Revisiting Lossless Convexification: Theoretical Guarantees for Discrete-time Optimal Control Problems

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Main Authors: Luo, Dayou, Echigo, Kazuya, Açıkmeşe, Behçet
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Luo, Dayou
Echigo, Kazuya
Açıkmeşe, Behçet
author_facet Luo, Dayou
Echigo, Kazuya
Açıkmeşe, Behçet
contents Lossless Convexification (LCvx) is a modeling approach that transforms a class of nonconvex optimal control problems, where nonconvexity primarily arises from control constraints, into convex problems through convex relaxations. These convex problems can be solved using polynomial-time numerical methods after discretization, which converts the original infinite-dimensional problem into a finite-dimensional one. However, existing LCvx theory is limited to continuous-time optimal control problems, as the equivalence between the relaxed convex problem and the original nonconvex problem holds only in continuous time. This paper extends LCvx to discrete-time optimal control problems by classifying them into normal and long-horizon cases. For normal cases, after an arbitrarily small perturbation to the system dynamics (recursive equality constraints), applying the existing LCvx method to discrete-time problems results in optimal controls that meet the original nonconvex constraints at all but no more than $n_x - 1$ temporal grid points, where $n_x$ is the state dimension. For long-horizon cases, the existing LCvx method fails, but we resolve this issue by integrating it with a bisection search, leveraging the continuity of the value function from the relaxed convex problem to achieve similar results as in normal cases. This paper improves the theoretical foundation of LCvx, expanding its applicability to real-world discrete-time optimal control problems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_09748
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Revisiting Lossless Convexification: Theoretical Guarantees for Discrete-time Optimal Control Problems
Luo, Dayou
Echigo, Kazuya
Açıkmeşe, Behçet
Optimization and Control
Lossless Convexification (LCvx) is a modeling approach that transforms a class of nonconvex optimal control problems, where nonconvexity primarily arises from control constraints, into convex problems through convex relaxations. These convex problems can be solved using polynomial-time numerical methods after discretization, which converts the original infinite-dimensional problem into a finite-dimensional one. However, existing LCvx theory is limited to continuous-time optimal control problems, as the equivalence between the relaxed convex problem and the original nonconvex problem holds only in continuous time. This paper extends LCvx to discrete-time optimal control problems by classifying them into normal and long-horizon cases. For normal cases, after an arbitrarily small perturbation to the system dynamics (recursive equality constraints), applying the existing LCvx method to discrete-time problems results in optimal controls that meet the original nonconvex constraints at all but no more than $n_x - 1$ temporal grid points, where $n_x$ is the state dimension. For long-horizon cases, the existing LCvx method fails, but we resolve this issue by integrating it with a bisection search, leveraging the continuity of the value function from the relaxed convex problem to achieve similar results as in normal cases. This paper improves the theoretical foundation of LCvx, expanding its applicability to real-world discrete-time optimal control problems.
title Revisiting Lossless Convexification: Theoretical Guarantees for Discrete-time Optimal Control Problems
topic Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.09748