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Logistics distribution is the terminal link that connects the manufacturer and product user and determines the efficiency of the manufacturer's service. Therefore, the disruption risk of the joint system is an essential factor affecting the product user experience. In this paper, while considering the product user's supply disruption risk preference (PUSDRP), a biobjective integer nonlinear programming (INLP) model with subjective cost-utility is proposed to solve the manufacturer's combined location routing inventory problem (CLRIP). According to the user's time satisfaction requirement, a routing change selection framework (RCSF) is designed based on the bounded rational behavior of the user. Additionally, the Lagrange Relaxation and Modified Genetic Algorithm (LR-MGA) is proposed. The LR method relaxes the model, and the MGA finds a compromise solution. The experimental results show that the biobjective cost-utility model proposed in this paper is effective and efficient. The RCSF based on user behavior is superior to the traditional expected utility theory model. The compromise solution provides a better solution for the manufacturer order allocation delivery combinatorial optimization problem. The compromise solution not only reduces the manufacturer's total operating cost but also improves the user's subjective utility. To improve the stability of cooperation between manufacturers and users, the behavior decision-making method urges manufacturers to consider product users' supply disruption risk preferences (PUSDRPs) in attempting to optimize economic benefits for the long term. This paper uses behavior decision-making methods to expand the ideas of the CLRIP joint system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Printed circuit board (PCB) orthogonal packing problems derive from the massive circuit board production process in the electronic industry. In the early stage, it mainly relied on human experiences to make decisions on how to make the most of each sheet while meeting customers' orders. Up till now, researchers in enterprises and academic circles are still trying to explore effective mathematical models and feasible optimization methods. In most cases, what PCB companies generally face is the orthogonal layout decision, which considers positioning each rectangle PCB piece (PCB-P) on a rectangle sheet board (panel) in an ideal way so that each panel has the minimal remains with the most PCB-Ps. In this paper, multi-round gradual packing methods (MGPMs) are proposed based on the idea of combinatorial optimization and dynamic programming. MGPMs include the depth priority-based method (MGPM-DP) and breadth priority-based branch-and-prune method (MGPM-BC). The former has the advantage of finding better solutions, while the latter has the advantage of consuming short computational time. Through extensive computational tests on real data from a PCB production enterprise in China, both MGPM-DP and MGPM-BC have achieved noticeable and satisfactory results compared with the simplex method, dynamic programming method, and a widely used industrial software (Yuanbo) in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The set packing problem (SPP) is a significant NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem with extensive applications. In this paper, we encode the set packing problem as the maximum weighted independent set (MWIS) problem and solve the encoded problem with an efficient algorithm designed to the MWIS problem. We compare the independent set-based method with the state-of-the-art algorithms for the set packing problem on the 64 standard benchmark instances. The experimental results show that the independent set-based method is superior to the existing algorithms in terms of the quality of the solutions and running time obtained the solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people use traditional methods such as quasi-Newton method and Gauss–Newton-based BFGS to solve nonlinear equations. In this paper, we present an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve nonlinear equations. The novel algorithm introduces the historical and local optimum information of particles to update a particle's velocity. Five sets of typical nonlinear equations are employed to test the quality and reliability of the novel algorithm search comparing with the PSO algorithm. Numerical results show that the proposed method is effective for the given test problems. The new algorithm can be used as a new tool to solve nonlinear equations, continuous function optimization, etc., and the combinatorial optimization problem. The global convergence of the given method is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies a flexible flowshop scheduling problem with step-deteriorating jobs and sequence-dependent setup times (FFSP-SDJ&SDST) where there are multiple unrelated parallel machines at each stage. The actual processing time of each job is modeled as a step function of its starting time. An integer programming model is first formulated with the objective of minimizing the total weighted completion time. Since this problem is NP-complete, it becomes an interesting and challenging topic to develop effective approximation algorithms for solving it. The artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm has been successfully applied to solve both continuous and combinatorial optimization problems with the advantages of fewer control parameters and ease of implementation. So, an improved discrete artificial bee colony algorithm is proposed. In this algorithm, a dynamic generation mechanism of initial solutions is designed based on job permutation encoding. A genetic algorithm and a modified variable neighborhood search are introduced, respectively, to obtain new solutions for the employed and onlooker bees. A greedy heuristic is proposed to generate the solutions of the scout bees. Finally, to verify the performance of the proposed algorithm, an orthogonal test is performed to optimize the parameter settings. Simulation results on different scale problems demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is more effective compared against several presented algorithms from the existing literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A seven-parameter BRDF model with double-peak characteristic was proposed in this paper, which can fit double-peak data. The global genetic algorithm was used to model the BRDF experimental data of sandy soil, and the parameter values and relative mean square error of the seven-parameter BRDF model were obtained. The results proved the correctness of the model, and the relative mean square errors of this model are, respectively, 0.30%, 0.22%, 0.26%, and 0.25% corresponding to the incident angles of 15°, 30°, 45°, and 60°. Additionally, we also combined data from four incident angles to derive seven parameters, which do not depend on incident angle, and the overall error is 1.79%. Finally, in order to intuitively show the BRDF of sandy soil, 3D BRDF graph of sandy soil with different incident angles is, respectively, given. It will be of great significance in practical project applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ant colony optimization (ACO) is an efficient heuristic algorithm for combinatorial optimization problems, such as clustering. Because the search strategy of ACO is similar to those of other well-known heuristics, the probability of searching particular regions will be increased if better results are found and kept. Although this kind of search strategy may find a better approximate solution, it also has a high probability of losing the potential search directions. To prevent the ACO from losing too many potential search directions at the early iterations, a novel pheromone updating strategy is presented in this paper. In addition to the “original” pheromone table used to keep track of the promising information, a second pheromone table is added to the proposed algorithm to keep track of the unpromising information so as to increase the probability of searching directions worse than the current solutions. Several well-known clustering datasets are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method in this paper. The experimental results show that the proposed method can provide better results than ACO and other clustering algorithms in terms of quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to solve a multiperiod location lot-sizing routing problem with deterministic demand in a two-echelon network composed of a single factory, a set of potential depots, and a set of customers. Solving this problem involves making strategic decisions such as location of depots as well as operational and tactical decisions which include customers’ assignment to the open depots, vehicle routing organization, and inventory management. A mathematical model is presented to describe the problem and a genetic algorithm combined with a local search procedure is proposed to solve it and is tested over three sets of instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the basic theory of Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm, in this paper, cat mapping was added to the original algorithm, and the individual distribution and evolution mechanism of fruit fly population were improved in order to increase the search speed and accuracy. The flowchart of the improved algorithm was drawn to show its procedure. Using classical test functions, simulation optimization results show that the improved algorithm has faster and more reliable optimization ability. The algorithm was then combined with sparse decomposition theory and used in processing fouling detection ultrasonic signals to verify the validity and practicability of the improved algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a fuzzy clustering method based on multiobjective genetic algorithm. The ADNSGA2-FCM algorithm was developed to solve the clustering problem by combining the fuzzy clustering algorithm (FCM) with the multiobjective genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and introducing an adaptive mechanism. The algorithm does not need to give the number of clusters in advance. After the number of initial clusters and the center coordinates are given randomly, the optimal solution set is found by the multiobjective evolutionary algorithm. After determining the optimal number of clusters by majority vote method, the Jm value is continuously optimized through the combination of Canonical Genetic Algorithm and FCM, and finally the best clustering result is obtained. By using standard UCI dataset verification and comparing with existing single-objective and multiobjective clustering algorithms, the effectiveness of this method is proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inverse kinematic solutions for a dual redundant camera robot in position are examined in order to alleviate operation difficulty and reduce time. The inverse kinematic algorithm is based on a basic genetic algorithm, and the genetic algorithm which is used to solve the problem of a redundant robot is mainly optimized in the joint space. On this basis, the genetic algorithm improvement strategies are studied. In this paper, a genetic algorithm with constrained 2 redundant degrees of freedom (DOF) is proposed through setting 2 parameter variables, with more flexible structure of optimization objective function and more efficient algorithm than basic genetic algorithm. Finally, the result of inverse kinematic algorithm is achieved in terms of the physical prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshness of products and timeliness of delivery are two critical factors which have impact on customer satisfaction in terminal delivery of perishable products. This paper investigates how to make a cost-saving vehicle scheduling for perishable products by maximizing customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is defined from the two aspects of freshness and time window. Then we develop a priority function based on customer satisfaction and use the hierarchical clustering method to identify customer service priority. Based on the priority, a multiobjective vehicle scheduling optimization model for perishable products is formulated to maximize customer satisfaction and minimize total delivery costs. To solve the proposed model, a priority-based genetic algorithm (PB-GA) is designed. Numerical experiments and sensitivity analysis are performed to show the validity and advantage of our approach. Results indicate that PB-GA can achieve better solutions than traditional genetic algorithm. The improvement of customer satisfaction is higher than the decrease rate of total costs within a certain shelf life range, which reveals that the proposed method is applicable to the terminal delivery of perishable products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents wafer sequencing problems considering perceived chamber conditions and maintenance activities in a single cluster tool through the simulation- based optimization method. We develop optimization methods which would lead to the best wafer release policy in the chamber tool to maximize the overall yield of the wafers in semiconductor manufacturing system. Since chamber degradation will jeopardize wafer yields, chamber maintenance is taken into account for the wafer sequence decision- making process. Furthermore, genetic algorithm is modified for solving the scheduling problems in this paper. As results, it has been shown that job scheduling has to be managed based on the chamber degradation condition and maintenance activities to maximize overall wafer yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spacecraft maneuvers is a very important topic in aerospace engineering activities today. In amore generic way, a spacecraft maneuver has the objective of transferring a spacecraft from one orbit to another, taking into account some restrictions. In the present paper, the problem of rendezvous is considered. In this type of problem, it is necessary to transfer a spacecraft from one orbit to another, but with the extra constraint of meeting another spacecraft when reaching the final orbit. In particular, the present paper aims to analyze rendezvous maneuvers between two coplanar circular orbits, seeking to perform this transfer with lowest possible fuel consumption, assuming that this problem is time-free and using four burns during the process. The assumption of four burns is used to represent a constraint posed by a real mission. Then, a genetic algorithm is used to solve the problem. After that, a study is made for a maneuver that will make a spacecraft to encounter a planet, in order to make a close approach that will change its energy. Several simulations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the solving unit commitment (UC) problem using Modified Subgradient Method (MSG) method combined with Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm. UC problem is one of the important power system engineering hard-solving problems. The Lagrangian relaxation (LR) based methods are commonly used to solve the UC problem. The main disadvantage of this group of methods is the difference between the dual and the primal solution which gives some significant problems on the quality of the feasible solution. In this paper, MSG method which does not require any convexity and differentiability assumptions is used for solving the UC problem. MSG method depending on the initial value reaches zero duality gap. SA algorithm is used in order to assign the appropriate initial value for MSG method. The major advantage of the proposed approach is that it guarantees the zero duality gap independently from the size of the problem. In order to show the advantages of this proposed approach, the four-unit Tuncbilek thermal plant and ten-unit thermal plant which is usually used in literature are chosen as test systems. Penalty function (PF) method is also used to compare with our proposed method in terms of total cost and UC schedule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The noncentralized model predictive control (NC-MPC) framework in this paper refers to any distributed, hierarchical, or decentralized model predictive controller (or a combination of them) the structure of which can change over time and the control actions of which are not obtained based on a centralized computation. Within this framework, we propose suitable online methods to decide which information is shared and how this information is used between the different local predictive controllers operating in a decentralized, distributed, and/or hierarchical way. Evaluating all the possible structures of the NC-MPC controller leads to a combinatorial optimization problem. Therefore, we also propose heuristic reduction methods, to keep the number of NC-MPC problems tractable to be solved. To show the benefits of the proposed framework, a case study of a set of coupled water tanks is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there is an emerging trend of addressing ''energy efficiency'' aspect of wireless communications. And coordinated multipoint (CoMP) communication is a promising method to improve energy efficiency. However, since the downlink performance is also important for users, we should improve the energy efficiency as well as keeping a perfect downlink performance. This paper presents a control theoretical approach to study the energy efficiency and downlink performance issues in cooperative wireless cellular networks with CoMP communications. Specifically, to make the decisions for optimal base station grouping in energy-efficient transmissions in CoMP, we develop a Reinforcement Learning (RL) Algorithm. We apply the Q-learning of the RL Algorithm to get the optimal policy for base station grouping with introduction of variations at the beginning of the Q-learning to prevent Q from falling into local maximum points. Simulation results are provided to show the process and effectiveness of the proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the mathematical model of the mass moment aerospace vehicles (MMAV), a coupled nonlinear dynamical system is established by rational simplification. The flight control system of MMAV is designed via utilizing nonlinear predictive control (NPC) approach. Aiming at the parameters of NPC is generally used the trial-and-error method to optimize and design, a novel kind of NPC parameters optimization strategy based on ant colony genetic algorithm(ACGA) is proposed in this paper. The method for setting NPC parameters with ACA in which the routes of ants are optimized by the genetic algorithm(GA) is derived. And then, a detailed realized process of this method is also presented. Furthermore, this optimization algorithm of the NPC parameters is applied to the flight control system of MMAV. The simulation results show that the system not only meets the demands of timeresponse specifications but also has excellent robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feature selection process constitutes a commonly encountered problem of global combinatorial optimization. The process reduces the number of features by removing irrelevant and redundant data. This paper proposed a novel immune clonal genetic algorithm based on immune clonal algorithm designed to solve the feature selection problem. The proposed algorithm has more exploration and exploitation abilities due to the clonal selection theory, and each antibody in the search space specifies a subset of the possible features. