Name:

Subject:

ShivaRanjani

OPERATIONS RESEARCH

Roll Number:

Assignment Number:

MB0032 SET 1

Study Center:

Date of Submission:

March, 2008

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MB0032 OPERATION RESEARCH

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SET 1 SOLVED ASSIGNMENT

Q 1: Describe in details the different scopes of application of Operations Research?

Answer:

Operations Research (OR) in the USA, South Africa and Australia, and Operational Research in Europe and Canada, is an interdisciplinary branch of applied mathematics and formal science that uses methods such as mathematical modeling, statistics, and algorithms to arrive at optimal or near optimal solutions to complex problems. It is typically concerned with optimizing the maxima (profit, assembly line performance, crop yield, bandwidth, etc) or minima (loss, risk, etc.) of some objective function. Operations research helps management achieve its goals using scientific methods.

The terms operations research and management science are often used synonymously. When a distinction is drawn, management science generally implies a closer relationship to the problems of business management. The field of operations research is closely related to Industrial engineering. Industrial engineers typically consider Operations Research (OR) techniques to be a major part of their toolset.

Some of the primary tools used by operations researchers are statistics, optimization, probability theory, queuing theory, game theory, graph theory, decision analysis, and simulation. Because of the computational nature of these fields, OR also has ties to computer science, and operations researchers use custom-written and off-the-shelf software.

Operations research is distinguished by its frequent use to examine an entire management information system, rather than concentrating only on specific elements (though this is often done as well). An operations researcher faced with a new problem is expected to determine which techniques are most appropriate given the nature of the system, the goals for improvement, and constraints on time and computing power. For this and other reasons, the human element of OR is vital. Like any other tools, OR techniques cannot solve problems by themselves.

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Scope of operation Research

Examples of applications in which operations research is currently used include: 1. 2. 3. Critical path analysis or project planning: identifying those processes in a complex project which affect the overall duration of the project Designing the layout of a factory for efficient flow of materials constructing a telecommunications network at low cost while still guaranteeing QoS (quality of service) or QoS (Quality of Experience) if particular connections become very busy or get damaged Road traffic management and 'one way' street allocations i.e. allocation problems. Determining the routes of school buses (or city buses) so that as few buses are needed as possible designing the layout of a computer chip to reduce manufacturing time (therefore reducing cost) Managing the flow of raw materials and products in a supply chain based on uncertain demand for the finished products Efficient messaging and customer response tactics Robotizing or automating human-driven operations processes Globalizing operations processes in order to take advantage of cheaper materials, labor, land or other productivity inputs Managing freight transportation and delivery systems (Examples: LTL Shipping, intermodal freight transport) Scheduling: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 13. Personnel staffing Manufacturing steps Project tasks Network data traffic: these are known as queuing models or queueing systems. sports events and their television coverage

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

blending of raw materials in oil refineries

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14.

determining optimal prices, in many retail and B2B settings, within the disciplines of pricing science

Operations research is also used extensively in government where evidencebased policy is used.

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Q 2: What do you understand by Linear Programming Problem? What are the requirement of L.P.P? What are the basic assumption of L.P.P?

Answer:

Linear programming problem (LPP): The standard form of the linear programming problem is used to develop the procedure for solving a general programming problem. A general LPP is of the form Max (or min) Z = c1x1 + c2x2 + +cnxn x1, x2, ....xn are called decision variable. subject to the constraints

c1, c2,. Cn, a11, a12,. amn are all known constants Z is called the "objective function" of the LPP of n variables which is to be maximized or
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minimized.

Requirements of L.P.P : There are mainly four steps in the mathematical formulation of linear programming problem as a mathematical model. We will discuss formulation of those problems which involve only two variables. 1. Identify the decision variables and assign symbols x and y to them. These decision variables are those quantities whose values we wish to determine. Identify the set of constraints and express them as linear equations/inequations in terms of the decision variables. These constraints are the given conditions. Identify the objective function and express it as a linear function of decision variables. It might take the form of maximizing profit or production or minimizing cost. Add the non-negativity restrictions on the decision variables, as in the physical problems, negative values of decision variables have no valid interpretation.

2.

3.

4.

