Reliable Routing of Road-Rail Intermodal Freight under Uncertainty

Transportation infrastructures, particularly those supporting intermodal freight, are vulnerable to natural disasters and man-made disasters that could lead to severe service disruptions. These disruptions can drastically degrade the capacity of a transportation mode and consequently have adverse impacts on intermodal freight transport and freight supply chain. To address service disruption, this paper develops a model to reliably route freight in a road-rail intermodal network. Specifically, the model seeks to provide the optimal route via road segments (highway links), rail segments (rail lines), and intermodal terminals for freight when the network is subject to capacity uncertainties. To ensure reliability, the model plans for reduced network link, node, and intermodal terminal capacity. A major contribution of this work is that a framework is provided to allow decision makers to determine the amount of capacity reduction to consider in planning routes to obtain a user-specified reliability level. The proposed methodology is demonstrated using a real-world intermodal network in the Gulf Coast, Southeastern, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is found that the total system cost increases with the level of capacity uncertainty and with increased confidence levels for disruptions at links, nodes, and intermodal terminals.

     

Efficient model and heuristic for the intermodal terminal location problem

A multimodal transportation system transports freight using at least two transportation modes. Among available transportation modes, intermodal freight transportation transports freight in an intermodal container or conveyance without handling the freight itself when changing modes. The locations of intermodal terminals constitute the foundation of an intermodal transportation network. The intermodal terminal location problem therefore aims to determine terminal locations and routes within a transportation network in order to minimize the total transportation and operation costs through collaborations of unimodal road transport and intermodal transport chains. Relevant research includes that of Arnold et al., who first presented mathematical programming models for the problem. Sörensen et al. recently proposed a standard model for the same problem. However, these models are complex and time consuming. Some decision variables and constraints of Sörensen et al.׳s model are proven to be redundant. A modified mixed integer programming model is then developed to increase computation efficiency. The modified model finds more optimal solutions to the benchmark problems than current approaches do, within a reasonable time. Furthermore, two matheuristics are presented to solve the problem more efficiently while obtaining near optimal solutions.     

The p-hub Model with Hub-catchment Areas,Existing Hubs,and Simulation: A Case Study of Serbian Intermodal Terminals

This paper addresses the problem of optimally locating intermodal freight terminals in Serbia. To solve this problem and determine the effects of the resulting scenarios, two modeling approaches were combined. The first approach is based on multiple-assignment hub-network design, and the second is based on simulation. The multiple-assignment p-hub network location model was used to determine the optimal location of intermodal terminals. Simulation was used as a tool to estimate intermodal transport flow volumes, due to the unreliability and unavailability of specific statistical data, and as a method for quantitatively analyzing the economic, time, and environmental effects of different scenarios of intermodal terminal development. The results presented here represent a summary, with some extension, of the research realized in the IMOD-X project (Intermodal Solutions for Competitive Transport in Serbia).     

Pareto遗传算法在货位配置中的应用研究

固定货架是自动化立体仓库应用最广泛的存储设备，货位配置是否优化直接影响货架的稳定性和存取操作效率。因此，建立了货位配置优化问题的数学模型，提出了采用Pareto遗传算法解决多目标组合优化问题，可得到Pareto最优解集。此算法包括5个基本算子：选择、变异、交叉、小生境技术、Pareto集合过滤器。通过仿真实验验证了将Pareto遗传算法应用在实际货位配置优化问题中，取得了较好的结果。     

Railcar reallocation optimization on water-rail network under uncertain busyness

Water-rail intermodal transportation can reduce cargo losses and transportation transferring costs. However, the imbalance between the capacity of the scheduled railway network and the large container freight demand greatly reduces operational efficiency. To minimize the total transportation cost and relocation cost, a railcar reallocation stochastic optimization model is formulated to deal with uncertain congestion in the railway network. To capture the uncertain busyness and queuing pattern, a hypercube spatial queue model is embedded in the optimization model by estimating the expected queue length and waiting time. To solve the proposed nonlinear nonconcave stochastic model, an approximate hypercube based iterative algorithm is proposed. A real-world case study is presented to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. The proposed model outperforms the comparable deterministic model in the objective value. Sensitivity analyses on the ratio of the unit waiting cost and the unit travel cost for empty cars, and the total number of freight cars show the robustness of the proposed method.     

