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In the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) a set of jobs is planned subject to resource- and precedence constraints. The objective is to minimize the makespan, that is the time when all jobs have been completed. There exist several Mixed-Integer-Programming (MIP) models in order to solve the problem. Most common models are based on time-discretization. In this case, the scheduling horizon is split into unit size intervals and each job gets assigned a unique starting interval. The drawback of time-discrete models is the computational intractability for large scheduling horizons or fine discretizations. In this connection, this thesis deals with compact MIP models where the model size is independent of the scheduling horizon.
In addition to two compact models from the literature, we present two new compact models. We investigate their induced polyhedra and deduce an inclusion hierarchy via linear transformations. Moreover, we give a combinatorial interpretation of these transformations. Furthermore, we study a class of valid cutting planes for the compact models, which are known as cover inequalities. In order to strengthen these cutting planes we introduce a lifting algorithm that is independent of the model size.
Subsequently, we examine lower bounds for the RCPSP from linear programming. Based on a linear transformation, we reveal a connection between two approaches from the literature. For one model we generate strong cutting planes that are obtained from a primal-dual relation between the models. Two cutting plane algorithms are derived. Likewise, we show that similar cutting planes can be transferred to the compact MIP models.
Our models have been implemented, tested and evaluated on the instances of the PSPLIB problem library.
The Graduate-Level Research in Industrial Projects (G-RIPS) Program provides an
opportunity for high-achieving graduate-level students to work in teams on a
real-world research project proposed by a sponsor from industry or the public
sector. Each G-RIPS team consists of four international students (two from
the US and two from European universities), an academic mentor, and an industrial sponsor.
This is the report of the Rail-Lab project on the definition and integration of
robustness aspects into optimizing rolling stock schedules. In general, there is
a trade-off for complex systems between robustness and efficiency. The ambitious
goal was to explore this trade-off by implementing numerical simulations and
developing analytic models.
In rolling stock planning a very large set of industrial railway requirements,
such as vehicle composition, maintenance constraints, infrastructure capacity,
and regularity aspects, have to be considered in an integrated model. General
hypergraphs provide the modeling power to tackle those requirements.
Furthermore, integer programming approaches are able to produce high quality
solutions for the deterministic problem.
When stochastic time delays are considered, the mathematical programming problem
is much more complex and presents additional challenges. Thus, we started with a
basic variant of the deterministic case, i.e., we are only considering
hypergraphs representing vehicle composition and regularity.
We transfered solution approaches for robust optimization
from the airline industry to the setting of railways and attained a
reasonable measure of robustness. Finally, we present and discuss different
methods to optimize this robustness measure.