There are many real life situations where an LPP may be formulated. The following examples will help to explain the mathematical formulation of an LPP.

Example-1. A diet is to contain at least 4000 units of carbohydrates, 500 units of fat and 300 units of protein. Two foods A and B are available. Food A costs 2 dollars per unit and food B costs 4 dollars per unit. A unit of food A contains 10 units of carbohydrates, 20 units of fat and 15 units of protein. A unit of food B contains 25 units of carbohydrates, 10 units of fat and 20 units of protein. Formulate the problem as an LPP so as to find the minimum cost for a diet that consists of a mixture of these two foods and also meets the minimum requirements. Suggested answer: The above information can be represented as
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Let the diet contain x units of A and y units of B. Total cost = 2x + 4y The LPP formulated for the given diet problem is Minimize Z = 2x + 4y subject to the constraints

Basic Assumptions of L.P.P: Linear programming is applicable only to problems where the constraints and objective function are linear i.e., where they can be expressed as equations which represent straight lines. In real life situations, when constraints or objective functions are not linear, this technique cannot be used.

1. 2.

Factors such as uncertainty, weather conditions etc. are not taken into consideration. There may not be an integer as the solution, e.g., the number of men required may be a fraction and the nearest integer may not be the optimal solution. i.e., Linear programming techqnique may give practical valued answer which is not desirable. Only one single objective is dealt with while in real life situations, problems come with multi-objectives. Parameters are assumed to be constants but in reality they may not be so.
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3. 4.

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Q 3: Describe the different steps needed to solve a problem by Simplex method.

Answer:

Simplex method

The simplex method is a method for solving problems in linear programming. This method, invented by George Dantzig in 1947, tests adjacent vertices of the feasible set (which is a polytope) in sequence so that at each new vertex the objective function improves or is unchanged. The simplex method is very efficient in practice, generally taking 2m to 3m iterations at most (where m is the number of equality constraints), and converging in expected polynomial time for certain distributions of random inputs (Nocedal and Wright 1999, Forsgren 2002). However, its worst-case complexity is exponential, as can be demonstrated with carefully constructed examples (Klee and Minty 1972).

A different type of methods for linear programming problems are interior point methods, whose complexity is polynomial for both average and worst case. These methods construct a sequence of strictly feasible points (i.e., lying in the interior of the polytope but never on its boundary) that converges to the solution. Research on interior point methods was spurred by a paper from Karmarkar (1984). In practice, one of the best interior-point methods is the predictor-corrector method of Mehrotra (1992), which is competitive with the simplex method, particularly for large-scale problems.

Dantzig's simplex method should not be confused with the downhill simplex method (Spendley 1962, Nelder and Mead 1965, Press et al. 1992). The latter method solves an unconstrained minimization problem in n dimensions by maintaining at each iteration n+1 points that define a simplex. At each iteration, this simplex is updated by applying certain transformations to it so that it "rolls downhill" until it finds a minimum.
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The Simplex Method is "a systematic procedure for generating and testing candidate vertex solutions to a linear program." (Gill, Murray, and Wright, p. 337) It begins at an arbitrary corner of the solution set. At each iteration, the Simplex Method selects the variable that will produce the largest change towards the minimum (or maximum) solution. That variable replaces one of its compatriots that is most severely restricting it, thus moving the Simplex Method to a different corner of the solution set and closer to the final solution. In addition, the Simplex Method can determine if no solution actually exists. Note that the algorithm is greedy since it selects the best choice at each iteration without needing information from previous or future iterations. The Simplex Method solves a linear program of the form described in Figure 3. Here, the coefficients variables represent the respective weights, or costs, of the

. The minimized statement is similarly called the cost of the

solution. The coefficients of the system of equations are represented by , and any constant values in the system of equations are combined on the righthand side of the inequality in the variables . Combined, these statements represent a linear program, to which we seek a solution of minimum cost. Figure 3

A Linear Program Solving this linear program involves solutions of the set of equations. If no solution to the set of equations is yet known, slack variables adding no cost to the solution, are introduced. The initial basic feasible solution (BFS) will be the solution of the linear program where the following holds: ,