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm simplifies the feature selection process effectively and obtains higher classification accuracy than other feature selection algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a hybridization of two different approaches applied to the well-known Capacitated Facility Location Problem (CFLP). The Artificial Bee algorithm (BA) is used to select a promising subset of locations (warehouses) which are solely included in the Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model. Next, the algorithm solves the subproblem by considering the entire set of customers. The hybrid implementation allows us to bypass certain inherited weaknesses of each algorithm, which means that we are able to find an optimal solution in an acceptable computational time. In this paper we demonstrate that BA can be significantly improved by use of the MIP algorithm. At the same time, our hybrid implementation allows the MIP algorithm to reach the optimal solution in a considerably shorter time than is needed to solve the model using the entire dataset directly within the model. Our hybrid approach outperforms the results obtained by each technique separately. It is able to find the optimal solution in a shorter time than each technique on its own, and the results are highly competitive with the state-of-the-art in large-scale optimization. Furthermore, according to our results, combining the BA with a mathematical programming approach appears to be an interesting research area in combinatorial optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A covering array (CA) is a combinatorial structure specified as a matrix of N rows and k columns over an alphabet on v symbols such that for each set of t columns every t- tuple of symbols is covered at least once. Given the values of t, k, and v, the optimal covering array construction problem (CAC) consists in constructing a CA (N; t, k, v) with the minimum possible value of N. There are several reported methods to attend the CAC problem, among them are direct methods, recursive methods, greedy methods, and metaheuristics methods. In this paper, There are three parallel approaches for simulated annealing: the independent, semi-independent, and cooperative searches are applied to the CAC problem. The empirical evidence supported by statistical analysis indicates that cooperative approach offers the best execution times and the same bounds as the independent and semi-independent approaches. Extensive experimentation was carried out, using 182 well-known benchmark instances of ternary covering arrays, for assessing its performance with respect to the best-known bounds reported previously. The results show that cooperative approach attains 134 new bounds and equals the solutions for other 29 instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to approximate any nonlinear system, not just affine nonlinear systems, generalized T-S fuzzy systems, where the control variables and the state variables, are all premise variables are introduced in the paper. Firstly, fuzzy spaces and rules were determined by using ant colony algorithm. Secondly, the state-space model parameters are identified by using genetic algorithm. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate wireless access point deployment (APD) is essential for ensuring seamless user communication. Optimal APD enables good telecommunication quality, balanced capacity loading, and optimal deployment costs. APD is a typical NP-complex problem because improving wireless networking infrastructure has multiple objectives (MOs). This paper proposes a method that integrates a goal-programming-driven model (PM) and a genetic algorithm (GA) to resolve the MO-APD problem. The PM identifies the target deployment subject of four constraints: budget, coverage, capacity, and interference. The PM also calculates dynamic capacity requirements to replicate real wireless communication. Three experiments validate the feasibility of the PM. The results demonstrate the utility and stability of the proposed method. Decision makers can easily refer to the PM-identified target deployment before allocating APs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a well-known combinatorial optimization problem. It has been studied for several decades because finding effective vehicle routes is an important issue of logistic management. This paper proposes a new hybrid algorithm based on two main swarm intelligence (SI) approaches, ant colony optimization (ACO) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), for solving capacitated vehicle routing problems (CVRPs). In the proposed algorithm, each artificial ant, like a particle in PSO, is allowed to memorize the best solution ever found. After solution construction, only elite ants can update pheromone according to their own best-so-far solutions. Moreover, a pheromone disturbance method is embedded into the ACO framework to overcome the problem of pheromone stagnation. Two sets of benchmark problems were selected to test the performance of the proposed algorithm. The computational results show that the proposed algorithm performs well in comparison with existing swarm intelligence approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the "first service station" for ships in the whole port logistics system, the tugboat operation system is one of the most important systems in port logistics. This paper formulated the tugboat