| 1. |
- Lindholm, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Hierarchical scheduling and utility disturbance management in the process industry
- 2013
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In: 7th IFAC Conference on Manufacturing Modelling, Management, and Control, 2013. - : Elsevier. - 1474-6670. - 9783902823359 ; , s. 140-145
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The integration of scheduling and control in the process industry is a topic that has been frequently discussed during the recent years, but many challenges remain in order to achieve integrated solutions that can be implemented for large-scale industrial sites. In this paper we consider production control under disturbances in the supply of utilities at integrated sites together with the integration towards production scheduling. Utilities, such as steam and cooling water, are often shared between the production areas of a site, which enables formulation of an optimization problem for determining the optimal supply of utilities to each area at the occurrence of a disturbance. Optimization in two timescales is suggested to handle the scheduling and disturbance management problems in a hierarchical fashion. The suggested structure has been discussed with companies within the chemical process industry. A simple example is provided to show how the structure may be used.
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| 2. |
- Ekström, Joakim, 1980-, et al.
(author)
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Simulation based optimisation of toll levels in urban road traffic networks
- 2014
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- There has recently been a growing interest in analysing road pricing schemes in urban areas using dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) tools. The motivation behind this development is the problem for static transportation models to accurately predict travel time savings, from introducing road pricing, in networks with severe congestion. Finding optimal toll levels and locations in urban road traffic networks has so far mainly been studied using either derivative-free heuristics (e.g. genetic algorithms and simulated annealing) or ascent methods. Both approaches rely on fast computations of the road users response (traffic flows, travel times and demands), given the road pricing scheme, and for the case of ascent methods, the methods also rely on fast computations (or rather approximation) of derivatives. Using DTA tools for evaluating the road users’ response to a pricing scheme is, however, very computationally expensive. Previously developed methods are therefore not suitable to use together with DTA.Surrogate models, e.g. in terms of response surfaces, are commonly used for optimisation problems with expensive-to-evaluate objective functions. The surrogate model is used for approximating the expensive-to-evaluate objective function, and the optimisation is then done on the surrogate model instead. The performances of optimisation methods based on surrogate models are, however, dependent on experimental design, infill strategy and choice of surrogate model itself. The experimental design will give the initial set of toll levels, for which the DTA needs to be evaluated, the infill strategy determined additional toll levels to be evaluated by the DTA, and the choice of surrogate model will give the functional form to be fitted to the sampled toll levels.We apply a surrogate model framework for optimising toll levels in a multiple cordon pricing scheme. In the first stage we evaluate the experimental design, infill strategy and choice of surrogate model, using a static macroscopic traffic model. This allows a large number of experiments to be carried out, which would not be possible with a DTA tool. It also allows us to compare the performance of the surrogate modelling approach with other global optimisation methods. In the second stage, the insight which has been gained from the experiments with the static model is used when applying the surrogate modelling approach to a DTA model of Stockholm.Computational results are presented for a Stockholm network with three cordons, each with differentiated toll level in both directions, resulting in a total of six toll level variables. Surrogate models in the form of Radial Basis Functions and Kriging models are evaluated with a static model of Stockholm, for different initial experimental designs, infill strategies and choice of surrogate models. In comparison with previously developed derivative based methods for static models, our results show that the surrogate based optimisation approach performs better, since it allows for metaheuristic methods to search for global optimal solutions efficiently.
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| 3. |
- Ekström, Joakim, 1980-, et al.
(author)
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Surrogate-based optimisation of toll levels in congestion pricing schemes
- 2014
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In: Transportation Infrastructure. - Hong Kong : Hong Kong Society of Transportation Studies Limited. - 9789881581433 ; , s. 209-216
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There has recently been a growing interest in analysing road pricing schemes in urban areas using dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) tools. Finding optimal toll levels in cordon based road pricing schemes has so far mainly been studied using either derivative-free heuristics or ascent methods. For future use of DTA tools such methods are not suitable and in this paper we investigate how a surrogate modelling framework can be used instead. We focus on cases when the number of costly objective function evaluations is limited to between 20 and 40. In order to allow a large number of different configurations of the surrogate modelling framework to be evaluated, a static user equilibrium model is used for simulating the road users’ response to a given pricing scheme. The results show that for a realistic scenario, valuable information on close to optimal toll levels can be achieved with only 20 costly function evaluations.
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| 4. |
- Lindholm, Anna, et al.
