 Simulation and optimization are two arguably most used operations research (OR) tools. Optimization intends to choose the best element from some set of available alternatives. Stochastic simulation is a powerful modeling and software tool for analyzing modern complex systems. This capability complements the inherent limitation of traditional optimization, so the combining use of simulation an...

Models that aim to optimize the design of supply chain networks have gained more interest in the supply chain literature. Mixed-integer linear programming and discrete-event simulation are widely used for such an optimization problem. We present a hybrid approach to support decisions for supply chain network design using a combination of analytical and discrete-event simulation models. The prop...

In this paper, the output reachable estimation and safety verification problems for multi-layer perceptron neural networks are addressed. First, a conception called maximum sensitivity in introduced and, for a class of multi-layer perceptrons whose activation functions are monotonic functions, the maximum sensitivity can be computed via solving convex optimization problems. Then, using a simula...

We propose a new method called Stochastic Model Reference Adaptive Search (SMRAS) for finding a global optimal solution to a stochastic optimization problem in situations where the objective functions cannot be evaluated exactly, but can be estimated with some noise (or uncertainty), e.g., via simulation. SMRAS is a generalization of the recently proposed Model Reference Adaptive Search (MRAS) ...

The objective of this paper is to investigate the enhancement of damping the low frequency oscillations via tuning of static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) damping controller. The problem of STATCOM based damping controller is formulated as an optimization problem according with the time domain-based objective function which is solved by a quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) t...

since the analysis of complex services systems by using mathematical modeling techniques, with considering the random patterns prevailing in them, is so difficult or probably impossible, improvement guidelines are often followed based on the experts' experiences using qualitative methods. in the present paper, by employing a discrete event computer simulation methodology, criminal trial sy...