Hybrid evolutionary algorithm with extreme machine learning fitness function evaluation for two-stage capacitated facility location problems

This paper considers the two-stage capacitated facility location problem (TSCFLP) in which products manufactured in plants are delivered to customers via storage depots. Customer demands are satisfied subject to limited plant production and limited depot storage capacity. The objective is to determine the locations of plants and depots in order to minimize the total cost including the fixed cost and transportation cost. However, the problem is known to be NP-hard. A practicable exact algorithm is impossible to be developed. In order to solve large-sized problems encountered in the practical decision process, an efficient alternative approximate method becomes more valuable. This paper aims to propose a hybrid evolutionary algorithm framework with machine learning fitness approximation for delivering better solutions in a reasonable amount of computational time. In our study, genetic operators are adopted to perform the search process and a local search strategy is used to refine the best solution found in the population. To avoid the expensive consumption of computational time during the fitness evaluating process, the framework uses extreme machine learning to approximate the fitness of most individuals. Moreover, two heuristics based on the characteristics of the problem is incorporated to generate a good initial population. Computational experiments are performed on two sets of test instances from the recent literature. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated and analyzed. Compared with other algorithms in the literature, the proposed algorithm can find the optimal or near-optimal solutions in a reasonable amount of computational time. By employing the proposed algorithm, facilities can be positioned more efficiently, which means the fixed cost and the transportation cost can be decreased significantly, and organizations can enhance competitiveness by using the optimized facility location scheme.     

Algorithms for solving the single-sink fixed-charge transportation problem

The single-sink fixed-charge transportation problem is an important subproblem of the fixed-charge transportation problem. Just a few methods have been proposed in the literature to solve this problem. In this paper, solution approaches based on dynamic programming and implicit enumeration are revisited. It is shown how the problem size as well as the search space of a recently published dynamic programming method can be reduced by exploiting reduced cost information. Additionally, a further implicit enumeration approach relying on solution concepts for the binary knapsack problem is introduced. The performance of the various solution methods is compared in a series of computational experiments.     

Developing a multi-objective,multi-item inventory model and three algorithms for its solution

We develop a multi-objective model in a multi-product inventory system.The proposed model is a joint replenishment problem(JRP) that has two objective functions.The first one is minimization of total ordering and inventory holding costs,which is the same objective function as the classic JRP.To increase the applicability of the proposed model,we suppose that transportation cost is independent of time,is not a part of holding cost,and is calculated based on the maximum of stored inventory,as is the case in many real inventory problems.Thus,the second objective function is minimization of total transportation cost.To solve this problem three efficient algorithms are proposed.First,the RAND algorithm,called the best heuristic algorithm for solving the JRP,is modified to be applicable for the proposed problem.A multi-objective genetic algorithm(MOGA) is developed as the second algorithm to solve the problem.Finally,the model is solved by a new algorithm that is a combination of the RAND algorithm and MOGA.The performances of these algorithms are then compared with those of the previous approaches and with each other,and the findings imply their ability in finding Pareto optimal solutions to 3200 randomly produced problems.     

Multi-depot vehicle routing problem: a one-stage approach

This paper introduces multi-depot vehicle routing problem with fixed distribution of vehicles (MDVRPFD) which is one important and useful variant of the traditional multi-depot vehicle routing problem (MDVRP) in the supply chain management and transportation studies. After modeling the MDVRPFD as a binary programming problem, we propose two solution methodologies: two-stage and one-stage approaches. The two-stage approach decomposes the MDVRPFD into two independent subproblems, assignment and routing, and solves them separately. In contrast, the one-stage approach integrates the assignment with the routing where there are two kinds of routing methods-draft routing and detail routing. Experimental results show that our new one-stage algorithm outperforms the published methods. Note to Practitioners-This work is based on several consultancy work that we have done for transportation companies in Hong Kong. The multi-depot vehicle routing problem (MDVRP) is one of the core optimization problems in transportation, logistics, and supply chain management, which minimizes the total travel distance (the major factor of total transportation cost) among a number of given depots. However, in real practice, the MDVRP is not reliable because of the assumption that there have unlimited number of vehicles available in each depot. In this paper, we propose a new useful variant of the MDVRP, namely multi-depot vehicle routing problem with fixed distribution of vehicles (MDVRPFD), to model the practicable cases in applications. Two-stage and one-stage solution algorithms are also proposed. The industry participators can apply our new one-stage algorithm to solve the MDVRPFD directly and efficiently. Moreover, our one-stage solution framework allows users to smoothly add new specified constraints or variants.     

Stage- and scenario-wise Fenchel decomposition for stochastic mixed 0-1 programs with special structure

Solving stochastic integer programs (SIPs) is generally difficult. This paper considers a comparative study of stage- and scenario-wise Fenchel decomposition (FD) for two-stage SIPs with special structure. The standard FD approach is based on stage-wise or Benders’ decomposition. This work derives a scenario FD method based on decomposing the SIP problem by scenario and performs a computational study of the two approaches. In particular, two algorithms are studied, stage-wise FD (ST-FD) and scenario-wise FD (SC-FD) algorithms. The algorithms use FD cuts generated based on the scenario subproblem under each decomposition setting to iteratively recover (partially) the convex hull of integer points in the neighborhood of the optimal solution. The L-shaped method is used to solve the LP relaxation of the SIP problem in the ST-FD algorithm, while the progressive hedging algorithm (PHA) is used in the SC-FD algorithm. Computational results on knapsack test instances demonstrate the viability of both approaches towards solving large instances in reasonable amount of time and outperforming a direct solver in most cases. Overall, the ST-FD algorithm provides the best performance in our experiments.     

Addressing a nonlinear fixed-charge transportation problem using a spanning tree-based genetic algorithm

In this paper, we consider the fixed-charge transportation problem (FCTP) in which a fixed cost, sometimes called a setup cost, is incurred if another related variable assumes a nonzero value. To tackle such an NP-hard problem, there are several genetic algorithms based on spanning tree and Prüfer number representation. Contrary to the findings in previous works, considering the genetic algorithm (GA) based on spanning tree, we present a pioneer method to design a chromosome that does not need a repairing procedure for feasibility, i.e. all the produced chromosomes are feasible. Also, we correct the procedure provided in previous works, which designs transportation tree with feasible chromosomes. We show the previous procedure does not produce any transportation tree in some situations. Besides, some new crossover and mutation operators are developed and used in this work. Due to the significant role of crossover and mutation operators on the algorithm’s quality, the operators and parameters need to be accurately calibrated to ensure the best performance. For this purpose, various problem sizes are generated at random and then a robust calibration is applied to the parameters using the Taguchi method. In addition, two problems with different sizes are solved to evaluate the performance of the presented algorithm and to compare that performance with LINGO and also with the solution presented in previous work.     

云计算环境中服务动态选择算法研究

为解决云计算环境下的服务动态选择问题,设计了综合考虑反应时间和成本的适应度函数,提出了求解服务动态选择问题的分布估计蛙跳算法.在蛙跳算法的基础上,借鉴交叉操作改写蛙跳算法的进化算子,并引入分布估计进化策略改进蛙跳算法的青蛙更新模式,使改进后的新算法具有更全面的学习能力,能够有效避免算法陷入局部最优.仿真实验验证了算法的可行性和有效性,与蛙跳算法和分布估计算法相比,该算法的收敛性能和寻优能力均得到改善,能够更好地解决云计算环境下的服务动态优化选择问题.     

The optimization of warehouse location and resources distribution for emergency rescue under uncertainty

China is one of the countries that suffer the most natural disasters in the world. The situation of emergency response and rescue is extremely tough. Establishing the emergency warehouse is one of the important ways to cope with rapid-onset disasters. In this paper, a mixed integer programming (MIP) model based on time cost under uncertainty is proposed, which help solve the emergency warehouse location and distribution problem. Comprehensive consideration of factors such as time cost, penalty cost for lack of resources, alternative origins of resources from both suppliers and emergency warehouses, different means of transportation and multiple resources types are involved in our study. We also introduce uncertain scenarios to describe the severity of the disaster. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and variable neighborhood search (VNS) are designed to solve the MIP model of different scales of instances. Numerous examples have been tested to compare two heuristics with commercial solver (CPLEX). Both of two algorithms can obtain the exact solution same as CPLEX in small-scale instances while show great performance on larger instances with 10 candidate warehouses, 25 disasters and 50 scenarios.     

A型变尺寸装箱问题之模型及算法研究

作为对经典一维装箱问题的推广,提出一种A型变尺寸装箱问题（A-shaped Variable-sized BinPacking Problem,简称A SVBP）,即在物品的装箱过程中,每样物品有高度和横截面积两个参数,并且箱子的大小不一。该问题在文件系统管理和日常生活中的运输等问题中有着广泛的应用背景。把装箱问题的经典算法以及遗传算法推广到A型变尺寸装箱问题,实验结果表明：按照本文提出的求解模式,离线情况下求解A型变尺寸装箱问题最终结果的质量取决于预先求解其退化为经典装箱问题时的算法,求解物品装箱序列时用首次适应混合遗传算法比用Next Fit算法、First Fit算法、Best Fit算法最终得到的结果要好。     

Risk-averse two-stage stochastic programming with an application to disaster management

Traditional two-stage stochastic programming is risk-neutral; that is, it considers the expectation as the preference criterion while comparing the random variables (e.g., total cost) to identify the best decisions. However, in the presence of variability risk measures should be incorporated into decision making problems in order to model its effects. In this study, we consider a risk-averse two-stage stochastic programming model, where we specify the conditional-value-at-risk (CVaR) as the risk measure. We construct two decomposition algorithms based on the generic Benders-decomposition approach to solve such problems. Both single-cut and multicut versions of the proposed decomposition algorithms are presented. We adapt the concepts of the value of perfect information (VPI) and the value of the stochastic solution (VSS) for the proposed risk-averse two-stage stochastic programming framework and define two stochastic measures on the VPI and VSS. We apply the proposed model to disaster management, which is one of the research fields that can significantly benefit from risk-averse two-stage stochastic programming models. In particular, we consider the problem of determining the response facility locations and the inventory levels of the relief supplies at each facility in the presence of uncertainty in demand and the damage level of the disaster network. We present numerical results to discuss how incorporating a risk measure affects the optimal solutions and demonstrate the computational effectiveness of the proposed methods.     

带有最小风险准则的两阶段模糊运输模型

基于可信性理论和两阶段模糊优化方法,提出一类新的带有最小风险准则的两阶段模糊运输模型。由于提出的模糊运输问题包含带有无限支撑的模糊变量参数,因此它是一个无限维的优化问题。为了求解这个模糊优化问题,这里将讨论两阶段模糊运输问题的逼近方法并且将逼近方法嵌套到遗传算法中产生一个基于遗传算法的混合智能算法求解提出的带有最小风险准则的两阶段模糊运输问题。给出一个数值例子来表明所设计模型和算法的实用性。     

基于改进遗传算法的连锁便利店配送路径优化

提出一种针对软时间窗下连锁便利店配送路径规划的带时间窗口的多染色体遗传算法。为解决单车场多车型带密集半软时间窗问题,讨论解决方案预防其陷入局部最优解。对于上述配送路径问题,提出多染色体改进遗传算法在减少车辆运输成本、惩罚成本的目标下进行最优路径求解,并为连锁便利店的路径规划案例提出车辆与路径选择的优化方案,最后将该算法与传统遗传算法进行实验对比分析。实验结果表明,本文算法在密集半软时间窗下,相比传统遗传算法明显减少了总配送成本,从而验证了本文算法的有效性。     

双渠道二级供应链库存分配与控制问题研究

针对由仓库和多个零售商组成的二级供应链问题,考虑仓库面临零售商和网络销售两种渠道以及不同零售商的优先级不同的情况,建立解析模型。以最小化供应链总成本为目标,设计一种改进型遗传算法,并提出一种两阶段分配策略求解模型。以实际数据为例,对模型在供应链库存分配与控制问题中的应用进行实例验证,结果表明,所提出策略所得解优于改进的先到先服务（FCFS）策略,并且与Cplex所得精确解的GAP小于10%。数值试验表明所提出的策略能够有效地分配库存,所提出的算法能够有效地求得库存策略的各个参数。     

The economic lot scheduling problem in limited-buffer flexible flow shops: Mathematical models and a discrete fruit fly algorithm

This paper considers the lot scheduling problem in the flexible flow shop with limited intermediate buffers to minimize total cost which includes the inventory holding and setup costs. The single available mathematical model by Akrami et al. (2006) for this problem suffers from not only being non-linear but also high size-complexity. In this paper, two new mixed integer linear programming models are developed for the problem. Moreover, a fruit fly optimization algorithm is developed to effectively solve the large problems. For model’s evaluation, this paper experimentally compares the proposed models with the available model. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is also evaluated by comparing with two well-known algorithms (tabu search and genetic algorithm) in the literature and adaption of three recent algorithms for the flexible flow shop problem. All the results and analyses show the high performance of the proposed mathematical models as well as fruit fly optimization algorithm.     

