A Comparative Study of MINLP and MPVC Formulations for Solving Complex Nonlinear Decision-Making Problems in Aerospace Applications

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Ghezzi, Andrea, Nurkanović, Armin, Weiss, Avishai, Diehl, Moritz, Di Cairano, Stefano
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Ghezzi, Andrea
Nurkanović, Armin
Weiss, Avishai
Diehl, Moritz
Di Cairano, Stefano
author_facet Ghezzi, Andrea
Nurkanović, Armin
Weiss, Avishai
Diehl, Moritz
Di Cairano, Stefano
contents High-level decision-making for dynamical systems often involves performance and safety specifications that are activated or deactivated depending on conditions related to the system state and commands. Such decision-making problems can be naturally formulated as optimization problems where these conditional activations are regulated by discrete variables. However, solving these problems can be challenging numerically, even on powerful computing platforms, especially when the dynamics are nonlinear. In this work, we consider decision-making for nonlinear systems where certain constraints, as well as possible terms in the cost function, are activated or deactivated depending on the system state and commands. We show that these problems can be formulated either as mixed-integer nonlinear programs (MINLPs) or as mathematical programs with vanishing constraints (MPVCs), where the former formulation involves discrete decision variables, whereas the latter relies on continuous variables subject to structured nonconvex constraints. We discuss the different solution methods available for both formulations and demonstrate them on optimal trajectory planning problems in various aerospace applications. Finally, we compare the strengths and weaknesses of the MINLP and MPVC approaches through a focused case study on powered descent guidance with divert-feasible regions.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_02375
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Comparative Study of MINLP and MPVC Formulations for Solving Complex Nonlinear Decision-Making Problems in Aerospace Applications
Ghezzi, Andrea
Nurkanović, Armin
Weiss, Avishai
Diehl, Moritz
Di Cairano, Stefano
Optimization and Control
Systems and Control
High-level decision-making for dynamical systems often involves performance and safety specifications that are activated or deactivated depending on conditions related to the system state and commands. Such decision-making problems can be naturally formulated as optimization problems where these conditional activations are regulated by discrete variables. However, solving these problems can be challenging numerically, even on powerful computing platforms, especially when the dynamics are nonlinear. In this work, we consider decision-making for nonlinear systems where certain constraints, as well as possible terms in the cost function, are activated or deactivated depending on the system state and commands. We show that these problems can be formulated either as mixed-integer nonlinear programs (MINLPs) or as mathematical programs with vanishing constraints (MPVCs), where the former formulation involves discrete decision variables, whereas the latter relies on continuous variables subject to structured nonconvex constraints. We discuss the different solution methods available for both formulations and demonstrate them on optimal trajectory planning problems in various aerospace applications. Finally, we compare the strengths and weaknesses of the MINLP and MPVC approaches through a focused case study on powered descent guidance with divert-feasible regions.
title A Comparative Study of MINLP and MPVC Formulations for Solving Complex Nonlinear Decision-Making Problems in Aerospace Applications
topic Optimization and Control
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.02375