The goal of this paper is to develop models and methods that use complementary strengths of Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) and Constraint Programming (CP) techniques to solve problems that are otherwise intractable if solved using either of the two methods. The class of problems considered in this paper have the characteristic that only a subset of the binary variables have non-zero ob...

Multitasking is an important part of today’s manufacturing plants. Multitask machine tools are capable of processing multiple operations at the same time by applying a different set of part and tool holding devices. Mill-turns are multitask machines with the ability to perform a variety of operations with considerable accuracy and agility. One critical factor in simultaneous machining is to cre...

In this paper the problem of finding the sparsest (i.e., minimum cardinality) critical k-tuple including one arbitrarily specified measurement is considered. The solution to this problem can be used to identify weak points in the measurement set, or aid the placement of new meters. The critical k-tuple problem is a combinatorial generalization of the critical measurement calculation problem. Us...

This work addresses the optimization of ammonia–water absorption cycles for cooling and refrigeration applications with economic and environmental concerns. Our approach combines the capabilities of process simulation, multi-objective optimization (MOO), cost analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA). The optimization task is posed in mathematical terms as a multi-objective mixed-integer nonline...

This paper studies virtual organization (VO) creation through an application of mathematical programming. We present a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model to support VO configuration in a virtual organization breeding environment (VBE). The model allows for multiple criteria, of which we give several examples: One objective is to minimize total fixed and variable costs. Another object...

This paper deals with the problem of finding optimal feeding sequence in a manufacturing cell with feeders fed by a mobile robot with manipulation arm. The performance criterion is to minimize total traveling time of the robot in a given planning horizon. Besides, the robot has to be scheduled in order to keep production lines within the cell working without any shortage of parts fed from feede...

In wireless sensor networks, the sensor nodes collect data, which are routed to a sink node. Most of the existing proposals address the routing problem to maximize network lifetime in the case of a single sink node. In this paper, we extend this problem into the case of multiple sink nodes. To maximize network lifetime, we consider the two problems: (i) how to position multiple sink nodes in th...