Modelling and analysis of Canadian Forces strategic lift and pre-positioning options

This paper presents analysis of some of the strategic lift and pre-positioning issues within the context of rapid deployability to failed and failing states conducted for the Canadian Forces (CF). A simulation framework was developed to study the effectiveness of a variety of pre-positioning options. An aircraft loading optimization model based on a genetic annealing algorithm with a novel convex hull-based measure of effectiveness was also developed to analyse different strategic lift options. The model was used both to provide insights into the optimal mix of airlift capabilities and to conduct sensitivity analysis. Historical CF deployments provided a baseline performance measure against which several movement solutions were compared and contrasted. Analysis indicates that pre-positioning of equipment and supplies at various strategic locations and use of efficient mix of transport aircraft could be potential strategies for improvement of the CF's strategic lift capability.     

Optimal number and location of storage hubs and biogas production reactors in farmlands with allocation of multiple feedstocks

This paper focuses on the problem for designing a logistics system for bio-methane gas (BMG) production. In practice, farm residues such as crop residue, wood residue, and livestock manure are used in reactors as reactants to generate BMG. A multi-residue, multi-hub, multi-reactor location-allocation model is developed to design the logistics of BMG production system. Both the hubs’ and reactors’ locations, and the residue's distribution plan are investigated to minimize the total construction and logistical cost. The costs of construction, transportation, feedstocks and labor are taken into consideration to reflect the lifecycle cost of the entire undertaking. In this paper, a mixed-integer nonlinear problem is proposed to simulate a BMG production supply chain. In addition to the optimal solution methods, a search-based heuristic was also proposed to determine the locations of hubs and reactors for large instances and along with a proper allocation of residues that are transported from the farms to the hubs to the reactors. Several numerical examples are tested to evaluate the performance of the heuristic as well.     

Column generation for vehicle routing problems with multiple synchronization constraints

Synchronization of workers and vehicles plays a major role in many industries such as logistics, healthcare or airport ground handling. In this paper, we focus on operational ground handling planning and model it as an archetype of vehicle routing problems with multiple synchronization constraints, coined as “abstract vehicle routing problem with worker and vehicle synchronization” (AVRPWVS). The AVRPWVS deals with routing workers to ground handling jobs such as unloading baggage or refuelling an aircraft, while meeting each job’s time window. Moreover, each job can be performed by a variable number of workers. As airports span vast distances and due to security regulations, workers use vehicles to travel between locations. Furthermore, each vehicle, moved by a driver, can carry several workers. We propose two mathematical multi-commodity flow formulations based on time-space networks to efficiently model five synchronization types including movement and load synchronization. Moreover, we develop a branch-and-price heuristic that employs both conventional variable branching and a novel variable fixing strategy. We demonstrate that the procedure achieves results close to the optimal solution in short time when compared to the two integer models.     

基于多候选储位的存取路径优化问题研究

针对单储位储存方式可能导致仓库存取通道拥挤和作业效率低的情形,提出了一种基于多候选储位的存取路径优化方法。首先分配了货物的存取储位,然后建立了多候选储位的车辆路径问题(MLVRP)模型,并基于储位优先解码原则设计了遗传算法,最后通过算例证明该方法的有效性和算法的高效性。多候选储位的方法可以为取货任务至少节约18.4%(两个候选储位)和21.8%(三个候选储位)的路程,算法迭代10000次只需要434s。     

Proprietor and customer costs in the incomplete hub location-routing network topology

The hub location problem finds the location of hubs and allocates the other nodes to them. It is widely supposed the network created with the hub nodes is complete in the extensive literature. Relaxation of this basic supposition forms the present work. The model minimizes the cost of the proprietor, including the fixed costs of hubs, hub links and spoke links. Costs of hub and spoke links are contemplated as fixed cost or maintenance cost. Moreover, the model considers routing costs of customers who want to travel from origins to destinations. In this study, we offer a model to the multiple allocations of the hub location problems, under the incomplete hub location-routing network design. This model is easily transformed to other hub location problems using one or more constraints. No network format is dictated on the hub network. We suggest a set of valid inequalities for the formulation. Some lower bounds are developed using a Lagrangian relaxation approach and the valid inequalities. Computational analyses evaluate the performances of the lower bounding implementations and valid inequalities. Furthermore, we explore the effects of several factors on the design and solution time of the problem formulation.     

