Parametric Continuation in Optimization and Process Control

Consider the optimal design of a unit operation or a chemical plant or consider a problem of optimal process control. In these situations as in many other similar situations, the constraint equations (algebraic, differential, or algebraic-differential) constitute the most significant part of the overall problem. 

Rather than looking on the problem as a common constrained optimization, a better idea could be to consider the constraint equations as the main problem to be solved. 

Usually in these constraint equations there are certain additional variables that are managed as parameters of the problem and, therefore, as degrees of freedom of the optimization. 

This different vay of looking at the issue is useful vhen the constraint equations are the essential portion of the problem, and there is a relatively small difference between the number of variables and the number of constraints. 

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Chapter 14 introduces parametric continuation in optimization and process control, which is of significant practical interest in chemical and process engineering. This topic is broached in Vol. 4 - Buzzi-Ferraris and Manenti (in press). 

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