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Metaheuristics for Production Systems pp 25–56Cite as

Solving Unidirectional Flow Path Design Problems Using Metaheuristics

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Part of the book series: Operations Research/Computer Science Interfaces Series ((ORCS,volume 60))

Abstract

Metaheuristics are widely used to solve a lot of problems for production systems. The aim of this study is to solve the flow path design problem with different metaheuristics especially developed for this particular problem. Flow path design consists of the determination of the direction of each segment and the paths that will be used by vehicles in production units. The organization of these routes directly influences the performance of the system. For example, the time of transport and the number of vehicles necessary depends on this organization. That is why this problem is one of the most important issues in AGV (automated guided vehicles) system design. This work deals with flow path design problem for a conventional unidirectional network, which is a general network where segments can be taken by vehicles in only one direction. For this specific problem, efficient optimization methods based on local search (MLS, ILS), Bee Algorithm (BA) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) are developed in order to solve the flow path design problem to minimize the total travel distance considering both loaded and empty trips. The problem will be described, the resolution methods will be detailed and their performances proven.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICD-LOSI (FRE CNRS 2848), Université de Technologie de Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, CS 42060, 10004, Troyes Cedex, Troyes, France

    Julie Rubaszewski

  2. LOSI Laboratory, Université de Technologie de Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, CS 42060, 10004, Troyes Cedex, Troyes, France

    Alice Yalaoui & Lionel Amodeo

Authors
  1. Julie Rubaszewski
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  2. Alice Yalaoui
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  3. Lionel Amodeo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julie Rubaszewski .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. CRISTAL Laboratory, Lille 1 University, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France

    El-Ghazali Talbi

  2. LOSI Laboratory, University of Technology of Troyes, Troyes, France

    Farouk Yalaoui

  3. LOSI Laboratory, University of Technology of Troyes, Troyes, France

    Lionel Amodeo

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Rubaszewski, J., Yalaoui, A., Amodeo, L. (2016). Solving Unidirectional Flow Path Design Problems Using Metaheuristics. In: Talbi, EG., Yalaoui, F., Amodeo, L. (eds) Metaheuristics for Production Systems. Operations Research/Computer Science Interfaces Series, vol 60. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23350-5_2

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