Numerical solution of optimal control problems with convex control constraints

We study optimal control problems with vector-valued controls. As model problem serves the optimal distributed control of the instationary Navier-Stokes equations. In the article, we propose a solution strategy to solve optimal control problems with pointwise convex control constraints. It involves a SQP-like step with an imbedded active-set algorithm. The efficiency of that method is demonstrated in numerical examples and compared to the primal-dual active-set strategy for box-constraints

Analysis of the SQP-method for optimal control problems governed by the instationary Navier-Stokes equations based on Lp-theory

The aim of this article is to present a convergence theory of the SQP-method applied to optimal control problems for the instationary Navier-Stokes equations. We will employ a second-order sufficient optimality condition, which requires that the second derivative of the Lagrangian is positive definit on a subspace of inactive constraints. Therefore, we have to use $L^p$-theory of optimal controls of the instationary Navier-Stokes equations rather than Hilbert space methods. We prove local convergence of the SQP-method. This behaviour is confirmed by numerical tests

Optimal Control of Coupled Systems of PDE

The Workshop Optimal Control of Coupled Systems of PDE was held from April 17th – April 23rd, 2005 in the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach. The scientific program covered various topics such as controllability, feedback control, optimality conditions,analysis and control of Navier-Stokes equations, model reduction of large systems, optimal shape design, and applications in crystal growth, chemical reactions and aviation

A Preconditioned Inexact Active-Set Method for Large-Scale Nonlinear Optimal Control Problems

We provide a global convergence proof of the recently proposed sequential homotopy method with an inexact Krylov--semismooth-Newton method employed as a local solver. The resulting method constitutes an active-set method in function space. After discretization, it allows for efficient application of Krylov-subspace methods. For a certain class of optimal control problems with PDE constraints, in which the control enters the Lagrangian only linearly, we propose and analyze an efficient, parallelizable, symmetric positive definite preconditioner based on a double Schur complement approach. We conclude with numerical results for a badly conditioned and highly nonlinear benchmark optimization problem with elliptic partial differential equations and control bounds. The resulting method is faster than using direct linear algebra for the 2D benchmark and allows for the parallel solution of large 3D problems.Comment: 26 page

Numerical Techniques for Optimization Problems with PDE Constraints

The development, analysis and implementation of efficient and robust numerical techniques for optimization problems associated with partial differential equations (PDEs) is of utmost importance for the optimal control of processes and the optimal design of structures and systems in modern technology. The successful realization of such techniques invokes a wide variety of challenging mathematical tasks and thus requires the application of adequate methodologies from various mathematical disciplines. During recent years, significant progress has been made in PDE constrained optimization both concerning optimization in function space according to the paradigm ’Optimize first, then discretize’ and with regard to the fast and reliable solution of the large-scale problems that typically arise from discretizations of the optimality conditions. The contributions at this Oberwolfach workshop impressively reflected the progress made in the field. In particular, new insights have been gained in the analysis of optimal control problems for PDEs that have led to vastly improved numerical solution methods. Likewise, breakthroughs have been made in the optimal design of structures and systems, for instance, by the socalled ’all-at-once’ approach featuring simultaneous optimization and solution of the underlying PDEs. Finally, new methodologies have been developed for the design of innovative materials and the identification of parameters in multi-scale physical and physiological processes

Mesh-independence and preconditioning for solving parabolic control problems with mixed control-state constraints

Optimal control problems for the heat equation with pointwise bilateral control-state constraints are considered. A locally superlinearly convergent numerical solution algorithm is proposed and its mesh independence is established. Further, for the efficient numerical solution reduced space and Schur complement based preconditioners are proposed which take into account the active and inactive set structure of the problem. The paper ends by numerical tests illustrating our theoretical findings and comparing the efficiency of the proposed preconditioners

A Multigrid Method for the Efficient Numerical Solution of Optimization Problems Constrained by Partial Differential Equations

We study the minimization of a quadratic functional subject to constraints given by a linear or semilinear elliptic partial differential equation with distributed control. Further, pointwise inequality constraints on the control are accounted for. In the linear-quadratic case, the discretized optimality conditions yield a large, sparse, and indefinite system with saddle point structure. One main contribution of this thesis consists in devising a coupled multigrid solver which avoids full constraint elimination. To this end, we define a smoothing iteration incorporating elements from constraint preconditioning. A local mode analysis shows that for discrete optimality systems, we can expect smoothing rates close to those obtained with respect to the underlying constraint PDE. Our numerical experiments include problems with constraints where standard pointwise smoothing is known to fail for the underlying PDE. In particular, we consider anisotropic diffusion and convection-diffusion problems. The framework of our method allows to include line smoothers or ILU-factorizations, which are suitable for such problems. In all cases, numerical experiments show that convergence rates do not depend on the mesh size of the finest level and discrete optimality systems can be solved with a small multiple of the computational cost which is required to solve the underlying constraint PDE. Employing the full multigrid approach, the computational cost is proportional to the number of unknowns on the finest grid level. We discuss the role of the regularization parameter in the cost functional and show that the convergence rates are robust with respect to both the fine grid mesh size and the regularization parameter under a mild restriction on the next to coarsest mesh size. Incorporating spectral filtering for the reduced Hessian in the control smoothing step allows us to weaken the mesh size restriction. As a result, problems with near-vanishing regularization parameter can be treated efficiently with a negligible amount of additional computational work. For fine discretizations, robust convergence is obtained with rates which are independent of the regularization parameter, the coarsest mesh size, and the number of levels. In order to treat linear-quadratic problems with pointwise inequality constraints on the control, the multigrid approach is modified to solve subproblems generated by a primal-dual active set strategy (PDAS). Numerical experiments demonstrate the high efficiency of this approach due to mesh-independent convergence of both the outer PDAS method and the inner multigrid solver. The PDAS-multigrid method is incorporated in the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) framework. Inexact Newton techniques further enhance the computational efficiency. Globalization is implemented with a line search based on the augmented Lagrangian merit function. Numerical experiments highlight the efficiency of the resulting SQP-multigrid approach. In all cases, locally superlinear convergence of the SQP method is observed. In combination with the mesh-independent convergence rate of the inner solver, a solution method with optimal efficiency is obtained

Optimal control of the stationary Navier-Stokes equations with mixed control-state constraints

Revised version of the preprint first published 06. December 2005In this paper we consider the distributed optimal control of the Navier-Stokes equations in presence of pointwise mixed control-state constraints. After deriving a first order necessary condition, the regularity of the mixed constraint multiplier is investigated. Second-order sufficient optimality conditions are studied as well. In the last part of the paper, a semi-smooth Newton method is applied for the numerical solution of the control problem. The convergence of the method is proved and numerical experiments are carried out