基于禁忌遗传优化的网络拥塞控制算法

为解决网络拥塞问题,提出一种基于禁忌遗传优化的网络拥塞控制算法TSGA。该算法将禁忌搜索和遗传算法相结合,以网络资源消耗最小化和网络负载均衡分布为目标,建立多约束QoS路由优化数学模型。仿真实验结果证明,该算法可实现网络拥塞控制,有效提高网络性能。     

基于蚁群算法的多目标网络铺设策略研究

研究通信网络在不同目标下的铺设策略。为满足不同需求,建立网络终端之间的距离矩阵并将其转化为一个全连通无向赋权图。根据网络设计标准,以最低成本为唯一目标建立最短路径模型,利用Prim算法求解得到最小生成树。在最小生成树逻辑结构上建立稳定性度约束模型,给出满足度约束的铺设方案。综合考虑网络铺设的多方面影响因素,建立多目标组合优化模型,基于蚁群算法设计不同链路通断概率、不同链路数目和较高稳定性下的全局最优铺设策略。     

Best routes selection in international intermodal networks

This study focuses on one of the intermodal operational issues: how to select best routes for shipments through the international intermodal network. International intermodal routing is complicated by three important characteristics: (1) multiple objectives; (2) scheduled transportation modes and demanded delivery times; and (3) transportation economies of scale. In this paper, the international intermodal routing problem is formulated as a multiobjective multimodal multicommodity flow problem (MMMFP) with time windows and concave costs. The objectives of this paper are to develop a mathematical model encompassing all three essential characteristics, and to propose an algorithm that can effectively provide answers to the model. The problem is NP-hard. It follows that the proposed algorithm is a heuristic. Based on relaxation and decomposition techniques, the original problem is broken into a set of smaller and easier subproblems. The case studies show that it is important to incorporate the three characteristics into the international intermodal routing problem, and our proposed algorithm can effectively and efficiently solve the MMMFP with time windows and concave costs.     

Sustainability SI: Multimode Multicommodity Network Design Model for Intermodal Freight Transportation with Transfer and Emission Costs

Intermodal freight transportation is concerned with the shipment of commodities from their origin to destination using combinations of transport modes. Traditional logistics models have concentrated on minimizing transportation costs by appropriately determining the service network and the transportation routing. This paper considers an intermodal transportation problem with an explicit consideration of greenhouse gas emissions and intermodal transfers. A model is described which is in the form of a non-linear integer programming formulation, which is then linearized. A hypothetical but realistic case study of the UK including eleven locations forms the test instances for our investigation, where uni-modal with multi-modal transportation options are compared using a range of fixed costs.     

An intermodal transport network planning algorithm using dynamic programming—A case study: from Busan to Rotterdam in intermodal freight routing

This paper presents a dynamic programming algorithm to draw optimal intermodal freight routing with regard to international logistics of container cargo for export and import. This study looks into the characteristics of intermodal transport using multi-modes, and presents a Weighted Constrained Shortest Path Problem (WCSPP) model. This study draws Pareto optimal solutions that can simultaneously meet two objective functions by applying the Label Setting algorithm, a type of Dynamic Programming algorithms, after setting the feasible area. To improve the algorithm performance, pruning rules have also been presented. The algorithm is applied to real transport paths from Busan to Rotterdam, as well as to large-scale cases. This study quantitatively measures the savings in both transport cost and time by comparing single transport modes with intermodal transport paths. Last, this study applies a mathematical model and MADM model to the multiple Pareto optimal solutions to estimate the solutions.     

