Abstract
This paper deals with optimal control in multilevel systems. The decomposition of a system into N subsystems is presented as a problem of formulating the performance index P(m) as a function of N components P(P1, P2,..., PN) and of transforming the system constraint mϵR into a set of constraints m1ϵIR1(v), m2ϵR2(v),..., vϵRv, where v is the coordination variable. Ways of achieving this goal as applicable to typical systems are presented. Some aspects of choosing the coordination variable and the tradeoffs involved are discussed. Lagrangian methods as used previously by Lasdon and Pearson are shown to be a particular case of parametric optimization, and the range of their applicability is specified. Simple examples of static optimization serve to illustrate the approach.

This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit: