Comparing Three Proposed Meta-heuristics to Solve a New p-hub Location-allocation Problem

This paper presents a new mathematical model, in which the location of hubs is fixed and their capacity is determined based on facilities and factories allocated to it. In order to feed the client's nodes, different types of vehicles of different capacities are considered, in which the clients are allocated to hubs, and types and numbers of vehicles are allocated to the factory's facilities. To come up with solutions we propose to use three meta-heuristics, namely genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and simulated annealing. The efficiency and computational results of the foregoing algorithms are compared with one another. Finally, the conclusion is presented.