Parallel Asynchronous Tabu Search for Multicommodity Location-Allocation with Balancing Requirements

We study and compare asynchronous parallelization strategies for tabu search, and evaluate the impact on performance and solution quality of some important algorithmic design parameters: number of processors, handling of exchanged information, etc. Parallelization approaches are implemented and compared by using a tabu search algorithm for multicommodity location-allocation problems with balancing requirements. Key words: Tabu search methods, Parallel algorithms, Asynchronous strategies, Multicommodity location-allocation with balancing requirements R'esum'e Nous 'etudions et comparons plusieurs m'ethodes parall`eles asynchrones de recherche avec tabous. Nous identifions les approches de parall'elisation les plus prometteuses et nous 'evaluons l'impact sur le comportement des m'ethodes et sur la qualit'e des solutions de plusieurs aspects importants du design algorithmique: nombre de processeurs, traitement de l'information 'echang'ee, etc. Les approches de parall'elisation sont exa..

New optimization models for empty container management

This thesis investigates the reasons why nowadays empty container repositioning represents a crucial issue for the shipping industry. Moreover, taking into account information collected through surveys and meetings with industrial experts, we provide a broad overview of current logistic practices for the management of empty containers in the context of international trade. We develop new optimization models in order to support shipping companies in dealing with empty container repositioning. We determine optimal repositioning plans within the time limits imposed by planning operations. Some optimization models have been tested on real data problems provided by a shipping company. These results show that it is possible to achieve significant savings in costs and times requested to determine repositioning plan

On the development of a stochastic optimisation algorithm with capabilities for distributed computing

In this thesis, we devise a new stochastic optimisation method (cascade optimisation algorithm) by incorporating the concepts from Markov process whilst eliminating the inherent sequential nature that is the major deficit preventing the exploitation of advances in distributed computing infrastructures. This method introduces partitions and pools to store intermediate solution and corresponding objectives. A Markov process increases the population of partitions and pools. The population is distributed periodically following an external certain. With the use of partitions and pools, multiple Markov processes can be launched simultaneously for different partitions and pools. The cascade optimisation algorithm is suitable for parallel and distributed computing environments. In addition, this method has the potential to integrate knowledge acquisition techniques (e. g. data mining and ontology) to achieve effective knowledge-based decision making. Several features are extracted and studied in this thesis. The application problems involve both the small-scale and the large-scale optimisation problems. Comparisons with the stochastic optimisation methods are made and results show that the cascade optimisation algorithm can converge to the optimal solutions in agreement with other methods more quickly. The cascade optimisation algorithm is also studied on parallel and distributed computing environments in terms of the reduction in computation time.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Parallel Cooperative Approaches For The Labor Constrained Scheduling Problem

In this paper we consider the labor constrained scheduling problem (LCSP), in which a set of jobs to be processed is subject to precedence and labor requirement constraints. Each job has a specified processing time and a labor requirements profile, which typically varies as the job is processed. Given the amount of labor available at each period, the problem consists in determining starting times so as to minimize the overall makespan, subject to the precedence and labor constraints. We propose two parallel cooperative algorithms for LCSP: an asynchronous team and a parallel tabu search strategy. Both algorithms make use of cooperative processes that asynchronously exchange information gathered along their execution. Computational experiments on benchmark instances show that these parallel algorithms produce significantly better solutions than all sequential algorithms previously proposed in the literature. © 2002 by Springer Science+Business Media New York.15201225Aiex, R.M., Martins, S.L., Ribeiro, C.C., Rodriguez, N.R., Cooperative Multi-Thread Paralell Tabu Search with an Application to Circuit Partitioning (1998) Lecture Notes In Computer Science, 1457, pp. 310-331Baerentzen, L., Avila, P., Talukdar, S., Learning Network Design for Asynchronous Teams (1997) Lecture Notes In Artificial Intelligence, 1237, pp. 177-196Baker, K.R., (1974) Introduction to Sequencing and Scheduling, , WileyCavalcante, C.B., Colombani, Y., Heipcke, S., Souza, C.C., Scheduling under Labour Resource Constraints (2000) Constraints, 5, pp. 415-422Cavalcante, C.B., Souza, C.C., (1997) A Tabu Search Approach For Scheduling Problem Under Labour Constraints, , Technical Report, State University of Campinas, Institute of Computing, IC-97-13Cavalcante, C.B., Souza, C.C., Savelsbergh, M.W., Wang, Y., Wolsey, L.A., Scheduling Projects with Labor Constraints To appear in: Discrete Applied MathematicsCavalcante, V.F., (1995) Asynchronous Teams For the Job Shop Scheduling Problem: Construction Heuristic (in Portuguese), , M.Sc. Dissertation, State University of Campinas, Institute of ComputingCavalcante, C.C.B., (1998) Scheduling Under Labour Constraints: Heuristics and Lower Bounds (in Portuguese), , M.Sc. 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