Bi-criteria dynamic location-routing problem for patrol coverage

In this paper, we address the problem of dynamic patrol routing for state troopers for effective coverage of highways. Specifically, a number of state troopers start their routes at temporary stations (TS), patrol critical locations with high crash frequencies, and end their shifts at other (or the same) TS so the starting points for the next period are also optimized. We determine the number of state troopers, their assigned routes, and the locations of the TS where they start and end their routes. The TS are selected from a given set of potential locations. The problem, therefore, is a multi-period dynamic location-routing problem in the context of public service. Our objective is to maximize the critical location coverage benefit while minimizing the costs of TS selections, vehicle utilizations, and routing/travel. The multi-objective nature of the problem is handled using an ?-constraint approach. We formulate the problem as a mixed integer linear programming model and solve it using both off-the-shelf optimization software and a custom-built, efficient heuristic algorithm. The heuristic, utilizing the hierarchical structure of the problem, is built on the decomposition of location and routing problems. By allowing routing to start from multiple locations, our model improves the coverage by as much as 12% compared with the single-depot coverage model.     

带退货和软时间窗的多仓库选址-路径问题研究

选址-路径问题(location routing problems, LRP)是集成物流网络研究中的难题,也是任何一个大型物流配送企业必须面对的管理决策问题。本文在仓库容量约束和车辆容量约束的基础上,结合送取货一体化的配送模式和客户服务时间要求,建立了带退货和软时间窗的多仓库选址-路径(MDLRP)数学模型。针对MDLRP问题求解的复杂性,引入局部搜索算法和重组策略,设计了自适应混合遗传算法,对模型进行整体求解。最后进行数值实验,表明本文提出的模型和改进算法具有实用性和优越性,可为选址和车辆运输决策提供重要参考依据。     

A branch and cut algorithm for hub location problems with single assignment

The hub location problem with single assignment is the problem of locating hubs and assigning the terminal nodes to hubs in order to minimize the cost of hub installation and the cost of routing the traffic in the network. There may also be capacity restrictions on the amount of traffic that can transit by hubs. The aim of this paper is to investigate polyhedral properties of these problems and to develop a branch and cut algorithm based on these results.Acknowledgement The research of the first author was partially supported by the Banque Nationale de Belgique. The research of the second author was supported by France Telecom R&D under contract no. 99 1B 774. Their support is gratefully acknowledged.     

Design of intermodal logistics networks with hub delays

In an intermodal hub network, cost benefits can be achieved through the use of intermodal shipments and the economies of scale due to consolidation of flows at the hubs. However, due to limited resources at the logistics hubs, shipment delays may affect the service performance. In this research hub operations are modeled as a GI/G/1 queuing network and the shipments as multiple job classes with deterministic routings. By integrating the hub operation queuing model and the hub location-allocation model, the effect of limited hub resources on the design of intermodal logistics networks under service time requirements is investigated. The managerial insights gained from a study of 25-city road-rail intermodal logistics network show that the level of available hub resources significantly affects the logistics network structure in terms of number and location of hubs, total network costs, choice of single-hub and inter-hub shipments and service performance.     

基于二元语义的高原地区航材配送中心选址决策研究

针对高原地区航材配送中心选址决策特点,构建了航材配送中心选址指标体系,提出了基于二元语义的群决策选址方法,给出了基于二元语义群决策的航材配送中心选址步骤.通过实例得出了备选点的综合评价值,证明了该方法的有效性.     