Once a solution to the linear program has been found, successive improvements are made to the solution. In particular, one of the nonbasic variables (with a value of zero) is chosen to be increased so that the value of
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the cost function, , decreases. That variable is then increased, maintaining the equality of all the equations while keeping the other nonbasic variables at zero, until one of the basic (nonzero) variables is reduced to zero and thus removed from the basis. At this point, a new solution has been determined at a different corner of the solution set. The process is then repeated with a new variable becoming basic as another becomes nonbasic. Eventually, one of three things will happen. First, a solution may occur where no nonbasic variable will decrease the cost, in which case the current solution is the optimal solution. Second, a non-basic variable might increase to infinity without causing a basic-variable to become zero, resulting in an unbounded solution. Finally, no solution may actually exist and the Simplex Method must abort. As is common for research in linear programming, the possibility that the Simplex Method might return to a previously visited corner will not be considered here. The primary data structure used by the Simplex Method is "sometimes called a dictionary, since the values of the basic variables may be computed (looked up) by choosing values for the nonbasic variables." (Gill, Murray, and Wright, p. 337) Dictionaries contain a representation of the set of equations appropriately adjusted to the current basis. The use of dictionaries provide an intuitive understanding of why each variable enters and leaves the basis. The drawback to dictionaries, however, is the necessary step of updating them which can be time-consuming. Computer implementation is possible, but a version of the Simplex Method has evolved with a more efficient matrixoriented approach to the same problem. This new implementation became known as the Revised Simplex Method. The steps of the Simplex Method also need to be expressed in the matrix format of the Revised Simplex Method. The basis matrix, B, consists of the column entries of A corresponding to the coefficients of the variables currently in the basis. That is if is the fourth entry of the basis, then

is the fourth column of B. (Note that B is therefore an matrix.) The non-basic columns of A constitute a similar though likely not square, matrix referred to here as V. Simplex Method Determine the current basis, d. Revised Simplex Method

Choose to enter the basis based on the greatest cost

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contribution.

If cannot decrease the cost, d is optimal solution.

If

, d is optimal solution.

Determine that first exits the basis (becomes zero) as increases.

If can decrease without causing another variable to leave the basis, the solution is unbounded. Update dictionary.

If for all i, the solution is unbounded.

Update

Examples:

Use the two phase method to Maximize z = 3x1 x2 Subject to 2x1 + x2 2 x1 + 3x2 2 x2 4, x1, x2 0

Rewriting in the standard form, Maximize z = 3x1 x2 + 0S1 MA1 + 0.S2 + 0.S3 Subject to 2x1 + x2 S1 + A1 = 2
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x1 + 3x2 + S2 = 2 x2 + S3 = 4, x1, x2, S1, S2, S3, A1 0.

Phase I : Consider the new objective, Maximize Z* = A1

Subject to 2x1 + x2 S1 + A1 = 2 x1 + 3x2 + S2 = 2 x2 + S3 = 4, x1, x2, S1, S2, S3, A1 0.

Solving by Simplex method, the initial simplex table is given by

x1 2

x2 0

S1 0

A1 1

S2 0

S3

Ratio 2 2 4 2 2/2=1 2/1=2

A1 1 S2 0 S3 0

2* 1 0 2

1 3 1 1

1 0 0 1

1 0 0 0

0 1 0 0

0 0 1
0

Work column * pivot element

x1 enters the basic set replacing A1.

The first iteration gives the following table:

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x1 0 X1 0 S2 0 S3 0 1 0 0 0

x2 0 1/2 5/2 1 0

x1 0 1/2 1/2 0 0

A1 1 0 1

S2 0 0 1 0 0

S3
0

0 0 1
0

1 1 4 0

Phase I is complete, since there are no negative elements in the last row. The Optimal solution of the new objective is Z* = 0. Phase II: Consider the original objective function, Maximize z = 3x1 x2 + 0S1 + 0S2 + 0S3 Subject to x1 + x2/2 S1/2=1 5/2 x2 + S1/2 + S2=1 x2 + S3 = 4 x1, x2, S1, S2, S3 0 with the initial solution x1 = 1, S2 = 1, S3 = 4, the corresponding simplex table is x1 3 X1 3 S2 0 S3 0 1 0 0 0 x2 1 1/2 5/2 1 5/2 S1 0 1/2 1/2* 0 3/2 S2 0 0 1 0 0 S3
0 Ratio

