EXAMPLES ON BIG M METHOD

Dr. KRISHAN K. PANDEY

Sr. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR & HOD
QT,RM, CoMES, UNIVERSITY OF
PETROLEUM & ENERGY STUDIES,
DEHRADUN , INDIA

THE BIG M METHOD

It is a modified version of the simplex method, in which we assign a
very large value (M) to each of the artificial variables. We illustrate
this method with the help of following examples.

Example 1 : Maximize z = x
1
+ 5x
2


subject to constraint:

3x
1
+ 4x
2
6

x
1
+ 3x
2
2

x
1
, x
2
0
Solution:
Converting inequalities to equalities
By introducing surplus variables, slack variables and artificial
variables, the standard form of LPP becomes

Maximize x
1
+ 5x
2
+ 0x
3
+ 0x
4
- MA
1

subject to
3x
1
+ 4x
2
+ x
3
= 6
x
1
+ 3x
2
- x
4
+ A
1
= 2
x
1
0, x
2
0, x
3
0, x
4
0, A
1
0
Where:
x
3
is a slack variable
x
4
is a surplus variable.
A
1
is an artificial variable.

Initial basic feasible solution
x
1
= x
2
= x
4
= 0
A
1
= 2, x
3
= 6


TABLE 1

c
j
1 5 0 0 - M
c
B
Basic
variables
B
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
A
1
Solution values
b (= X
B
)
0 x
3
3 4 1 0 0 6
- M A
1
1 3 0 - 1 1 2
Z
j
- c
j
- M - 1 - 3M - 5 0 M 0
Calculating values for index row (z
j
- c
j
)
z
1
- c
1
= 0 X 3 + (- M) X 1 - 1 = - M - 1
z
2
- c
2
= 0 X 4 + (- M) X 3 - 5 = - 3M - 5
z
3
- c
3
= 0 X 1 + (- M) X 0 - 0 = 0
z
4
- c
4
= 0 X 0 + (- M) X (- 1) - 0 = M
z
5
- c
5
= 0 X 0 + (- M) X 1 - (- M) = 0
As M is a large positive number, the coefficient of M in the z
j
- c
j

row would decide the incoming basic variable.
As -3M < - M, x
2
becomes a basic variable in the next iteration.
Key column = x
2
column., Minimum (6/4, 2/3) = 2/3
Key row = A1 row , Pivot element = 3., A1 departs and x
2
enters.
Note that in the iteration just completed, artificial variable A
1
was
eliminated from the basis. The new solution is shown in the
following table.

TABLE 2

c
j
1 5 0 0
c
B
Basic variables
B
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
Solution values
b (= X
B
)
0 x
3
5/3 0 1 4/3 10/3
5 x
2
1/3 1 0 - 1/3 2/3
Z
j
- c
j
2/3 0 0 - 5/3
TABLE 3

c
j
1 5 0 0
c
B
Basic variables
B
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
Solution values
b (= X
B
)
0 x
4
5/4 0 3/4 1 5/2
5 x
2
3/4 1 1/4 0 3/2
Z
j
- c
j
11/4 0 5/4 0
The optimal solution is:
x
1
= 0, x
2
= 3/2
z = 0 + 5 X 3/2 =15/2

Example 2

Maximize z = - 4x
1
- 2x
2

subject to
3x
1
+ x
2
27
x
1
+ x
2
21
x
1
+ 2x
2
30
x
1
, x
2
0
Solution.
By introducing surplus and artificial variables, the standard
form of LPP becomes
Maximize z = - 4x
1
- 2x
2
+ 0x
3
+ 0x
4
+ 0x
5
- MA
1
- MA
2
- MA
3

3x
1
+ x
2
- x
3
+ A
1
= 27
x
1
+ x
2
- x
4
+ A
2
= 21
x
1
+ 2x
2
- x
5
+ A
3
= 30
x
1
,x
2
, x
3
, x
4
, x
5
, A
1
, A
2
0
Where: x
4
and x
5
are surplus variables, A
1
and A
2
are artificial
variables.

TABLE 1

c
j
- 4 -2 0 0 0 - M - M - M
c
B
Basic
variables
B
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
x
5
A
1
A
2
A
3
Solution
values
b (= X
B
)
- M A
1
3 1 -1 0 0 1 0 0 27
- M A
2
1 1 0 -1 0 0 1 0 21
- M A
3
1 2 0 0 -1 0 0 1 30
Z
j
- c
j
- 5M + 4 - 4M + 2 M M M 0 0 0
As -5M < - 4M, x
1
becomes a basic variable in the next iteration
Key column = x
1
column.
Minimum (27/3, 21/1, 30/1) = 9
Key row = A
1
row
Pivot element = 3.
A1 departs and x
1
enters.
TABLE 2

c
j
-4 -2 0 0 0 - M - M
c
B
Basic
variables
B
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
x
5
A
2
A
3
Solution values
b (= X
B
)
- 4 x
1
1 1/3 -1/3 0 0 0 0 9
-M A
2
0 2/3 1/3 -1 0 1 0 12
- M A
3
0 5/3 1/3 0 -1 0 1 21
Z
j
- c
j
0 -7M/3 + 2/3 -2M/3 + 4/3 M M 0 0
TABLE 3

c
j
-4 -2 0 0 0 - M
c
B
Basic
variables
B
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
x
5
A
2
Solution values
b (= X
B
)
- 4 x
1
1 0 -2/5 0 1/5 0 24/5
- M A
2
0 0 1/5 -1 2/5 1 18/5
-2 x
2
0 1 1/5 0 -3/5 0 63/5
Z
j
- c
j
0 0 -M/5 + 6/5 M -2M/5 + 2/5 0
TABLE 4

C
j
- 4 - 2 0 0 0
c
B
Basic
variables
B
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
x
5
Solution values
b (= X
B
)
- 4 x
1
1 0 -1/2 1/2 0 3
0 x
5
0 0 1/2 -5/2 1 9
-2 x
2
0 1 1/2 -3/2 0 18
Z
j
- c
j
0 0 1 1 0
The optimal solution is
x
1
= 3, x
2
= 18
z = -4 X 3 - 2 X 18 = - 48