A Practical Solution to a Cargo Loading Problem at Bethlehem Steel

The optimum assignment of structural steel shapes to rail cars is an important logistical problem in the steel industry. In this paper, we discuss an application at Bethlehem Steel that not only involves weight and dimensional constraints, but also customer unloading constraints. The formulation is a generalized bin packing problem which is solved by modifying and extending the first fit decreasing algorithm. The solution algorithm, SOLID (for Structural Optimal Loading IDentification), has been used extensively for one of Bethlehem's high tonnage customers providing very good practical (implementable) results that achieve the desired goals. Bethlehem has enhanced this approach for use with other customers.     

Improved modeling and solution methods for the multi-resource routing problem

This paper presents modeling and solution method improvements for the Multi-Resource Routing Problem (MRRP) with flexible tasks. The MRRP with flexible tasks is used to model routing and scheduling problems for intermodal drayage operations in which two resources (tractors and trailers) perform tasks to transport loaded and empty equipment. Tasks may be either well defined, in which both the origin and the destination of a movement are given, or flexible, in which the origin or the destination is chosen by the model. This paper proposes methods to effectively manage the number of options considered for flexible tasks (either feasible origins for a known destination or feasible destinations for a known origin). This modeling change generates sufficient options to allow for low-cost solutions while maintaining reasonable computational effort. We also propose a new solution method that uses randomized route generation. Computational results from test cases show that these changes improve the quality of solutions by at least 5% in the test cases as compared to methods from previous studies.     

A generalized geometric-programming solution to “An economic production quantity model with flexibility and reliability considerations”

The classical economic production quantity (EPQ) model assumes that items are produced by a perfectly reliable production process with a fixed set-up cost. While the reliability of the production process cannot be perfected cost-free, the set-up cost can be reduced by investment in flexibility improvement. In this paper, we propose an EPQ model with a flexible and imperfect production process. We formulate this inventory decision problem using geometric programming (GP), establish more general results using the arithmetic-geometric mean inequality, and solve the problem to obtain a closed-form optimal solution. Following the theoretical treatment, we provide a numerical example to demonstrate that GP has potential as a valuable analytical tool for studying a certain class of inventory control problems. Finally we discuss some aspects of sensitivity analysis of the optimal solution based on the GP approach.     

Compatible relations on filters and stability of local topological properties under supremum and product

An abstract scheme using particular types of relations on filters leads to general unifying results on stability under supremum and product of local topological properties. We present applications for Fréchetness, strong Fréchetness, countable tightness and countable fan-tightness, some of which recover or refine classical results, some of which are new. The reader may find other applications as well.     

On worst-case aggregation analysis for network location problems

Network location problems occur when new facilities must be located on a network, and the network distances between new and existing facilities are important. In urban, regional, or geographic contexts, there may be hundreds of thousands (or more) of existing facilities, in which case it is common to aggregate existing facilities, e.g. represent all the existing facility locations in a zip code area by a centroid. This aggregation makes the size of the problem more manageable for data collection and data processing purposes, as well as for purposes of analysis; at the same time, it introduces errors, and results in an approximating location problem being solved. There seems to be relatively little theory for doing aggregation, or evaluating the results of aggregation; most approaches are based on experimentation or computational studies. We propose a theory that has the potential to improve the means available for doing aggregation.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. DDM-9023392.     

PERSISTENCE IN AN AGE-STRUCTURED POPULATION FOR A PATCH-TYPE ENVIRONMENT

A discrete-time model for an age-structured population in a patch-type environment is presented and analyzed. Comparison techniques for difference equations are used to find sufficient conditions for population persistence or extinction. The persistence and extinction theorem is used to define the critical patch number, the threshold for population persistence. Several examples are presented which illustrate the results of the theorems. The model is applied to a watersnake population.     

Parallel chaotic extrapolated Jacobi method

We present the parallel chaotic extrapolated Jacobi method. We give sufficient conditions which assure the convergence of this method in function of the convergence of the Jacobi matrix.