0 0 1
0

1 1 4 3 1/1/2=2

Work column * pivot element Proceeding to the next iteration, we get the following table: x1 3 X1 0 S1 0
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x2 1 3 5

S1 0 0 1

S2 0 1 2

S3
0

1 0

0 0

2 2

S3 0

0 0

1 10

0 0

0 3

1
0

4 6

Since all elements of the last row are non negative, the current solution is optimal. The maximum value of the objective function Z = 6 which is attained for x1 = 2, x2 = 0. ===================================================================

Q 4:

Describe the economics importance of the Duality concept.

Answer:

The Importance of Duality Concept Is Due To Two Main Reasons

1.

If the primal contains a large number of constraints and a smaller number of variables, the labour of computation can be considerably reduced by converting it into the dual problem and then solving it.

2.

The interpretation of the dual variable from the loss or economic point of view proves extremely useful in making future decisions in the activities being programmed.

Economic importance of duality concept

The linear programming problem can be thought of as a resource allocation model in which the objective is to maximize revenue or profit subject to limited resources. Looking at the problem from this point of view, the associated dual problem offers interesting economic interpretations of the L.P resource allocation model. We consider here a representation of the general primal and dual problems in which the primal takes the role of a resource allocation model.

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Primal

Maximize

z=

C
j= 1

.x j

Subject to

a
j= 1

ij

xj bj

, i = 1,2,., m

xj 0, j = 1,2,., n

Dual

Minimize

w=

b . y
i =1 i

Subject to

a
i =1

ij

yi ci

, i = 1,2,., n

yj 0, i = 1,2,., m

From the above resource allocation model, the primal problem has n economic activities and m resources. The coefficient cj in the primal represents the profit per unit of activity j. Resource i, whose maximum availability is bi, is consumed at the rate aij units per unit of activity j.

Interpretation of Duel Variables

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For any pair of feasible primal and dual solutions,

(Objective value in the maximization problem) (Objective value in the minimization problem)

At the optimum, the relationship holds as a strict equation. Note: Here the sense of optimization is very important. Hence clearly for any two primal and dual feasible solutions, the values of the objective functions, when finite, must satisfy the following inequality.

z=

C
j =1

x j bi yi = w
i =1

The strict equality, z = w, holds when both the primal and dual solutions are optimal.

Consider the optimal condition z = w first given that the primal problem represents a resource allocation model, we can think of z as representing profit in Rupees. Because bi represents the number of units available of resource i, the equation z = w can be expressed as profit (Rs) = (units of resource i) x (profit per unit of resource i)

This means that the dual variables yi, represent the worth per unit of resource i [variables yi are also called as dual prices, shadow prices and simplex multipliers].

With the same logic, the inequality z < w associated with any two feasible primal and dual solutions is interpreted as (profit) < (worth of resources)

This relationship implies that as long as the total return from all the activities is less than the worth of the resources, the corresponding primal and dual solutions are not optimal. Optimality is reached only when the resources have been exploited completely, which can happen only when the input equals the output (profit). Economically the system is said to remain unstable (non optimal) when the input (worth of the resources) exceeds the output (return). Stability occurs only when the two quantities are equal.

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Q 5: How can you use the Matrix Minimum method of finding the initial basic feasible solution in the transportation problem.

Answer:

The Initial basic Feasible solution using Matrix Minimum Method

Let us consider a T.P involving m-origins and n-destinations. Since the sum of origin capacities equals the sum of destination requirements, a feasible solution always exists. Any feasible solution satisfying m + n 1 of the m + n constraints is a redundant one and hence can be deleted. This also means that a feasible solution to a T.P can have at the most only m + n 1 strictly positive component, otherwise the solution will degenerate.

It is always possible to assign an initial feasible solution to a T.P. in such a manner that the rim requirements are satisfied. This can be achieved either by inspection or by following some simple rules. We begin by imagining that the transportation table is blank i.e. initially all xij = 0. The simplest procedures for initial allocation discussed in the following section.

