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Seasonal migrations and herd instinct are traditionally recognized as wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) species-specific behavioral signs. These animals are forced to overcome water obstacles during the migrations. Behaviour peculiarities are considered as the result of the selection process, which has chosen among the sets of strategies, as the only evolutionarily stable one, determining the reproduction and biological survival of wild reindeer as a species. Natural processes in the Taimyr population wild reindeer are currently occurring against the background of an increase in the influence of negative factors due to the escalation of the industrial development of the Arctic. That is why the need to identify the ethological features of these animals completely arose. This paper presents the results of applying the classical methods of the theory of optimal control and differential games to the wild reindeer study of the migration patterns in overcoming water barriers, including major rivers. Based on these animals’ ethological features and behavior forms, the herd is presented as a controlled dynamic system, which presents also two classes of individuals: the leader and the rest of the herd, for which their models, describing the trajectories of their movement, are constructed. The models are based on hypotheses, which are the mathematical formalization of some animal behavior patterns. This approach made it possible to find the trajectory of the important one using the methods of the optimal control theory, and in constructing the trajectories of other individuals, apply the principle of control with a guide. Approbation of the obtained results, which can be used in the formation of a common “platform” for the adaptive behavior models systematic construction and as a reserve for the cognitive evolution models fundamental development, is numerically carried out using a model example with observational data on the Werchnyaya Taimyra River.

The paper presents a mathematical model that describes the process of obtaining biogas from livestock waste. This model describes the processes occurring in a biogas plant for mesophilic and thermophilic media, as well as for continuous and periodic modes of substrate inflow. The values of the coefficients of this model found earlier for the periodic mode, obtained by solving the problem of model identification from experimental data using a genetic algorithm, are given.

For the model of methanogenesis, an optimal control problem is formulated in the form of a Lagrange problem, whose criterial functionality is the output of biogas over a certain period of time. The controlling parameter of the task is the rate of substrate entry into the biogas plant. An algorithm for solving this problem is proposed, based on the numerical implementation of the Pontryagin maximum principle. In this case, a hybrid genetic algorithm with an additional search in the vicinity of the best solution using the method of conjugate gradients was used as an optimization method. This numerical method for solving an optimal control problem is universal and applicable to a wide class of mathematical models.

In the course of the study, various modes of submission of the substrate to the digesters, temperature environments and types of raw materials were analyzed. It is shown that the rate of biogas production in the continuous feed mode is 1.4–1.9 times higher in the mesophilic medium (1.9–3.2 in the thermophilic medium) than in the periodic mode over the period of complete fermentation, which is associated with a higher feed rate of the substrate and a greater concentration of nutrients in the substrate. However, the yield of biogas during the period of complete fermentation with a periodic mode is twice as high as the output over the period of a complete change of the substrate in the methane tank at a continuous mode, which means incomplete processing of the substrate in the second case. The rate of biogas formation for a thermophilic medium in continuous mode and the optimal rate of supply of raw materials is three times higher than for a mesophilic medium. Comparison of biogas output for various types of raw materials shows that the highest biogas output is observed for waste poultry farms, the least — for cattle farms waste, which is associated with the nutrient content in a unit of substrate of each type.

In this paper, we develop a new first-order method for composite nonconvex minimization problems with simple constraints and inexact oracle. The objective function is given as a sum of «hard», possibly nonconvex part, and «simple» convex part. Informally speaking, oracle inexactness means that, for the «hard» part, at any point we can approximately calculate the value of the function and construct a quadratic function, which approximately bounds this function from above. We give several examples of such inexactness: smooth nonconvex functions with inexact H¨older-continuous gradient, functions given by the auxiliary uniformly concave maximization problem, which can be solved only approximately. For the introduced class of problems, we propose a gradient-type method, which allows one to use a different proximal setup to adapt to the geometry of the feasible set, adaptively chooses controlled oracle error, allows for inexact proximal mapping. We provide a convergence rate for our method in terms of the norm of generalized gradient mapping and show that, in the case of an inexact Hölder-continuous gradient, our method is universal with respect to Hölder parameters of the problem. Finally, in a particular case, we show that the small value of the norm of generalized gradient mapping at a point means that a necessary condition of local minimum approximately holds at that point.