基于二元语义的高原地区航材配送中心选址决策研究

针对高原地区航材配送中心选址决策特点,构建了航材配送中心选址指标体系,提出了基于二元语义的群决策选址方法,给出了基于二元语义群决策的航材配送中心选址步骤.通过实例得出了备选点的综合评价值,证明了方法的有效性.     

飞机空中加油问题的研究

讨论了飞机的空中加油问题,通过比较不同方案下主机的最大作战半径,找到了辅机给主机空中加油的最佳方案,分析了存在多个基地时各基地的位置及辅机在各基地的数量,研究了二维坐标下主机的最佳飞行路径,给出了解决问题的办法.整个思路由浅入深,通过考虑辅机数目n分别为1,2,3,4的特殊情况进而探讨一般的规律,包括辅机在基地无加油时间和有加油时间以及主机在空中盘旋等不同假设条件下的复杂情况,并将统计出的数据列表对比,获得了更直观的认识.在最后进行了展望,希望结合实际中的飞机空中加油问题综合考虑风力、风向等随机因素的影响,拓展到3维空间的更复杂模型中,使飞机的空间加油问题变得更有实际意义.     

Combined location and routing problems for designing the quality-dependent and multi-product reverse logistics network

With a growing awareness of carbon footprints and their impact on environmental degradation, many firms hope to streamline their reverse logistics (RL) operations involving end-of-use products. However, managing end-of-use products can be extremely challenging due to inherent complexity involved in the collection, sorting, transhipment, and processing of these products. Despite numerous challenges, the efficient handling of these products can be a source of competitive advantages. In this regard, a plastic recycling industry in Southern India is no exception. This industry often copes with the problem of picking up recyclable plastic bottles using private collecting agents, transferring those bottles to the initial collection points (ICPs), and then transhipping and consolidating them at the centralized return centres (CRCs) for final shipments to the processing centres where these bottles were treated for recycling. This problem can be further complicated with the dilemma of finding the most ideal locations of ICPs and CRCs and the optimal routing of vehicles serving ICPs and CRCs such that the total RL cost is minimized. To aid the industry in dealing with such RL problems, we developed a mathematical model and then evaluated the performances of that model with the actual data obtained from a case study of the Indian company. Given a lack of efforts in combining the location-routing problem with the balanced allocation problem in the closed-loop supply chain network, the main contribution of this paper includes the simultaneous consideration of location, allocation, and routing decisions. In addition, this paper is one of the first to consider incentive payments, the quality level of products, and multiple types of products.     

Location and allocation for distribution systems with transshipments and transportion economies of scale

Locating transshipment facilities and allocating origins and destinations to transshipment facilities are important decisions for many distribution and logistic systems. Models that treat demand as a continuous density over the service region often assume certain facility locations or a certain allocation of demand. It may be assumed that facility locations lie on a rectangular grid or that demand is allocated to the nearest facility or allocated such that each facility serves an equal amount of demand. These assumptions result in suboptimal distribution systems. This paper compares the transportation cost for suboptimal location and allocation schemes to the optimal cost to determine if suboptimal location and allocation schemes can produce nearly optimal transportation costs. Analytical results for distribution to a continuous demand show that nearly optimal costs can be achieved with suboptimal locations. An example of distribution to discrete demand points indicates the difficulties in applying these results to discrete demand problems.     

Distribution systems design with two-level routing considerations

In this study, we formulate and analyze a strategic design model for three-echelon distribution systems with two-level routing considerations. The key design decisions considered are: the number and locations of distribution centers (DC’s), which big clients (clients with larger demand) should be included in the first level routing (the routing between plants and DC’s), the first-level routing between plants, DC’s and big clients, and the second-level routing between DC’s and other clients not included in the first-level routing. A hybrid genetic algorithm embedded with a routing heuristic is developed to efficiently find near-optimal solutions. The quality of the solution to a series of small test problems is evaluated—by comparison with the optimal solution solved using LINGO 9.0. In test problems for which exact solutions are available, the heuristic solution is within 1% of optimal. At last, the model is applied to design a national finished goods distribution system for a Taiwan label-stock manufacturer. Through the case study, we find that the inclusion of big clients in the first-level routing in the analysis leads to a better network design in terms of total logistic costs.     