Hub network design problem in the presence of disruptions

The main issue in p-hub median problem is locating hub facilities and allocating spokes to those hubs in order to minimize the total transportation cost. However hub facilities may fail occasionally due to some disruptions which could lead to excessive costs. One of the most effective ways to hedge against disruptions especially intentional disruptions is designing more reliable hub networks. In this paper, we formulate the multiple allocation p-hub median problem under intentional disruptions by a bi-level model with two objective functions at the upper level and a single objective at the lower level. In this model, the leader aims at identifying the location of hubs so that minimize normal and worst-case transportation costs. Worst-case scenario is modeled in the lower level where the follower’s objective is to identify the hubs that if lost, it would mostly increase the transportation cost. We develop two multi-objective metaheuristics based on simulated annealing and tabu search to solve the problem. Computational results indicate the viability and effectiveness of the proposed algorithms for exploring the non-dominated solutions.     

Iterative learning control for constrained linear systems

This article considers iterative learning control (ILC) for linear systems with convex control input constraints. First, the constrained ILC problem is formulated in a novel successive projection framework. Then, based on this projection method, two algorithms are proposed to solve this constrained ILC problem. The results show that, when perfect tracking is possible, both algorithms can achieve perfect tracking. The two algorithms differ, however, in that one algorithm needs much less computation than the other. When perfect tracking is not possible, both algorithms can exhibit a form of practical convergence to a ‘best approximation’. The effect of weighting matrices on the performance of the algorithms is also discussed and finally, numerical simulations are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.     

考虑区间约束的物流网络双层规划模型及算法

考虑物流网络需求的不确定性,利用区间参数度量不确定性变量与参数,建立区间需求模式下的物流网络双层规划模型,设计了一种含区间参数与变量的递阶优化遗传算法,通过定义问题求解的风险系数与最大决策偏差,给出适合物流网络结构的区间运算准则,实现模型的确定性转化。以区间松弛变量与0-1决策变量定义初始种群,通过两阶遗传操作运算,求解不同情景下双层规划目标的区间最优解与节点决策方案。算例测试表明算法求解的可操作性更强,求解结果具有区间最优解与情景决策的优越性。     

Solving a new bi-objective location-routing-inventory problem in a distribution network by meta-heuristics

This paper presents a novel bi-objective location-routing-inventory (LRI) model that considers a multi-period and multi-product system. The model considers the probabilistic travelling time among customers. This model also considers stochastic demands representing the customers’ requirement. Location and inventory-routing decisions are made in strategic and tactical levels, respectively. The customers’ uncertain demand follows a normal distribution. Each vehicle can carry all kind of products to meet the customer’s demand, and each distribution center holds a certain amount of safety stock. In addition, shortage is not allowed. The considered two objectives aim to minimize the total cost and the maximum mean time for delivering commodities to customers. Because of NP-hardness of the given problem, we apply four multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithms, namely multi-objective imperialist competitive algorithm (MOICA), multi-objective parallel simulated annealing (MOPSA), non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) and Pareto archived evolution strategy (PAES). A comparative study of the forgoing algorithms demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed MOICA with respect to four existing performance measures for numerous test problems.     

一个解决集合覆盖问题的二阶段遗传算法

针对集合覆盖问题,提出一个高效的可解决大规模数据的二阶段遗传算法.二阶段遗传算法可以分为数据约简阶段和启发式求解阶段,论文形式化地描述了数据约简阶段的相关定义、定理和算法,证明了该约简方法的有效性;并给出了启发式求解阶段中针对集合覆盖问题的遗传算法中选择、交叉、变异算子的设计方法.对Beasley提出的45个测试用例的测试结果验证了二阶段遗传算法的求解效率和求解质量高于其它遗传算法.     

Cost optimization of integrated network planning based on adaptive sectorization in hybrid F/CDMA telecommunications system via Lagrangean relaxation

In this paper, we investigate the integrated network planning for telecommunications system, which considers adaptive sectorization and a hybrid F/CDMA scheme jointly under quality of service (QoS) constraints. The problem is formulated as a combinatorial optimization formulation in terms of minimizing the cost. We also investigate the viability of using Lagrangean relaxation (LR) to solve the problem. With regard to the computational results, the cost of considering network error states in the planning stage is 45% more than that of non-error. The proposed LR approach outperforms a simple algorithm with a cost improvement of 60%. In addition, the link constraint is more important to the total cost than the node constraint. Given a link constraint, the cost is affected more significantly by a decreasing threshold than by an increasing threshold. The proposed model is not only a valuable reference for network planning in a new field (e.g., a desert scenario), but also fits the planning requirements when some equipment pre-exists (an embedded scenario). We assign constant values to several decision variables, so the model is adaptable to various scenarios.