Matrix Minimum Method

Step 1:Determine the smallest cost in the cost matrix of the transportation table. Let it be cij , Allocate xij = min ( ai, bj) in the cell ( i, j)

Step 2: If xij = ai cross off the i th row of the transportation table and decrease bj by ai go to step 3.

if xij = bj cross off the i th column of the transportation table and decrease ai by bj go to step 3.
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if xij = ai= bj cross off either the ith row or the ith column but not both.

Step 3: Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the resulting reduced transportation table until all the rim requirements are satisfied whenever the minimum cost is not unique make an arbitrary choice among the minima.

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Q 6: Describe the Integer Programming Problem? Describe the Gomorys All-I.P.P. method for solving the I.P.P. problem.

Answer:

Integer Programming Problem

The Integer Programming Problem I P P is a special case of L P P where all or some variables are constrained to assume nonnegative integer values. This type of problem has lot of applications in business and industry where quite often discrete nature of the variables is involved in many decision making situations. Eg. In manufacturing the production is frequently scheduled in terms of batches, lots or runs In distribution, a shipment must involve a discrete number of trucks or aircrafts or freight cars

An integer programming problem can be described as follows: Determine the value of unknowns x1, x2, , xn

so as to optimize z = c1x1 +c2x2 + . . .+ cnxn

subject to the constraints

ai1 x1 + ai2 x2 + . . . + ain xn =bi , i = 1,2,,m

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and xj 0 j = 1, 2, ,n

where xj being an integral value for j = 1, 2, , k n.

If all the variables are constrained to take only integral value i.e. k = n, it is called an all(or pure) integer programming problem. In case only some of the variables are restricted to take integral value and rest (n k) variables are free to take any non negative values, then the problem is known as mixed integer programming problem.

Gomorys All IPP Method

An optimum solution to an I. P. P. is first obtained by using simplex method ignoring the restriction of integral values. In the optimum solution if all the variables have integer values, the current solution will be the desired optimum integer solution. Otherwise the given IPP is modified by inserting a new constraint called Gomorys or secondary constraint which represents necessary condition for integrability and eliminates some non integer solution without losing any integral solution. After adding the secondary constraint, the problem is then solved by dual simplex method to get an optimum integral solution. If all the values of the variables in this solution are integers, an optimum inter-solution is obtained, otherwise another new constrained is added to the modified L P P and the procedure is repeated. An optimum integer solution will be reached eventually after introducing enough new constraints to eliminate all the superior non integer solutions. The construction of additional constraints, called secondary or Gomorys constraints, is so very important that it needs special attention.

The iterative procedure for the solution of an all integer programming problem is as follows:

Step 1: Convert the minimization I.P.P. into that of maximization, if it is in the minimization form. The integrality condition should be ignored.

Step 2: Introduce the slack or surplus variables, wherever necessary to convert the inequations into equations and obtain the optimum solution of the given L.P.P. by using simplex algorithm.

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Step 3: Test the integrality of the optimum solution

a) If the optimum solution contains all integer values, an optimum basic feasible integer solution has been obtained. b) If the optimum solution does not include all integer values then proceed onto next step.

Step 4: Examine the constraint equations corresponding to the current optimum solution. Let these equations be represented by

y
j =0

n1

ij

x j = bi

( i 0 , 1, 2 , ........, m1 )

Where n denotes the number of variables and m the number of equations. Choose the largest fraction of bis ie to find bi

{ }

Let it be [bk 1]

or write is as f ko

Step 5: Express each of the negative fractions if any, in the k th row of the optimum simplex table as the sum of a negative integer and a nonnegative fraction.

Step 6: Find the Gomorian constraint

f
j =0

n1

kj

x j f ko

and add the equation

Gsla ( 1 )= f ko + f kj x j
j =0

n1

to the current set of equation constraints.

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Step 7: Starting with this new set of equation constraints, find the new optimum solution by dual simplex algorithm. (So that Gsla (1) is the initial leaving basic variable).

Step 8: If this new optimum solution for the modified L.P.P. is an integer solution. It is also feasible and optimum for the given I.P.P. otherwise return to step 4 and repeat the process until an optimum feasible integer solution is obtained.

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