MulRoGA: A Multicast Routing Genetic Algorithm approach considering multiple objectives

We solve a multicast routing problem by means of a genetic algorithm (GA) without using multicast trees. The source-destination routes need to fulfill two conflicting objectives: maximization of the common links and minimization of the route sizes. The proposed GA can be characterized by its representation of network links and routes in a variable size multi-chromosome problem; local viability restrictions in order to generate the initial population and define variation operators; selection operators in order to choose the most promising individuals thus preserving diversity, and the fitness function in order to handle the conflicting multiple objectives. The proposed model is called a Multicast Routing Genetic Algorithm (MulRoGA). The model was tested on the 33-node European GéANT WAN network backbone and three other networks (66-node, 100-node and 200-node) randomly generated using the Waxman model on a network topology generator BRITE. On considering each network, a number of solutions were found for changes in the size and node members of the multicast groups, and the source node. The results of the MulRoGA operation suggest a consistent and robust performance in the various cases including comparisons with the methods of unicast shortest path routing, shortest path tree routing (SPT), and simulated annealing (SA) heuristic.     

混装货物优化配置模型及算法

为最小化总运费,提出一种混装货物的优化配置模型。根据不同货物的运输费率、实际重量和体积重量完成混装搭配,在证明 2个相关引理的基础上设计启发式算法,将其与基本遗传算法进行多组随机计算比较。实验结果表明,对于50件货物的10组随机数据,遗传算法所用平均计算时间是启发式算法的2 325倍,对于200件物品的10组随机数据,启发式算法所用的平均计算时间仅为4.009 4 s。     

Component Importance Measures for Multi-Industry Vulnerability of a Freight Transportation Network

The multi-modal freight transportation network plays an important role in the economic vitality of states, regions, and the broader country. The functionality of this network is threatened by disruptive events that can disable the capacity of the network to enable flows of commodities in portions of nodes and links. This work integrates a multi-commodity network flow formulation with an economic interdependency model to quantify the multi-industry impacts of a disruption in the transportation network to ultimately measure and assess the importance of network components. The framework developed here can be used to measure the efficacy of strategies to reduce network vulnerability from the unique perspective of multi-industry impacts. The framework is illustrated with a case study considering the multi-modal freight transportation network consisting of inland waterways, railways, and interstate highways that connect the state of Oklahoma to surrounding states.     

节点与链路协同映射的生存性虚拟光网络映射算法

针对弹性光网络中单链路故障问题,提出一种基于匈牙利算法求解链路映射方案的节点与链路协同映射保护算法CMST-HA。将虚拟网络请求的节点与链路分别划分为主动类型与被动类型,把主动类型节点映射至邻接链路频谱资源丰富且邻接节点计算资源充足的物理节点上,在主动链路时使用匈牙利算法求解出最小映射开销方案并完成映射,确定被动节点的映射位置,利用KSP算法为被动链路选择映射路径,在此基础上为虚拟网络请求的最小生成树链路提供备份路径。仿真结果表明,与RVNM、CMST算法相比,CMST-HA算法不仅能够降低虚拟网络请求阻塞率,而且可增加物理网络收益。     

基于遗传神经网络的车辆导航路径规划

研究使用混合 GA-BP 神经网络算法来解决交通路径规划中的非线性问题。反向传播(Back-Propagation, BP)神经网络虽然能够很好地解决非线性问题,但它存在着容易陷入局部极小的不足,而遗传算法(Genetic Algorithm, GA)具有很强的宏观搜索能力和良好的全局优化性能,可以弥补BP的不足。用A*算法快速粗算出的几条可选路径作为 GA 的初始种群,然后用混合的 GA-BP 神经网络算法进行路径规划精算。仿真结果显示混合GA-BP神经网络算法在寻找路径规划的全局最优解上具有一定的优势。     

基于改进型灰狼算法的RFID网络规划

随着物联网技术的飞速发展,射频识别(Radio Frequency Identification,RFID)系统因具有非接触、快速识别等优点而成为了解决物联网问题的首选方案。RFID网络规划问题要考虑多个目标,被证明是多目标优化的问题。群体智能(Swarm Intelligence,SI)算法在解决多目标优化问题方面得到了广泛的关注。文中提出了一种改进型灰狼算法(Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer,IGWO),利用高斯变异算子和惯性常量策略来实现RFID网络规划。通过建立优化模型,在满足标签100%覆盖率、部署更少的阅读器、避免信号干扰、消耗更少的功率4个目标的基础上,将所提算法与粒子群算法(Particle Swarm Optimization,PSO)、遗传算法(Genetic Algorithm,GA)、帝王蝶算法(Monarch Butterfly Algorithm,MMBO)进行了对比分析。实验结果表明,灰狼算法在RFID网络规划时表现更优异,在相同的实验环境下,相较于其他算法,IGWO的适应度值比GA提高了20.2%,比PSO提高了13.5%,比MMBO提高了9.66%;并且覆盖的标签数更多,可以更有效地求出最优化方案。     

