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Distance-limited Distribution Network Design on the Continuous Space

Tarih: 

Konum:  A329

Distance-limited Distribution Network Design on the Continuous Space

We introduce a new continuous location-allocation problem where the facilities with source capabilities have both a fixed opening cost and a coverage distance limitation. The problem has wide applications especially in the spatial planning of decentralized energy access networks where the coverage distance might be associated with the physical loss constraints. We formulate a mixed integer quadratically constrained problem (MIQCP) under the Euclidean distance setting and present a three-stage heuristic algorithm for its solution: In the first stage, we solve a planar set covering problem (PSCP) under the distance limitation. In the second stage, we solve a discrete version of the proposed problem where the set of candidate locations for the facilities is formed by the union of the set of demand points and the set of locations in the PSCP solution. Finally, in the third stage, we apply a modified Weiszfeld’s algorithm with projections that we propose to incorporate the coverage distance component of our problem for fine-tuning the discrete space solutions in the continuous space. We perform numerical experiments on a large example data set from the literature to demonstrate the performances of the suggested heuristic methods. We also discuss possible extensions and future research directions.

Bio of the Speaker:

Dr. Kağan Gökbayrak received the B.S. degrees in mathematics and in electrical engineering from Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, in 1995, the M.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1997, and the Ph.D. degree in manufacturing engineering from Boston University, Boston, MA in 2001. From 2001 to 2003, he was a network planning engineer at Genuity, Inc., Burlington, MA. In addition to preparing demand forecasts and IP-layer capacity plans of the AS1 backbone, Dr. Gokbayrak played a key role in adapting emerging IP technologies. Since 2003, he has been a faculty member in the Industrial Engineering Department, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. During his sabbatical leave in 2013, he was a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA and held an adjunct position at Boston University.  His research interests include the optimization of discrete-event and hybrid systems, wireless communication networks, and distribution networks, and computer simulation with applications to inventory, healthcare and manufacturing systems.