Hamish Waterer This paper addresses the scheduling problem of coordinating train services and network maintenance windows for a railway system. We present model reformulations, for a mixed integer linear optimization model, which give a mathematically stronger model and substantial improvements in solving performance – as demonstrated with computational experiments on a set of synthetic test instances. As … Read more
We study cyclic binary strings with bounds on the lengths of the intervals of consecutive ones and zeros. This is motivated by scheduling problems where such binary strings can be used to represent the state (on/off) of a machine. In this context the bounds correspond to minimum and maximum lengths of on- or off-intervals, and … Read more
We consider the problem of characterizing the convex hull of the graph of a bilinear function $f$ on the $n$-dimensional unit cube $[0,1]^n$. Extended formulations for this convex hull are obtained by taking subsets of the facets of the Boolean Quadric Polytope (BQP). Extending existing results, we propose the systematic study of properties of $f$ … Read more
A big bucket time indexed mixed integer linear programming formulation for nonpreemptive single machine scheduling problems is presented in which the length of each period can be as large as the processing time of the shortest job. The model generalises the classical time indexed model to one in which at most two jobs can be … Read more
Strategic capacity planning is a core activity for the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator as demand for coal is expected to double in the next decade. Optimization and simulation models are used to suggest and evaluate infrastructure expansions and operating policy changes. These models require input data in the form of shipping stems, which are … Read more
This paper introduces the single item lot sizing problem with inventory gains. This problem is a generalization of the classical single item capacitated lot sizing problem to one in which stock is not conserved. That is, the stock in inventory undergoes a transformation in each period that is independent of the period in which the … Read more