scheduling problem as a multiprocessor task scheduling problem (MTSP) after analyzing the characteristics of tugboat operation. The model considers factors of multi anchorage bases, different operation modes, and three stages of operations (berthing/shifting-berth/unberthing). The objective is to minimize the total operation times for all tugboats in a port. A hybrid simulated annealing-based ant colony algorithm is proposed to solve the addressed problem. By the numerical experiments without the shifting-berth operation, the effectiveness was verified, and the fact that more effective sailing may be possible if tugboats return to the anchorage base timely was pointed out; by the experiments with the shifting-berth operation, one can see that the objective is most sensitive to the proportion of the shifting-berth operation, influenced slightly by the tugboat deployment scheme, and not sensitive to the handling operation times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to optimize state feedback parameters using intelligent method, GA, Hermite-Biehler, and chaos algorithm. GA is implemented for local search but it has some deficiencies such as trapping into a local minimum and slow convergence, so the combination of Hermite-Biehler and chaos algorithm has been added to GA to avoid its deficiencies. Dividing search space is usually done by distributed population genetic algorithm (DPGA).Moreover, using generalized Hermite-Biehler Theorem can find the domain of parameters. In order to speed up the convergence at the first step, Hermite-Biehler method finds some intervals for controller, in the next step the GA will be added, and, finally, chaos disturbance will help the algorithm to reach a global minimum. Therefore, the proposed method can optimize the parameters of the state feedback controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an economic analysis model on value chain of taxi fleet with battery-swapping mode in a pilot city. In the model, economic benefits of charging-swapping station group, taxi company, and taxi driver in the region have been taken into consideration. Thus, the model is a multiobjective function and multiobjective genetic algorithm is used to solve this problem. According to the real data collected from the pilot city, the multiobjective genetic algorithm is tested as an effective method to solve this problem. Furthermore, the effects of price of electricity, price of battery package, life cycle of battery package, cost of battery-swapping devices and infrastructure, and driving mileage per day on the benefits of value holders are analyzed, which provide theoretical and practical reference for the deployment of electric vehicles, for the national subsidy criteria adjusment, technological innovation instruction, commercial mode selection, and infrastructure construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers two additional factors of the widely researched vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW). The two factors, which are very common characteristics in realworld, are uncertain number of vehicles and simultaneous delivery and pick-up service. Using minimization of the total transport costs as the objective of the extension VRPTW, a mathematic model is constructed. To solve the problem, an efficient multiswarm cooperative particle swarm optimization (MCPSO) algorithm is applied. And a new encoding method is proposed for the extension VRPTW. Finally, comparing with genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, the MCPSO algorithm performs best for solving this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many genetic algorithms (GA) have been applied to solve different NP-complete combinatorial optimization problems so far. The striking point of using GA refers to selecting a combination of appropriate patterns in crossover, mutation, and and so forth and fine tuning of some parameters such as crossover probability, mutation probability, and and so forth. One way to design a robust GA is to select an optimal pattern and then to search for its parameter values using a tuning procedure. This paper addresses a methodology to both optimal pattern selection and the tuning phases by taking advantage of design of experiments and response surface methodology. To show the performances of the proposed procedure and demonstrate its applications, it is employed to design a robust GA to solve a project scheduling problem. Through the statistical comparison analyses between the performances of the proposed method and an existing GA, the effectiveness of the methodology is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to present a combinatorial planner for autonomous systems. The approach is demonstrated on the so-called subtour problem, a variant of the classical traveling salesman problem (TSP): given a set of n possible goals/targets, the optimal strategy is sought that connects k ≤ n goals. The proposed solution method is a Genetic Algorithm coupled with a heuristic local search. To validate the approach, the method has been benchmarked against TSPs and subtour problems with known optimal solutions. Numerical experiments demonstrate the success of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to design the automotive components considering probabilistic uncertainties in the decision variables, it is desired to perform a robust design process. The peak crushing force of the energy absorber components is one of the important objectives of the design of such components. In this paper, at first, the peak crushing force of the S-shaped box beams, as a highly simplified model of front member of a vehicle body, is extracted mathematically. Using such obtained mathematical model and Monte Carlo simulation, genetic algorithm is then used for the robust design of the S-shaped box beams having probabilistic uncertainties in material and geometrical parameters. In this way the variance-per-mean ratio of the peak crushing force (Pmax) is considered as the objective function. It is shown that some interesting relationships as useful robust design principles involved in the performance of the S-shaped box beams can be discovered by the robust design of the obtained mathematical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]