0000000000154127
AUTHOR
Ann-kathrin Rothenbächer
Branch-and-price-and-cut for a service network design and hub location problem
In the context of combined road-rail freight transport, we study the integrated tactical planning of hub locations and the design of a frequency service network. We consider a number of real-world constraints such as multiple transshipments of requests at hubs, transport time limits for requests, request splitting, and outsourcing possibilities. To our knowledge, the combination of problem features we deal with has not been described before. We present a path-based model and solve it with a branch-and-price-and-cut algorithm. Computational experiments show that large realistic instances from a major German rail freight company can be solved close to optimality within one hour on a standard …
Bidirectional labeling in column-generation algorithms for pickup-and-delivery problems
Abstract For the exact solution of many types of vehicle-routing problems, column-generation based algorithms have become predominant. The column-generation subproblems are then variants of the shortest-path problem with resource constraints which can be solved well with dynamic-programming labeling algorithms. For vehicle-routing problems with a pickup-and-delivery structure, the strongest known dominance between two labels requires the delivery triangle inequality (DTI) for reduced costs to hold. When the direction of labeling is altered from forward labeling to backward labeling, the DTI requirement becomes the pickup triangle inequality (PTI). DTI and PTI cannot be guaranteed at the sam…
Contributions to Branch-and-Price-and-Cut Algorithms for Routing Problems
This article deals with new exact branch-and-price-and-cut algorithms for the solution of routing problems. Specialized methods for the pickup-and-delivery problem (PDP), the truck-and-trailer routing problem (TTRP), the periodic vehicle routing problem (PVRP) and a service network design and hub location problem (SNDHLP) are presented. We develop a new technique for the acceleration of bidirectional labeling algorithms by a dynamic choice of the merge point. Moreover, for variants of the PDP, the bidirectional labeling can be effectively applied for the first time. In the TTRP, we model the extension to a 2 days planning horizon and the consideration of a quantity-dependent transfer time. …
Branch-and-Price-and-Cut for the Truck-and-Trailer Routing Problem with Time Windows
In this paper, we present a new branch-and-price-and-cut algorithm to solve the truck-and-trailer routing problem with time windows (TTRPTW) and two real-world extensions. In all TTRPTW variants, the fleet consists of one or more trucks that may attach a trailer. Some customers are not accessible with a truck-and-trailer combination, but can however be serviced by one if the trailer is previously detached and parked at a suitable location. In the first extension, the planning horizon comprises two days and customers may be visited either on both days or only once, in which case twice the daily supply must be collected. The second extension incorporates load transfer times depending on the …
Asymmetry matters: Dynamic half-way points in bidirectional labeling for solving shortest path problems with resource constraints faster
Abstract With their paper “Symmetry helps: Bounded bi-directional dynamic programming for the elementary shortest path problem with resource constraints” [Discrete Optimization 3, 2006, pp. 255–273] Righini and Salani introduced bounded bidirectional dynamic programming (DP) as an acceleration technique for solving variants of the shortest path problem with resource constraints (SPPRC). SPPRCs must be solved iteratively when vehicle routing and scheduling problems are tackled via Lagrangian relaxation or column-generation techniques. Righini and Salani and several subsequent works have shown that bounded bidirectional DP algorithms are often superior to their monodirectional counterparts, s…
Branch-and-Price-and-Cut for the Periodic Vehicle Routing Problem with Flexible Schedule Structures
This paper addresses the periodic vehicle routing problem with time windows (PVRPTW). Therein, customers require one or several visits during a planning horizon of several periods. The possible visiting patterns (schedules) per customer are limited. In the classical PVRPTW, it is common to assume that each customer requires a specific visit frequency and offers all corresponding schedules with regular intervals between the visits. In this paper, we permit all kinds of schedule structures and the choice of the service frequency. We present an exact branch-and-price-and-cut algorithm for the classical PVRPTW and its variant with flexible schedules. The pricing problems are elementary shortes…