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Since the beginning of its development in the 1950s, mixed integer programming (MIP) has been used for a variety of practical application problems, such as sequence optimization. Exact solution techniques for MIPs, most prominently branch-and-cut techniques, have the advantage (compared to heuristics such as genetic algorithms) that they can generate solutions with optimality certificates. The novel process of additive manufacturing opens up a further perspective for their use. With the two common techniques, Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) and Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBD), the sequence in which a given component geometry must be manufactured can be planned. In particular, the heat transfer within the component must be taken into account here, since excessive temperature gradients can lead to internal stresses and warpage after cooling. In order to integrate the temperature, heat transfer models (heat conduction, heat radiation) are integrated into a sequencing model. This leads to the problem class of MIPDECO: MIPs with partial differential equations (PDEs) as further constraints. We present these model approaches for both manufacturing techniques and carry out test calculations for sample geometries in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach.
We describe the problem of re-balancing a number of units distributed over a geographic area. Each unit consists of a number of components. A value between 0 and 1 describes the current rating of each component. By a piecewise linear function this value is converted into a nominal status assessment. The lowest of the statuses determines the efficiency of a unit, and the highest status its cost. An unbalanced unit has a gap between these two. To re-balance the units, components can be transferred. The goal is to maximize the efficiency of all units. On a secondary level, the cost for the re-balancing should be minimal. We present a mixed-integer nonlinear programming formulation for this problem, which describes the potential movement of components as a multi-commodity flow. The piecewise linear functions needed to obtain the status values are reformulated using inequalities and binary variables. This results in a mixed-integer linear program, and numerical standard solvers are able to compute proven optimal solutions for instances with up to 100 units. We present numerical solutions for a set of test instances and a bi-criteria objective function, and discuss the trade-off between cost and efficiency.
We consider the problem of planning an inspection flight to a given set of waypo- ints using an inhomogeneous fleet of multirotor, battery-driven micro aerial vehicles (MAVs). Therein, two subproblems must be solved. On the one side, the detailed trajectories of all MAVs must be planned, taking technical and environmental restrictions into account and on the other side, the MAVs must be assigned to the waypoints considering their installed equipment. The goal is to visit all waypoints in minimal time. The strong interaction of the two subproblems makes it necessary to tackle them simultaneously. Several aspects are taken into account to allow realistic solutions. A two-level time grid approach is applied to achieve smooth trajectories, while the flight dynamics of the MAVs are modeled in great detail. Safety distances must be maintained between them and they can recharge at charging stations located within the mission area. There can be polyhedral restricted air spaces that must be avoided. Furthermore, weather conditions are incorporated by polyhedral wind zones affecting the drones and each waypoint has a time window within it must be visited. We formulate this problem as a mixed-integer linear program and show whether the state-of-the-art numerical solver Gurobi is applicable to solve model instances.
In wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), the desired workpiece is built layerwise by a moving heat source depositing droplets of molten wire on a substrate plate. To reduce material accumulations, the trajectory of the weld source should be continuous, but transit moves without welding, called deadheading, are possible. The enormous heat of the weld source causes large temperature gradients, leading to a strain distribution in the welded material which can lead even to cracks. In summary, it can be concluded that the temperature gradient reduce the quality of the workpiece. We consider the problem of finding a trajectory of the weld source with minimal temperature deviation from a given target temperature for one layer of a workpiece with welding segments broader than the width of the weld pool. The temperature distribution is modeled using the finite element method. We formulate this problem as a mixed-integer linear programming model and demonstrate its solvability by a standard mixed-integer solver.
The essays in this volume were created in the courses “Philosophy of Technology and Nature” over two semesters from 2018 to 2020. Students in these courses were enrolled in different study programs and they came from countries all over the world. In lectures and seminars we discussed the different imaginaries of technology and nature, the history of this relation, and the various conceptualizations particularly those of the Western world. The idea of “Nature as Wilderness” did, and still does so, take an important place in this cultural setting. We discussed a chapter from the seminal book of William Cronnon, The Trouble with Wilderness (1996), before entering in our writing experiment. Students were asked to write an essay of three pages maximum about the topic “My Wilderness”, based on the methodology of creative writing that was presented and discussed at length. Students had one week to produce their piece and in the following session we had a kind of play reading that is students presented the texts of their mates. After this event, the texts were carefully revised and images added.
In recent years parcel volumes reached record highs. The logistics industry is seeking new innovative concepts to keep pace. For densely populated areas delivery robots are a promising alternative to conventional trucking. These electric robots drive autonomously on sidewalks and deliver urgent goods, such as express parcels, medicine, or meals. The limited cargo space and battery capacity of these vehicles necessitates a depot visit after each customer served. The problem can be formulated as an electric vehicle routing problem with soft time windows and a single unit capacity. The goal is to serve all customers such that the quadratic sum of delays is minimized and each vehicle operates within its battery bounds. To solve this problem, we formulate an MIQP and present an expanded formulation based on a layered graph. For this layered graph we derive two solution approaches based on relaxations, which use less nodes and arcs. The first, Iterative Refinement, always solves the current relaxation to optimality and refines the graph if the solution is not feasible for the expanded formulation. This is repeated until a proven optimal solution is found. The second, Branch and Refine, integrates the graph refinement into a branch and bound framework avoiding restarts. Computational experiments performed on modified Solomon instances demonstrate the advantage of using our solution approaches and show that Branch and Refine outperforms Iterative Refinement in all studied parameter configurations.
We consider the mission and flight planning problem for an inhomogeneous fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Therein, the mission planning problem of assigning targets to a fleet of UAVs and the flight planning problem of finding optimal flight trajectories between a given set of waypoints are combined into one model and solved simultaneously. Thus, trajectories of an inhomogeneous fleet of UAVs have to be specified such that the sum of waypoint-related scores is maximized, considering technical and environmental constraints. Several aspects of an existing basic model are expanded to achieve a more detailed solution. A two-level time grid approach is presented to smooth the computed trajectories. The three-dimensional mission area can contain convex-shaped restricted airspaces and convex subareas where wind affects the flight trajectories. Furthermore, the flight dynamics are related to the mass change, due to fuel consumption, and the operating range of every UAV is altitude-dependent. A class of benchmark instances for collision avoidance is adapted and expanded to fit our model and we prove an upper bound on its objective value. Finally, the presented features and results are tested and discussed on several test instances using GUROBI as a state-of-the-art numerical solver.