The Tree of Hubs Location Problem

This paper presents the Tree of Hubs Location Problem. It is a network hub location problem with single assignment where a fixed number of hubs have to be located, with the particularity that it is required that the hubs are connected by means of a tree. The problem combines several aspects of location, network design and routing problems. Potential applications appear in telecommunications and transportation systems, when set-up costs for links between hubs are so high that full interconnection between hub nodes is prohibitive. We propose an integer programming formulation for the problem. Furthermore, we present some families of valid inequalities that reinforce the formulation and we give an exact separation procedure for them. Finally, we present computational results using the well-known AP and CAB data sets.     

带覆盖需求约束的设施选址问题

带覆盖需求约束的设施选址问题(FLPWCDL)研究:客户必须在规定的响应半径内被服务,并要求服务站能够覆盖规定的需求数量,如何选择合适的服务站,使总成本(建站成本+路线成本)最小.FLPWCDL广泛应用于应急服务、物流、便利店等服务站的选址.建立了问题的混合整数规划模型,并构造了求解FLPWCDL的Benders分解算法,计算实验显示Benders分解算法具有非常高的求解效率与求解质量.     

区域立体物流网络规划模型与算法

提出长株潭区域立体物流网络建构及其网络优化设计.精细化定义了模式分担率,构建了更切合实际的双准则双层规划模型.下层规划描述各核心城市物流枢纽间基于多模式多层阶交通条件下的用户选择行为,上层规划追求最小化长株潭区域立体物流网络系统广义物流费用并最大化整个网络的物流运输量,以满足城市群区域经济发展对物流提出的更高要求.给出了可以克服Frank-Wolfe方法缺陷的惩罚Lagrange对偶方法求解下层规划算法,设计了基于实数编码和组合变异的双层规划改进遗传算法,算法可以保证搜索到近似全局最优解.     

基于组合赋权TOPSIS模型的物流配送中心选址研究

物流的发展离不开配送中心的建设,配送中心建设的首要问题是选址,通过分析影响物流配送中心选址的各种因素,建立了包括自然条件、经营环境、基础设施、成本因素等因素的配送中心选址指标体系.采用层次分析法(AHP)和熵值法组合确定各指标的权重,依据逼近理想解排序(TOPSIS)法的基本思路,建立物流配送中心选址模型.通过对物流配送中心进行选址的实例研究,证明方法的有效性并选出最优方案.     

Routing of platforms in a maritime surface surveillance operation

Maritime surface surveillance is the process of obtaining and maintaining information about surface ships in a certain sea area. It is carried out by maritime platforms such as frigates, helicopters or maritime patrol aircraft. Surface surveillance plays a vital role in maritime operations like trade embargo operations, counterdrug operations and traditional warfare operations.The problem of finding optimal tactics for a single surveillance unit is a routing problem which can to some extent be considered as an extension of the on-line travelling salesman problem, but there are essential complications which call for a different approach. A mathematical formulation of the surveillance routing problem is given in this paper. The complications of this problem, in comparison to the on-line travelling salesman problem, are explained.This routing problem is part of the rather complicated process of maritime surface surveillance. SURPASS, an acronym of SURface Picture ASSessment, is a computer model which simulates this process. The model SURPASS provides insight into both the means (i.e. platforms and sensors) needed for a surveillance operation and the effectiveness of various existing and newly developed rules for surveillance tactics. The structure of SURPASS is explained, including the way in which it solves the surveillance routing problem. A number of decision rules that can be used in the routing of the surveillance units are described. The effectiveness of these rules is analysed and evaluated.