control problem as large nonlinear optimization problems. The optimization problems are challenging to solve due to their size, especially if the control problems include time‐varying uncertainty. This paper draws from local reduction methods used in semi‐infinite optimization to solve robust optimal control problems with parametric and time‐varying uncertainty. By iteratively adding interim worst‐case scenarios to the problem, methods based on local reduction provide a way to manage the total number of scenarios. We show that the local reduction method for optimal control problems consists of solving a series of simplified optimal control problems to find worst‐case constraint violations. In particular, we present examples where local reduction methods find worst‐case scenarios that are not on the boundary of the uncertainty set. We also provide bounds on the error if local solvers are used. The proposed approach is illustrated with two case studies with parametric and additive time‐varying uncertainty. In the first case study, the number of scenarios obtained from local reduction is 101, smaller than in the case when all extreme scenarios are considered. In the second case study, the number of scenarios obtained from the local reduction is two compared to 512 extreme scenarios. Our approach was able to satisfy the constraints both for parametric uncertainty and time‐varying disturbances, whereas approaches from literature either violated the constraints or became computationally expensive.

Algorithms for the numerical solution of optimal control problems with bounded state variables are developed. Two main cases are considered: either the control variable appears nonlinearly or the control variable appears linearly. In the first case, an extremal are touching the boundary or containing a boundary arc, is shown to satisfy a suitable two-point boundary value problem. In the second case, a numerical idea for solving the problem in statespace is presented which dispenses with the Lagrange-multipliers. Three numerical examples are discussed illustrating the efficiency of the different algorithms. The encountered two-point boundary value problems are solved with the method of multiple shooting.

SUMMARYThis paper presents an algorithm for the indirect solution of optimal control problems that contain mixed state and control variable inequality constraints. The necessary conditions for optimality lead to an inequality constrained two‐point BVP with index‐1 differential‐algebraic equations (BVP‐DAEs). These BVP‐DAEs are solved using a multiple shooting method where the DAEs are approximated using a single‐step linearly implicit Runge–Kutta (Rosenbrock–Wanner) method. An interior‐point Newton method is used to solve the residual equations associated with the multiple shooting discretization. The elements of the residual equations, and the Jacobian of the residual equations, are constructed in parallel. The search direction for the interior‐point method is computed by solving a sparse bordered almost block diagonal (BABD) linear system. Here, a parallel‐structured orthogonal factorization algorithm is used to solve the BABD system. Examples are presented to illustrate the efficiency of the parallel algorithm. It is shown that an American National Standards Institute C implementation of the parallel algorithm achieves significant speedup with the increase in the number of processors used. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reduction of modes for the control of viscous flows

It is proved that the linear combinations of shifts and contractions of the Gaussian function can be used for an arbitrarily accurate approximation in the space of continuous functions of one variable on any fixed intervals. On the example of the soft lunar landing problem, a method for the numerical solution of optimal control problems based on this approximation procedure of the control function is described. Within the framework of the same example, the sensitivity of constraint functionals to the specification error of optimal parameters is investigated using three approaches as follows: 1) Pontryagin's maximum principle (both numerically and theoretically); 2) the control parametrization technique in combination with the method of sliding nodes; 3) the newly proposed method. A comparative analysis is performed that confirms the effectiveness of the third method.