A hybrid Hopfield network-genetic algorithm approach for the terminal assignment problem

This paper presents a hybrid Hopfield network-genetic algorithm (GA) approach to tackle the terminal assignment (TA) problem. TA involves determining minimum cost links to form a communications network, by connecting a given set of terminals to a given collection of concentrators. Some previous approaches provide very good results if the cost associated with assigning a single terminal to a given concentrator is known. However, there are situations in which the cost of a single assignment is not known in advance, and only the cost associated with feasible solutions can be calculated. In these situations, previous algorithms for TA based on greedy heuristics are no longer valid, or fail to get feasible solutions. Our approach involves a Hopfield neural network (HNN) which manages the problem's constraints, whereas a GA searches for high quality solutions with the minimum possible cost. We show that our algorithm is able to achieve feasible solutions to the TA in instances where the cost of a single assignment in not known in advance, improving the results obtained by previous approaches. We also show the applicability of our approach to other problems related to the TA.     

软件定义承载网中基于负载均衡的虚拟网络重配置方法*

在软件定义承载网(Carrier-SDN)中应用网络虚拟化技术为虚拟网络请求分配资源是解决传统网络结构僵化问题的重要方法之一。针对虚拟网络初次配置产生的瓶颈节点和瓶颈链路造成的底层网络负载不均衡问题,提出一种基于负载均衡的虚拟网络重配置方法(Load Balance Virtual Network Reconfiguration,LB-VNR)。该方法着重设计了虚拟节点的迁移算法、虚拟链路的迁移算法以及重路由映射路径规划算法。仿真结果表明,所提方法在虚拟网络请求接受率、网络收益代价比和虚拟网络负载均衡性方面均具有良好的性能。     

Hose workload based exact algorithm for the optimal design of virtual private networks

The Virtual Private Networks (VPN) optimal bandwidth allocation problem with tree topology has been widely discussed in the literature. Most of the algorithms proposed by researchers to solve this problem use approximation schemes. In this paper, we propose an exact and efficient Branch-and-Cut algorithm for the problem in the context of a hose workload model. In particular, we consider the case when the ingress and egress traffic at VPN endpoints are asymmetric and the links of the network have unbounded capacities. The algorithm proposed here is based on a linear integer programming formulation for the problem introduced by Kumar et al. (2002) [2]. Using this and a deep investigation of the polyhedral structure of that formulation, our algorithm permits to solve large instances of the problem having up to 120 nodes and 10 terminals.     

Mathematical model and discrete artificial Bee Colony algorithm for distributed integrated process planning and scheduling

With the development of the globalization of economy and manufacturing industry, distributed manufacturing mode has become a hot topic in current production research. In the context of distributed manufacturing, one job has different process routes in different workshops because of heterogeneous manufacturing resources and manufacturing environments in each factory. Considering the heterogeneous process planning problems and shop scheduling problems simultaneously can take advantage of the characteristics of distributed factories to finish the processing task well. Thus, a novel network-based mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is established for distributed integrated process planning and scheduling problem (DIPPS). The paper designs a new encoding method based on the process network and its OR-nodes, and then proposes a discrete artificial bee colony algorithm (DABC) to solve the DIPPS problem. The proposed DABC can guarantee the feasibility of individuals via specially-designed mapping and switching operations, so that the process precedence constraints contained by the network graph can be satisfied in the entire procedure of the DABC algorithm. Finally, the proposed MILP model is verified and the proposed DABC is tested through some open benchmarks. By comparing with other powerful reported algorithms and obtaining new better solutions, the experiment results prove the effectiveness of the proposed model and DABC algorithm successfully.