(author)
-
Hierarchical Production Scheduling - A Case Study at Perstorp
- 2014
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In: 24th European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering, PTS A and B. - : Elsevier. - 1570-7946. ; 33, s. 511-516, s. 511-516
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Planning and scheduling are functions that have large economic impact in the chemical process industry. For integrated sites with many interconnected production areas, obtaining production schedules that respect all production-related constraints is a complex task. One important issue is the constraints due to disturbances in utilities, such as steam and cooling water. These are often site-wide disturbances that may make it impossible to maintain desired production rates in several production areas at a site. In this study, scheduling at two levels of the functional hierarchy at a site of a world lead chemical industry, Perstorp, is handled. The activities are denoted production scheduling (PS) and detailed production scheduling (DPS). Real data of incoming orders and utility disturbances are used to produce a production schedule and detailed production schedule for one month. The PS and DPS problems are formulated as optimization problems, where production-related constraints such as production rate constraints, inventory limitations, and start-up costs are included. The objective functions of the PS and DPS problems are formulated to reflect the importance of different issues at the site. The procedure aims to show how the hierarchical optimization framework may be used to provide decision support for how to operate the production at a site in order to maximize profit while minimizing the effects of site-wide disturbances.
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| 5. |
- Lindholm, Anna, et al.
(author)
-
Production scheduling in the process industry
- 2013
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In: Proceedings for 22nd International Conference on Production Research, 2013.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to formulate an optimization model for the production scheduling problem at continuous production sites. The production scheduling activity should produce a monthly schedule that accounts for orders and forecasts of all products. The plan should be updated every day, with feedback on the actual production the previous day. The actual daily production may be lower than the planned production due to disturbances, e.g. disruptions in the supply of a utility. The work is performed in collaboration with Perstorp, a world-leading company within several sectors of the specialty chemicals market. Together with Perstorp, a list of specifications for the production scheduling has been formulated. These are formulated mathematically in a mixed-integer linear program that is solved in receding horizon fashion. The formulation of the model aims to be general, such that it may be used for any process industrial site.
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| 6. |
- Quttineh, Nils-Hassan, 1979-, et al.
(author)
-
Aircraft Mission Planning
- 2012
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This paper deals with a Military Aircraft Mission Planning Problem, where the problem is to find time efficient flight paths for a given aircraft fleet that should attack a number of ground targets. Due to the nature of the attack, two aircraft need to rendezvous at the target, that is, they need to be synchronized in both space and time. At the attack, one aircraft is launching a guided weapon, while the other is illuminating the target. Each target is associated with multiple attack and illumination options. Further, there may be precedence constraints between targets, limiting the order of the attacks. The objective is to maximize the outcome of the entire attack, while also minimizing the mission time span. We present two mathematical models for this problem and compare their efficiency on some small test cases. We also provide some heuristic approaches since direct application of a general MIP solver to the mathematical model is only practical for smaller scenarios. The heuristics are compared and they successfully provide solutions to a number of scenarios.
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| 7. |
- Quttineh, Nils-Hassan, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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Effect Oriented Planning
- 2012
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The problem setting concerns the tactical planning of a military operation. Imagine a big wide open area where a number of interesting targets are positioned. It could be radar stations or other surveillance equipment, with or without defensive capabilities, which the attacker wishes to destroy. Moreover, the targets are possibly guarded by defending units, like Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) units. The positions of all units, targets and defenders, are known. We consider the problem of the attacker, where the objective is to maximize the expected outcome of a joint attack against the enemy, subject to a limited amount of resources (i.e. aircraft, tanks). We present a mathematical model for this problem, together with alternative model versions which provide optimistic and a pessimistic approximations. The model is not efficient for large problem instances, hence we also provide heuristic solution approaches and successfully provide solutions to a number of scenarios.
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| 8. |
- Quttineh, Nils-Hassan, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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Effect Oriented Planning of Joint Attacks
- 2013
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In: Optimization Theory, Decision Making, and Operations Research Applications. - New York, NY : Springer-Verlag New York. - 9781461451334 - 9781461451341 ; , s. 49-70
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We consider tactical planning of a military operation on a large target scene where a number of specific targets of interest are positioned, using a given number of resources which can be, for example, fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, or missiles. The targets could be radar stations or other surveillance equipment, with or without defensive capabilities, which the attacker wishes to destroy. Further, some of the targets are defended, by, for example, Surface-to-Air Missile units, and this defense capability can be used to protect also other targets. The attacker has knowledge about the positions of all the targets and also a reward associated with each target. We consider the problem of the attacker, who has the objective to maximize the expected outcome of a joint attack against the enemy. The decisions that can be taken by the attacker concern the allocation of the resources to the targets and what tactics to use against each target. We present a mathematical model for the attacker’s problem. The model is similar to a generalized assignment problem, but with a complex objective function that makes it intractable for large problem instances. We present approximate models that can be used to provide upper and lower bounds on the optimal value, and also provide heuristic solution approaches that are able to successfully provide near-optimal solutions to a number of scenarios.
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| 9. |
- Quttineh, Nils-Hassan, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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Military aircraft mission planning : a generalized vehicle routing model with synchronization and precedence
- 2013
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In: EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics. - : Springer. - 2192-4376 .- 2192-4384. ; 2:1-2, s. 109-127
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We introduce a military aircraft mission planning problem where agiven fleet of aircraft should attack a number of ground targets. Due to the nature of the attack, two aircraft need to rendez-vous at the target, that is, they need to be synchronized in both space and time. At the attack, one aircraft is launching a guided weapon, while the other is illuminating the target. Each target is associated with multiple attack and illumination options. Further, there may be precedence constraints between targets, limiting the order of the attacks. The objective is to maximize the outcome of the entire attack, while also minimizing the mission timespan. We give a linear mixed integer programming model of the problem, which can be characterized as ageneralized vehicle routing problem with synchronization and precedence side constraints. Numerical results are presented for problem instances of realistic size.
