Randomized heuristics for the Capacitated Clustering Problem

In this paper, we investigate the adaptation of the Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP) and Iterated Greedy methodologies to the Capacitated Clustering Problem (CCP). In particular, we focus on the effect of the balance between randomization and greediness on the performance of these multi-start heuristic search methods when solving this NP-hard problem. The former is a memory-less approach that constructs independent solutions, while the latter is a memory-based method that constructs linked solutions, obtained by partially rebuilding previous ones. Both are based on the combination of greediness and randomization in the constructive process, and coupled with a subsequent l…

Variable neighborhood search for the linear ordering problem

Given a matrix of weights, the linear ordering problem (LOP) consists of finding a permutation of the columns and rows in order to maximize the sum of the weights in the upper triangle. This NP-complete problem can also be formulated in terms of graphs, as finding an acyclic tournament with a maximal sum of arc weights in a complete weighted graph. In this paper, we first review the previous methods for the LOP and then propose a heuristic algorithm based on the variable neighborhood search (VNS) methodology. The method combines different neighborhoods for an efficient exploration of the search space. We explore different search strategies and propose a hybrid method in which the VNS is cou…

Heuristics for the min–max arc crossing problem in graphs

Abstract In this paper, we study the visualization of complex structures in the context of automatic graph drawing. Constructing geometric representations of combinatorial structures, such as networks or graphs, is a difficult task that requires an expert system. The automatic generation of drawings of graphs finds many applications from software engineering to social media. The objective of graph drawing expert systems is to generate layouts that are easy to read and understand. This main objective is achieved by solving several optimization problems. In this paper we focus on the most important one: reducing the number of arc crossings in the graph. This hard optimization problem has been…

Context-Independent Scatter and Tabu Search for Permutation Problems

In this paper, we develop a general-purpose heuristic for permutations problems. The procedure is based on the scatter-search and tabu-search methodologies and treats the objective-function evaluation as a black box, making the search algorithm context-independent. Therefore, our main contribution consists of the development and testing of a procedure that uses no knowledge from the problem context to search for the optimal solution. We perform computational experiments with four well-known permutation problems to study the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method. These experiments include a comparison with two commercially available software packages that are also based on met…

GRASP with path relinking for the orienteering problem

In this paper, we address an optimization problem resulting from the combination of the well-known travelling salesman and knapsack problems. In particular, we target the orienteering problem, originated in the context of sport, which consists of maximizing the total score associated with the vertices visited in a path within the available time. The problem, also known as the selective travelling salesman problem, is NP-hard and can be formulated as an integer linear program. Since the 1980s, several solution methods for this problem have been developed and applied to a variety of fields, particularly in routing and tourism. We propose a heuristic method—based on the Greedy Randomized Adapt…

Polyhedral results for a vehicle routing problem

Abstract The Vehicle Routing Problem is a well known, and hard, combinatorial problem, whose polyhedral structure has deserved little attention. In this paper we consider the particular case in which all the demands are equal (since in the general case the associated polytope may be empty). From a known formulation of the problem we obtain the dimension of the corresponding polytope and we study the facetial properties of every inequality in it.

GRASP and path relinking for the matrix bandwidth minimization

In this article we develop a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) for the problem of reducing the bandwidth of a matrix. This problem consists of finding a permutation of the rows and columns of a given matrix, which keeps the nonzero elements in a band that is as close as possible to the main diagonal. The proposed method may be coupled with a Path Relinking strategy to search for improved outcomes. Empirical results indicate that the proposed GRASP implementation compares favourably to classical heuristics. GRASP with Path Relinking is also found to be competitive with a recently published tabu search algorithm that is considered one of the best currently available for band…

A computational study of several heuristics for the DRPP

The problem of designing a route of minimum length for a postman that starts and finishes at his office and has to deliver the mail along a set of streets in a city is known as the Rural Postman Problem. When the postman has to obey the directions of the streets, we have the directed version of this problem. Finding an exact solution, in the general case, is intractably difficult. Hence, we have implemented three heuristic algorithms for approximately solving this problem and a procedure for obtaining a lower bound to the optimal length. Also, we present numerical experimentations based on a collection of random instances with up to 30 connected components, 240 vertices and 801 arcs. A lowe…

A Scatter Search Algorithm for the Split Delivery Vehicle Routing Problem

In this chapter we present a metaheuristic procedure constructed for the special case of the Vehicle Routing Problem in which the demands of clients can be split, i.e., any client can be serviced by more than one vehicle. The proposed algorithm, based on the scatter search methodology, produces a feasible solution using the minimum number of vehicles. The quality of the obtained results is comparable to the best results known up to date on a set of instances previously published in the literature.

