Optimal Safety-Critical Control of Viruses
Primary Investigator:
Philip Paré
Brooks A. Butler and Philip E. Paré
Abstract
We present a generalized model for spreading processes that partitions control into changes in linear and non-linear flow rates between compartments, respectively. We then define an optimal control problem that minimizes the weighted cost of rate control on the generalized model while maintaining conditions that guarantee system safety using control barrier functions. Using this formulation, we prove that under homogeneous penalties the optimal controller will always favor increasing the linear flow out of an infectious process over reducing nonlinear flow in. Further, in the case of heterogeneous penalties, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions under which the optimal controller will set control of non-linear rates (i.e., the reduction of flow rate into the infection process) to zero. We then illustrate these results through the simulation of a bi-virus SEIQRS model.