Bin Packing and Related Problems: General Arc-flow Formulation with Graph Compression

We present an exact method, based on an arc-flow formulation with side constraints, for solving bin packing and cutting stock problems --- including multi-constraint variants --- by simply representing all the patterns in a very compact graph. Our method includes a graph compression algorithm that usually reduces the size of the underlying graph substantially without weakening the model. As opposed to our method, which provides strong models, conventional models are usually highly symmetric and provide very weak lower bounds. Our formulation is equivalent to Gilmore and Gomory's, thus providing a very strong linear relaxation. However, instead of using column-generation in an iterative process, the method constructs a graph, where paths from the source to the target node represent every valid packing pattern. The same method, without any problem-specific parameterization, was used to solve a large variety of instances from several different cutting and packing problems. In this paper, we deal with vector packing, graph coloring, bin packing, cutting stock, cardinality constrained bin packing, cutting stock with cutting knife limitation, cutting stock with binary patterns, bin packing with conflicts, and cutting stock with binary patterns and forbidden pairs. We report computational results obtained with many benchmark test data sets, all of them showing a large advantage of this formulation with respect to the traditional ones

Simultaneous column-and-row generation for large-scale linear programs with column-dependent-rows

In this paper, we develop a simultaneous column-and-row generation algorithm for a general class of large-scale linear programming problems. These problems typically arise in the context of linear programming formulations with exponentially many variables. The defining property for these formulations is a set of linking constraints. These constraints are either too many to be included in the formulation directly, or the full set of linking constraints can only be identified, if all variables are generated explicitly. Due to this dependence between columns and rows, we refer to this class of linear programs as problems with column-dependent-rows. To solve these problems, we need to be able to generate both columns and rows on the fly within an efficient solution method. We emphasize that the generated rows are structural constraints and distinguish our work from the branch-and-cut-and-price framework. We first characterize the underlying assumptions for the proposed column-and-row generation algorithm and then introduce the associated set of pricing subproblems in detail. The proposed methodology is demonstrated on numerical examples for the multi-stage cutting stock and the quadratic set covering problems

Simultaneous column-and-row generation for large-scale linear programs with column-dependent-rows

In this paper, we develop a simultaneous column-and-row generation algorithm that could be applied to a general class of large-scale linear programming problems. These problems typically arise in the context of linear programming formulations with exponentially many variables. The defining property for these formulations is a set of linking constraints, which are either too many to be included in the formulation directly, or the full set of linking constraints can only be identified, if all variables are generated explicitly. Due to this dependence between columns and rows, we refer to this class of linear programs as problems with column-dependent-rows. To solve these problems, we need to be able to generate both columns and rows on-the-fly within an efficient solution approach. We emphasize that the generated rows are structural constraints and distinguish our work from the branch-and-cut-and-price framework. We first characterize the underlying assumptions for the proposed column-and-row generation algorithm. These assumptions are general enough and cover all problems with column-dependent-rows studied in the literature up until now to the best of our knowledge. We then introduce in detail a set of pricing subproblems, which are used within the proposed column-and-row generation algorithm. This is followed by a formal discussion on the optimality of the algorithm. To illustrate the proposed approach, the paper is concluded by applying the proposed framework to the multi-stage cutting stock and the quadratic set covering problems

The two-dimensional cutting stock problem within the roller blind production process

In this paper we consider a two-dimensional cutting stock problem encountered at a large manufacturer of window covering products. The problem occurs in the production process of made-to-measure roller blinds. We develop a solution method that takes into account the characteristics of the specific problem. In particular, we deal with the fact that fabrics may contain small defects that should end up with the waste. Comparison to previous practice shows significant waste reductions.cutting;trim loss;two-dimensional cutting stock problem