This article reviews both historical achievements and modern results in the field of Markov Decision Process (MDP) and convex optimization. This review is the first attempt to cover the field of reinforcement learning in Russian in the context of convex optimization. The fundamental Bellman equation and the criteria of optimality of policy — strategies based on it, which make decisions based on the known state of the environment at the moment, are considered. The main iterative algorithms of policy optimization based on the solution of the Bellman equations are also considered. An important section of this article was the consideration of an alternative to the $Q$-learning approach — the method of direct maximization of the agent’s average reward for the chosen strategy from interaction with the environment. Thus, the solution of this convex optimization problem can be represented as a linear programming problem. The paper demonstrates how the convex optimization apparatus is used to solve the problem of Reinforcement Learning (RL). In particular, it is shown how the concept of strong duality allows us to naturally modify the formulation of the RL problem, showing the equivalence between maximizing the agent’s reward and finding his optimal strategy. The paper also discusses the complexity of MDP optimization with respect to the number of state–action–reward triples obtained as a result of interaction with the environment. The optimal limits of the MDP solution complexity are presented in the case of an ergodic process with an infinite horizon, as well as in the case of a non-stationary process with a finite horizon, which can be restarted several times in a row or immediately run in parallel in several threads. The review also reviews the latest results on reducing the gap between the lower and upper estimates of the complexity of MDP optimization with average remuneration (Averaged MDP, AMDP). In conclusion, the real-valued parametrization of agent policy and a class of gradient optimization methods through maximizing the $Q$-function of value are considered. In particular, a special class of MDPs with restrictions on the value of policy (Constrained Markov Decision Process, CMDP) is presented, for which a general direct-dual approach to optimization with strong duality is proposed.

This paper presents a methodology for modeling centrifugal pumps using the example of the NM 1250 260 main oil centrifugal pump. We use FlowVision CFD software as the numerical modeling instrument. Bench tests and numerical modeling use water as a working fluid. The geometrical model of the pump is fully three-dimensional and includes the pump housing to account for leakages. In order to reduce the required computational resources, the methodology specifies leakages using flow rate rather than directly modeling them. Surface roughness influences flow through the wall function model. The wall function model uses an equivalent sand roughness, and a formula for converting real roughness into equivalent sand roughness is applied in this work. FlowVision uses the sliding mesh method for simulation of the rotation of the impeller. This approach takes into account the nonstationary interaction between the rotor and diffuser of the pump, allowing for accurate resolution of recirculation vortices that occur at low flow rates.

The developed methodology has achieved high consistency between numerical simulations results and experiments at all pump operating conditions. The deviation in efficiency at nominal conditions is 0.42%, and in head is 1.9%. The deviation of calculated characteristics from experimental ones increases as the flow rate increases and reaches a maximum at the far-right point of the characteristic curve (up to 4.8% in head). This phenomenon occurs due to a slight mismatch between the geometric model of the impeller used in the calculation and the real pump model from the experiment. However, the average arithmetic relative deviation between numerical modeling and experiment for pump efficiency at 6 points is 0.39%, with an experimental efficiency measurement error of 0.72%. This meets the accuracy requirements for calculations. In the future, this methodology can be used for a series of optimization and strength calculations, as modeling does not require significant computational resources and takes into account the non-stationary nature of flow in the pump.

As the population of cities grows, the need to plan for the development of transport infrastructure becomes more acute. For this purpose, transport modeling packages are created. These packages usually contain a set of convex optimization problems, the iterative solution of which leads to the desired equilibrium distribution of flows along the paths. One of the directions for the development of transport modeling is the construction of more accurate generalized models that take into account different types of passengers, their travel purposes, as well as the specifics of personal and public modes of transport that agents can use. Another important direction of transport models development is to improve the efficiency of the calculations performed. Since, due to the large dimension of modern transport networks, the search for a numerical solution to the problem of equilibrium distribution of flows along the paths is quite expensive. The iterative nature of the entire solution process only makes this worse. One of the approaches leading to a reduction in the number of calculations performed is the construction of consistent models that allow to combine the blocks of a 4-stage model into a single optimization problem. This makes it possible to eliminate the iterative running of blocks, moving from solving a separate optimization problem at each stage to some general problem. Early work has proven that such approaches provide equivalent solutions. However, it is worth considering the validity and interpretability of these methods. The purpose of this article is to substantiate a single problem, that combines both the calculation of the trip matrix and the modal choice, for the generalized case when there are different layers of demand, types of agents and classes of vehicles in the transport network. The article provides possible interpretations for the gauge parameters used in the problem, as well as for the dual factors associated with the balance constraints. The authors of the article also show the possibility of combining the considered problem with a block for determining network load into a single optimization problem.

