Composite unimodality

This article defines a class of univariate functions termed composite unimodal, and shows how their minimization admits an effective search procedure, albeit one not as efficient as is Fibonacci search for unimodal functions. An approximate Lagrangian approach to an important real-world logistics problem is seen to yield a surrogate problem whose objective function is composite unimodal. The mathematical form of this objective function is likely to be encountered in solving future real-world problems. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.