An algorithm for the Rural Postman problem on a directed graph

The Directed Rural Postman Problem (DRPP) is a general case of the Chinese Postman Problem where a subset of the set of arcs of a given directed graph is ‘required’ to be traversed at minimum cost. If this subset does not form a weakly connected graph but forms a number of disconnected components the problem is NP-Complete, and is also a generalization of the asymmetric Travelling Salesman Problem. In this paper we present a branch and bound algorithm for the exact solution of the DRPP based on bounds computed from Lagrangean Relaxation (with shortest spanning arborescence sub-problems) and on the fathoming of some of the tree nodes by the solution of minimum cost flow problems. Computation…

Multiobjective GRASP with Path Relinking

In this paper we review and propose different adaptations of the GRASP metaheuristic to solve multiobjective combinatorial optimization problems. In particular, we describe several alternatives to specialize the construction and improvement components of GRASP when two or more objectives are considered. GRASP has been successfully coupled with Path Relinking for single-objective optimization. Moreover, we propose different hybridizations of GRASP and Path Relinking for multiobjective optimization. We apply the proposed GRASP with Path Relinking variants to two combinatorial optimization problems, the biobjective orienteering problem and the biobjective path dissimilarity problem. We report …

Reducing the bandwidth of a sparse matrix with tabu search

The bandwidth of a matrix { } ij a A = is defined as the maximum absolute difference between i and j for which 0 ≠ ij a . The problem of reducing the bandwidth of a matrix consists of finding a permutation of the rows and columns that keeps the nonzero elements in a band that is as close as possible to the main diagonal of the matrix. This NP-complete problem can also be formulated as a labeling of vertices on a graph, where edges are the nonzero elements of the corresponding symmetrical matrix. Many bandwidth reduction algorithms have been developed since the 1960s and applied to structural engineering, fluid dynamics and network analysis. For the most part, these procedures do not incorpo…

An optimal method for the mixed postman problem

A New Metaheuristic for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Split Demands

In this paper we present a metaheuristic procedure constructed for the special case of the Vehicle Routing Problem in which the demands of the clients can be split, i.e., any client can be serviced by more than one vehicle. The proposed algorithm, based on the scatter search methodology, produces a feasible solution using the minimum number of vehicles. The results obtained compare with the best results known up to date on a set of instances previously published in the literature.

The Capacitated Arc Routing Problem: Lower bounds

In this paper, we consider the Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (CARP), in which a fleet of vehicles, based on a specified vertex (the depot) and with a known capacity Q, must service a subset of the edges of a graph, with minimum total cost and such that the load assigned to each vehicle does not exceed its capacity. New lower bounds are developed for this problem, producing at least as good results as the already existing ones. Three of the proposed lower bounds are obtained from the resolution of a minimum cost perfect matching problem. The fourth one takes into account the vehicle capacity and is computed using a dynamic programming algorithm. Computational results, in which these bounds…

Scatter Search vs. Genetic Algorithms

The purpose of this work is to compare the performance of a scatter search (SS) implementation and an implementation of a genetic algorithm (GA) in the context of searching for optimal solutions to permutation problems. Scatter search and genetic algorithms are members of the evolutionary computation family. That is, they are both based on maintaining a population of solutions for the purpose of generating new trial solutions. Our computational experiments with four well-known permutation problems reveal that in general a GA with local search outperforms one without it. Using the same problem instances, we observed that our specific scatter search implementation found solutions of a higher …

Scatter Search and Path Relinking

Scatter search (SS) and path relinking (PR) are evolutionary methods that have been successfully applied to a wide range of hard optimization problems. The fundamental concepts and principles of the methods were first proposed in the 1970s and 1980s, and were based on formulations, dating back to the 1960s, for combining decision rules and problem constraints. The methods use strategies for search diversification and intensification that have proved effective in a variety of optimization problems and that have sometimes been embedded in other evolutionary methods to yield improved performance. This paper examines the scatter search and path relinking methodologies from both conceptual and p…

A branch and bound algorithm for the matrix bandwidth minimization

In this article, we first review previous exact approaches as well as theoretical contributions for the problem of reducing the bandwidth of a matrix. This problem consists of finding a permutation of the rows and columns of a given matrix which keeps the non-zero elements in a band that is as close as possible to the main diagonal. This NP-complete problem can also be formulated as a labeling of vertices on a graph, where edges are the non-zero elements of the corresponding symmetrical matrix. We propose a new branch and bound algorithm and new expressions for known lower bounds for this problem. Empirical results with a collection of previously reported instances indicate that the propose…