Combining Column Generation and Lagrangian Relaxation

Although the possibility to combine column generation and Lagrangian relaxation has been known for quite some time, it has only recently been exploited in algorithms. In this paper, we discuss ways of combining these techniques. We focus on solving the LP relaxation of the Dantzig-Wolfe master problem. In a first approach we apply Lagrangian relaxation directly to this extended formulation, i.e. no simplex method is used. In a second one, we use Lagrangian relaxation to generate new columns, that is Lagrangian relaxation is applied to the compact for-mulation. We will illustrate the ideas behind these algorithms with an application in Lot-sizing. To show the wide applicability of these techniques, we also discuss applications in integrated vehicle and crew scheduling, plant location and cutting stock problems.column generation;Lagrangean relaxation;cutting stock problem;lotsizing;vehicle and crew scheduling

2차원 2단계 배낭문제에 대한 정수계획모형 및 최적해법

학위논문 (석사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 공과대학 산업공학과, 2021. 2. 이경식.In this thesis, we study integer programming models and exact algorithms for the two-dimensional two-staged knapsack problems, which maximizes the profit by cutting a single rectangular plate into smaller rectangular items by two-staged guillotine cuts. We first introduce various integer programming models, including the strip-packing model, the staged-pattern model, the level-packing model, and the arc-flow model for the problem. Then, a hierarchy of the strength of the upper bounds provided by the LP-relaxations of the models is established based on theoretical analysis. We also show that there exists a polynomial-size model that has not been proven yet as far as we know. Exact methods, including branch-and-price algorithms using the strip-packing model and the staged-pattern model, are also devised. Computational experiments on benchmark instances are conducted to examine the strength of upper bounds obtained by the LP-relaxations of the models and evaluate the performance of exact methods. The results show that the staged-pattern model gives a competitive theoretical and computational performance.본 논문은 2단계 길로틴 절단(two-staged guillotine cut)을 사용하여 이윤을 최대화하는 2차원 2단계 배낭 문제(two-dimensional two-staged knapsack problem: 이하 2TDK)에 대한 정수최적화 모형과 최적해법을 다룬다. 우선, 본 연구에서는 스트립패킹모형, 단계패턴모형, 레벨패킹모형, 그리고 호-흐름모형과 같은 정수최적화 모형들을 소개한다. 그 뒤, 각각의 모형의 선형계획완화문제에 대해 상한강도를 이론적으로 분석하여 상한강도 관점에서 모형들 간 위계를 정립한다. 또한, 본 연구에서는 2TDK의 다항크기(polynomial-size) 모형의 존재성을 처음으로 증명한다. 다음으로 본 연구는 2TDK의 최적해를 구하는 알고리즘으로써 패턴기반모형들에 대한 분지평가 알고리즘과 레벨패킹모형을 기반으로 한 분지절단 알고리즘을 제안한다. 단계패턴모형이 이론적으로도 가장 좋은 상한강도를 보장할 뿐만 아니라, 계산 분석을 통해 단계패턴모형을 기반으로 한 분지평가 알고리즘이 제한된 시간 내 좋은 품질의 가능해를 찾음을 확인하였다.Abstract i Contents iv List of Tables vi List of Figures vii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Problem Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.2 Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.3 Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1.4 Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chapter 2 Integer Programming Models for 2TDK 9 2.1 Pattern-based Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.2 Arc-flow Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2.3 Level Packing Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Integer Programming Models 20 3.1 Upper Bounds of AF and SM(1;1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 3.2 Upper Bounds of ML, PM(d), and SM(d; d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.3 Polynomial-size Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Chapter 4 Exact Methods 33 4.1 Branch-and-price Algorithm for the Strip Packing Model . . . . . . . 34 4.2 Branch-and-price Algorithm for the Staged-pattern Model . . . . . . 39 4.2.1 The Standard Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 4.2.2 The Height-aggregated Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 4.3 Branch-and-cut Algorithm for the Modified Level Packing Model . . 44 Chapter 5 Computational Experiments 46 5.1 Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 5.2 Upper Bounds Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 5.2.1 A Group of Small Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 5.2.2 A Group of Large Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 5.2.3 Class 5 Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 5.3 Solving Instances to Optimality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 5.3.1 A Group of Small Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 5.3.2 A Group of Large Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 5.3.3 Class 5 Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Chapter 6 Conclusion 77 Bibliography 79 국문초록 83Maste