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| 10. |
- Quttineh, Nils-Hassan, 1979-
(author)
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Models and Methods for Costly Global Optimization and Military Decision Support Systems
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The thesis consists of five papers. The first three deal with topics within costly global optimization and the last two concern military decision support systems.The first part of the thesis addresses so-called costly problems where the objective function is seen as a “black box” to which the input parameter values are sent and a function value is returned. This means in particular that no information about derivatives is available. The black box could, for example, solve a large system of differential equations or carry out timeconsuming simulation, where a single function evaluation can take several hours! This is the reason for describing such problems as costly and why they require customized algorithms. The goal is to construct algorithms that find a (near)-optimal solution using as few function evaluations as possible. A good example of a real life application comes from the automotive industry, where the development of new engines utilizes advanced mathematical models that are governed by a dozen key parameters. The objective is to optimize the engine by changing these parameters in such a way that it becomes as energy efficient as possible, but still meets all sorts of demands on strength and external constraints. The first three papers describe algorithms and implementation details for these costly global optimization problems.The second part deals with military mission planning, that is, problems that concern logistics, allocation and deployment of military resources. Given a fleet of resource, the decision problem is to allocate the resources against the enemy so that the overall mission success is optimized. We focus on the problem of the attacker and consider two separate problem classes. In the fourth paper we introduce an effect oriented planning approach to an advanced weapon-target allocation problem, where the objective is to maximize the expected outcome of a coordinated attack. We present a mathematical model together with efficient solution techniques. Finally, in the fifth paper, we introduce a military aircraft mission planning problem, where an aircraft fleet should attack a given set of targets. Aircraft routing is an essential part of the problem, and the objective is to maximize the expected mission success while minimizing the overall mission time. The problem is stated as a generalized vehicle routing model with synchronization and precedence side constraints.
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| 11. |
- Quttineh, Nils-Hassan, 1979-, et al.
(author)
-
Supply Chain Planning at a Chemical Process Industry
- 2013
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In: <em>Proceedings for Decision Science Institute (DSI 2013), The 44th Annual Meeting, 2013</em>. - : Decision Sciences Institute. ; , s. 671895 - 1-671895 - 19
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical optimization model that can be used as a decision support tool for the supply chain planning at Perstorp Oxo AB, a global company in the process industry. At their site in Stenungsund, Perstorp Oxo AB produce chemicals to customers in a variety of branches and for further refinement at other Perstorp sites in Gent, Castellanza and Perstorp. The customers are mainly in branches such as food and feed, leather and textile, plastic and safety glass production. Since Perstorp Oxo sells products to customers worldwide, two large inventory facilities are located in Antwerp (Belgium)and Tees (United Kingdom) for five product types each and two smaller facilities in Philadelphia (USA) and Aveiro (Portugal) for one type respectively. The developed model is a mixed-integer linear program, where the objective function maximizes the profit margin, that is, the difference between the selling price and the cost of production, transportation, inventory carrying and outsourcing. A solution to the model shows the quantities to be transported between the different sites, production rates, inventory levels, setups and purchases from external suppliers, each with its respective cost. The results of a baseline scenario show that there is a potential to increase profit margin by using a decision support tool based on an optimization model.
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| 12. |
- Quttineh, Nils-Hassan, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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Using rolling horizon techniques in the planning process for a chemical process industry
- 2014
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In: <em>Pre-Prints, Vol.1, 18th International Working Seminars on Production Economics, Innsbruck, Austria, February 2014</em>.. ; , s. 381-393
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a mathematical optimization model that can be used as a decision support tool for the supply chain planning at Perstorp Oxo AB, a global company in the process industry. At their site in Stenungsund, Perstorp Oxo AB produce chemicals to customers in a variety of branches and for further refinement at other Perstorp sites in Gent, Castellanza and Perstorp. The customers are mainly in branches such as food and feed, leather and textile, plastic and safety glass production. Since Perstorp Oxo sells products to customers worldwide, two large inventory facilities are located in Antwerp (Belgium) and Tees (United Kingdom) for five product types each and two smaller facilities in Philadelphia (USA) and Aveiro (Portugal) for one type respectively. The developed model is a mixed-integer linear program, where the objective function maximizes the profit. A solution to the model shows the quantities to be transported between the different sites, production rates, inventory levels, setups and purchases from external suppliers, each with its respective cost. Based on actual sales data from Perstorp Oxo AB, we use rolling horizon techniques to simulate how customer demands vary over a time horizon of one year, and show that our optimization model is able to find feasible and profitable production plans. The results show that there is a potential to increase profit margin by using a decision support tool based on an optimization model.
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