Considered the application of physics-informed neural networks using multi layer perceptrons to solve Cauchy initial value problems in which the right-hand sides of the equation are continuous monotonically increasing, decreasing or oscillating functions. With the use of the computational experiments the influence of the construction of the approximate neural network solution, neural network structure, optimization algorithm and software implementation means on the learning process and the accuracy of the obtained solution is studied. The analysis of the efficiency of the most frequently used machine learning frameworks in software development with the programming languages Python and C# is carried out. It is shown that the use of C# language allows to reduce the time of neural networks training by 20–40%. The choice of different activation functions affects the learning process and the accuracy of the approximate solution. The most effective functions in the considered problems are sigmoid and hyperbolic tangent. The minimum of the loss function is achieved at the certain number of neurons of the hidden layer of a single-layer neural network for a fixed training time of the neural network model. It’s also mentioned that the complication of the network structure increasing the number of neurons does not improve the training results. At the same time, the size of the grid step between the points of the training sample, providing a minimum of the loss function, is almost the same for the considered Cauchy problems. Training single-layer neural networks, the Adam method and its modifications are the most effective to solve the optimization problems. Additionally, the application of twoand three-layer neural networks is considered. It is shown that in these cases it is reasonable to use the LBFGS algorithm, which, in comparison with the Adam method, in some cases requires much shorter training time achieving the same solution accuracy. The specificity of neural network training for Cauchy problems in which the solution is an oscillating function with monotonically decreasing amplitude is also investigated. For these problems, it is necessary to construct a neural network solution with variable weight coefficient rather than with constant one, which improves the solution in the grid cells located near by the end point of the solution interval.

The paper presents an optimization approach to microstructure simulation. Porosity function was optimized by numerical method, grain-size model was optimized by complex method based on criteria of model quality. Methods have been validated on examples. Presented new regression model of model quality. Actual application of proposed method is 3D reconstruction of core sample microstructure. Presented results suggest to prolongation of investigations. 

The method of balanced identification was used to describe the response of Net Ecosystem Exchange of CO₂ (NEE) to change of environmental factors, and to fill the gaps in continuous CO₂ flux measurements in a sphagnum peat bog in the Tver region. The measurements were provided in the peat bog by the eddy covariance method from August to November of 2017. Due to rainy weather conditions and recurrent periods with low atmospheric turbulence the gap proportion in measured CO₂ fluxes at our experimental site during the entire period of measurements exceeded 40%. The model developed for the gap filling in long-term experimental data considers the NEE as a difference between Ecosystem Respiration (RE) and Gross Primary Production (GPP), i.e. key processes of ecosystem functioning, and their dependence on incoming solar radiation (Q), soil temperature (T), water vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and ground water level (WL). Applied for this purpose the balanced identification method is based on the search for the optimal ratio between the model simplicity and the data fitting accuracy — the ratio providing the minimum of the modeling error estimated by the cross validation method. The obtained numerical solutions are characterized by minimum necessary nonlinearity (curvature) that provides sufficient interpolation and extrapolation characteristics of the developed models. It is particularly important to fill the missing values in NEE measurements. Reviewing the temporary variability of NEE and key environmental factors allowed to reveal a statistically significant dependence of GPP on Q, T, and VPD, and RE — on T and WL, respectively. At the same time, the inaccuracy of applied method for simulation of the mean daily NEE, was less than 10%, and the error in NEE estimates by the method was higher than by the REddyProc model considering the influence on NEE of fewer number of environmental parameters. Analyzing the gap-filled time series of NEE allowed to derive the diurnal and inter-daily variability of NEE and to obtain cumulative CO₂ fluxs in the peat bog for selected summer-autumn period. It was shown, that the rate of CO₂ fixation by peat bog vegetation in August was significantly higher than the rate of ecosystem respiration, while since September due to strong decrease of GPP the peat bog was turned into a consistent source of CO₂ for the atmosphere.

The reconstruction of charged particle trajectories in tracking detectors is a key problem in the analysis of experimental data for high energy and nuclear physics.

The amount of data in modern experiments is so large that classical tracking methods such as Kalman filter can not process them fast enough. To solve this problem, we have developed two neural network algorithms of track recognition, based on deep learning architectures, for local (track by track) and global (all tracks in an event) tracking in the GEM tracker of the BM@N experiment at JINR (Dubna). The advantage of deep neural networks is the ability to detect hidden nonlinear dependencies in data and the capability of parallel execution of underlying linear algebra operations.

In this work we generalize these algorithms to the cylindrical GEM inner tracker of BESIII experiment. The neural network model RDGraphNet for global track finding, based on the reverse directed graph, has been successfully adapted. After training on Monte Carlo data, testing showed encouraging results: recall of 98% and precision of 86% for track finding.

The local neural network model TrackNETv2 was also adapted to BESIII CGEM successfully. Since the tracker has only three detecting layers, an additional neuro-classifier to filter out false tracks have been introduced. Preliminary tests demonstrated the recall value at the first stage of 99%. After applying the neuro-classifier, the precision was 77% with a slight decrease of the recall to 94%. This result can be improved after the further model optimization.