Solving the vehicle routing problem with time windows and multiple routes exactly using a pseudo-polynomial model

In this paper, we address a variant of the vehicle routing problem called the vehicle routing problem with time windows and multiple routes. It considers that a given vehicle can be assigned to more than one route per planning period. We propose a new exact algorithm for this problem. Our algorithm is iterative and it relies on a pseudo-polynomial network flow model whose nodes represent time instants, and whose arcs represent feasible vehicle routes. This algorithm was tested on a set of benchmark instances from the literature. The computational results show that our method is able to solve more instances than the only other exact method described so far in the literature, and it clearly outperforms this method in terms of computing time.     

Robustness analysis of static routing on networks

Robustness is one of the crucial properties that needs to be considered in the design of routing strategies on networks. We study the robustness of three typical routing strategies, which are the SP (shortest path), EP (efficient path), and OP (optimal path) strategies, by simulating several different kinds of attacks including random attacks, target attacks and cascading failures on scale-free networks. Results of the average path length, betweenness centrality, network capacity, etc., demonstrate that the EP strategy is more robust than the other two, and the OP strategy is more reliable than the SP strategy in general. However, on the power-grid network, the OP strategy is more resistant against cascading failures than the EP and SP strategies.     

Efficient routing on small complex networks without buffers

In this paper, we are exploring strategies for the reduction of the congestion in the complex networks. The nodes without buffers are considered, so, if the congestion occurs, the information packets will be dropped. The focus is on the efficient routing. The routing strategies are compared using two generic models, i.e., Barabàsi–Albert scale-free network and scale-free network on lattice, and the academic router networks of the Netherlands and France. We propose a dynamic deflection routing algorithm which automatically extends path of the packet before it arrives at congested node. The simulation results indicate that the dynamic routing strategy can further reduce the number of dropped packets in a combination with the efficient path routing proposed by Yan et al. [5].     

Finite and infinite-horizon single vehicle routing problems with a predefined customer sequence and pickup and delivery

We consider the problem of finding the optimal routing of a single vehicle that starts its route from a depot and picks up from and delivers K different products to N customers that are served according to a predefined customer sequence. The vehicle is allowed during its route to return to the depot to unload returned products and restock with new products. The items of all products are of the same size. For each customer the demands for the products that are delivered by the vehicle and the quantity of the products that is returned to the vehicle are discrete random variables with known joint distribution. Under a suitable cost structure, it is shown that the optimal policy that serves all customers has a specific threshold-type structure. We also study a corresponding infinite-time horizon problem in which the service of the customers is not completed when the last customer has been serviced but it continues indefinitely with the same customer order. For each customer, the joint distribution of the quantities that are delivered and the quantity that is picked up is the same at each cycle. The discounted-cost optimal policy and the average-cost optimal policy have the same structure as the optimal policy in the finite-horizon problem. Numerical results are given that illustrate the structural results.     

Efficient and robust routing on scale-free networks

Information routing is one of the most important problems in large communication networks. In this paper we propose a novel routing strategy in which the optimal paths between all pairs of nodes are chosen according to a cost function that incorporates degrees of nodes in paths. Results on large scale-free networks demonstrate that our routing strategy is more efficient than the shortest path algorithm and the efficient routing strategy proposed by Yan et al. [Phys. Rev. E 73, 046108 (2006)]. Furthermore our routing strategy has strong robustness against cascading failure attacks on networks.     

Maritime crude oil transportation - A split pickup and split delivery problem

The maritime oil tanker routing and scheduling problem is known to the literature since before 1950. In the presented problem, oil tankers transport crude oil from supply points to demand locations around the globe. The objective is to find ship routes, load sizes, as well as port arrival and departure times, in a way that minimizes transportation costs. We introduce a path flow model where paths are ship routes. Continuous variables distribute the cargo between the different routes. Multiple products are transported by a heterogeneous fleet of tankers. Pickup and delivery requirements are not paired to cargos beforehand and arbitrary split of amounts is allowed. Small realistic test instances can be solved with route pre-generation for this model. The results indicate possible simplifications and stimulate further research.     

City-courier routing and scheduling problems

This research seeks to propose innovative routing and scheduling strategies to help city couriers reduce operating costs and enhance service level. The strategies are realized by constructing a new type of routing and scheduling problem. The problem directly takes into account the inherent physical and operating constraints associated with riding in city distribution networks, which makes the problem involve multiple objectives and visiting specified nodes and arcs. Through network transformations, this study first formulates the city-courier routing and scheduling problem as a multi-objective multiple traveling salesman problem with strict time windows (MOMTSPSTW) that is NP-hard and new to the literature, and then proposes a multi-objective Scatter Search framework that seeks to find the set of Pareto-optimal solutions to the problem. Various new and improved sub-procedures are embedded in the solution framework. This is followed by an empirical study that shows and analyzes the results of applying the proposed method to a real-life city-courier routing and scheduling problem.     

Solving the multi-criteria time-dependent routing and scheduling problem in a multimodal fixed scheduled network

Multi-criteria routing and scheduling in a multimodal fixed scheduled network with time-dependent travel times involves the determination of the non-dominated itineraries (i.e., paths enhanced with scheduled departures) under the following constraints: (i) visiting a given set of intermediate stops in a specified sequence, and (ii) strict time windows on the origin, the destination and the intermediate stops. The objective of this paper is to present the formulation and algorithmic solution for the multi-criteria itinerary planning problem that takes into account the aforementioned features. The algorithmic approach proposed is based on the decomposition of the problem to a sequence of elementary itinerary sub-problems, solved by a dynamic programming algorithm. The computational performance of the algorithms on a set of large scale test problems indicates non-prohibitive time requirements and encourages its integration into travel planning decision support systems.     

The double travelling salesman problem with multiple stacks – Formulation and heuristic solution approaches

This paper introduces the double travelling salesman problem with multiple stacks and presents four different metaheuristic approaches to its solution. The double TSP with multiple stacks is concerned with determining the shortest route performing pickups and deliveries in two separated networks (one for pickups and one for deliveries) using only one container. Repacking is not allowed, instead each item can be positioned in one of several rows in the container, such that each row can be considered a LIFO (last in, first out) stack, but no mutual constraints exist between the rows. Two different neighbourhood structures are developed for the problem and used with each of three local search metaheuristics. Additionally some simpler removal and reinsertion operators are used in a Large neighbourhood search framework. Finally some computational results are given along with lower bounds on the objective value.     

Comparison and performance of routing protocols in SONET based networks

In this paper, comparison of various protocols used in the SONET based networks has been investigated in terms of the performance characteristics like end-to-end queuing delay, end-to-end link throughput, link utilization, etc. By creating a model to simulate the packet flow within a SONET DCC network characteristics of two routing protocols, the RIP (routing information protocol) and OSPF (open shortest path first) defined in the G.7712 standard are analyzed. Finally on comparing all the performance characteristics of the two routing protocol it is observed that OSPF protocol achieves better performance and is the least obtrusive on network operations.