Search results for "Management Science and Operations Research"
showing 10 items of 707 documents
Friction stir extrusion to recycle aluminum alloys scraps: Energy efficiency characterization
2019
Abstract Solid state recycling refers to a group of processes allowing direct recycling of metals scraps into semi-finished product. Their main advantage lies in avoiding the molten state of the material which badly affects the environmental performance of the conventional (remelting based) recycling routes. It is expected that such process category would lower the environmental performance of metals recycling. In this paper, the friction stir extrusion process for aluminum alloy AA 2050 wire production is analyzed under the primary energy demand perspective. The process electrical energy demand is quantified with varying process parameters. An empirical modelling approach was applied and a…
Application of linear friction welding for joining ultrafine grained aluminium
2020
Abstract Ultrafine grained (UFG) materials are of great potential in industry due to their enhanced mechanical strength and other promising features, such as ability to superplastic deformation or excellent corrosion resistance. Nevertheless, one of the main limitations lies in their low thermal stability, which leads to excessive grain growth at elevated temperature. It influences mainly further processes performed at high temperature, such as joining. It causes detrimental problems during conventional fusion welding, as significant grain growth is observed and therefore the advantages as a result of small average grain size disappear. Therefore, the idea of applying solid state joining pr…
Decorous combinatorial lower bounds for row layout problems
2020
Abstract In this paper we consider the Double-Row Facility Layout Problem (DRFLP). Given a set of departments and pairwise transport weights between them the DRFLP asks for a non-overlapping arrangement of the departments along both sides of a common path such that the weighted sum of the center-to-center distances between the departments is minimized. Despite its broad applicability in factory planning, only small instances can be solved to optimality in reasonable time. Apart from this even deriving good lower bounds using existing integer programming formulations and branch-and-cut methods is a challenging problem. We focus here on deriving combinatorial lower bounds which can be compute…
Mathematical models for a cutting problem in the glass manufacturing industry
2021
Abstract The glass cutting problem proposed for the ROADEF 2018 challenge is a two-dimensional, three-stage guillotine cutting process, with an additional cut to obtain pieces in some specific situations. However, it is not a standard problem because it includes specific constraints. The sheets produced in the glass manufacturing process have defects that make them different and have to be used in order. The pieces to be cut are grouped into subsets and the pieces from each subset must be cut in order. We approach the problem by developing and solving integer linear models. We start with the basic model, which includes the essential features of the problem, as a classical three-stage cuttin…
A strategic oscillation simheuristic for the Time Capacitated Arc Routing Problem with stochastic demands
2021
Abstract The Time Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (TCARP) extends the classical Capacitated Arc Routing Problem by considering time-based capacities instead of traditional loading capacities. In the TCARP, the costs associated with traversing and servicing arcs, as well as the vehicle’s capacity, are measured in time units. The increasing use of electric vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles, which use batteries of limited duration, illustrates the importance of time-capacitated routing problems. In this paper, we consider the TCARP with stochastic demands, i.e.: the actual demands on each edge are random variables which specific values are only revealed once the vehicle traverses the arc. …
Metaheuristic procedures for the lexicographic bottleneck assembly line balancing problem
2015
The goal of this work is to develop an improved procedure for the solution of the lexicographic bottleneck variant of the assembly line balancing problem (LB-ALBP). The objective of the LB-ALBP is to minimize the workload of the most heavily loaded workstation, followed by the workload of the second most heavily loaded workstation and so on. This problem-recently introduced to the literature (Pastor, 2011)-has practical relevance to manufacturing facilities. We design, implement and fine-tune GRASP, tabu search (TS) and scatter search (SS) heuristics for the LB-ALBP and show that our procedures are able to obtain solutions of a quality that outperforms previous approaches. We rely on both s…
Opinion Dynamics and Stubbornness via Multi-Population Mean-Field Games
2016
This paper studies opinion dynamics for a set of heterogeneous populations of individuals pursuing two conflicting goals: to seek consensus and to be coherent with their initial opinions. The multi-population game under investigation is characterized by (i) rational agents who behave strategically, (ii) heterogeneous populations, and (iii) opinions evolving in response to local interactions. The main contribution of this paper is to encompass all of these aspects under the unified framework of mean-field game theory. We show that, assuming initial Gaussian density functions and affine control policies, the Fokker---Planck---Kolmogorov equation preserves Gaussianity over time. This fact is t…
Game Theoretic Decentralized Feedback Controls in Markov Jump Processes
2017
This paper studies a decentralized routing problem over a network, using the paradigm of mean-field games with large number of players. Building on a state-space extension technique, we turn the problem into an optimal control one for each single player. The main contribution is an explicit expression of the optimal decentralized control which guarantees the convergence both to local and to global equilibrium points. Furthermore, we study the stability of the system also in the presence of a delay which we model using an hysteresis operator. As a result of the hysteresis, we prove existence of multiple equilibrium points and analyze convergence conditions. The stability of the system is ill…
Decomposition and Mean-Field Approach to Mixed Integer Optimal Compensation Problems
2016
Mixed integer optimal compensation deals with optimization problems with integer- and real-valued control variables to compensate disturbances in dynamic systems. The mixed integer nature of controls could lead to intractability in problems of large dimensions. To address this challenge, we introduce a decomposition method which turns the original n-dimensional optimization problem into n independent scalar problems of lot sizing form. Each of these problems can be viewed as a two-player zero-sum game, which introduces some element of conservatism. Each scalar problem is then reformulated as a shortest path one and solved through linear programming over a receding horizon, a step that mirro…
The magnitude of a product recall: offshore outsourcing vs. captive offshoring effects
2018
The escalation in product recalls in recent years is attributed to the rise of globalisation and associated challenges of offshoring. Extant SCM research suggests that product recalls have a significant negative impact on financial performance, but gaps exist relative to the managerial actions to minimise their impact. Recall response strategies have become more important in the press, given that a single recall may result in the mandatory withdrawal of millions of products from the market, with firms incurring enormous logistics costs and brand damage. In this study, we address this gap in the research, and using a measure of product recall defined as the volume of products withdrawn from …