This paper proposes a PSO-based optimization approach with a particular path relinking technique for moving particles. PSO is evaluated for two combinato rial problems. One under uncertainty, which represents a new application of PSO with path relinking in a stochastic scenario. PSO is considered first in a deterministic scenario for solving the Task Assignme nt Problem (TAP) and hereafter for ...

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) has emerged as an acclaimed approach for solving complex optimization problems. The nature metaphors of flocking birds or schooling fish that originally motivated PSO have made the algorithm easy to describe but have also occluded the view of valuable strategies based on other foundations. From a complementary perspective, scatter search (SS) and path relinking...

The quadratic multiple knapsack problem (QMKP) is a challenging combinatorial optimization problem with numerous applications. In this paper, we propose the first evolutionary path relinking approach (EPR) for solving the QMKP approximately. This approach combines advanced features both from the path relinking (PR) method and the responsive threshold search algorithm. Thanks to the tunneling pr...

The set multicovering or set k-covering problem is an extension of the classical set covering problem, in which each object is required to be covered at least k times. The problem finds applications in the design of communication networks and in computational biology. We describe a GRASP with pathrelinking heuristic for the set k-covering problem, as well as the template of a family of Lagrange...

The Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (CARP) is a well-known NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem where, given an undirected graph, the objective is to find a minimum cost set of tours servicing a subset of required edges under vehicle capacity constraints. There are numerous applications for the CARP, such as street sweeping, garbage collection, mail delivery, school bus routing, and meter...

The single row facility layout problem (SRFLP) is an N P -hard problem that consists of finding an optimal arrangement of a set of rectangular facilities (with equal height and different lengths), placing them next to each other along a line. The SRFLP has practical applications in contexts such as arranging rooms along corridors, setting books on shelves, allocating information on magnetic dis...

We propose and describe a hybrid GRASP with weight perturbations and adaptive path-relinking heuristic (HGP-PR) for the Steiner problem in graphs. In this multi-start approach, the greedy randomized construction phase of a GRASP is replaced by the combination of several construction heuristics with a weight perturbation strategy that combines intensification and diversification elements, as in ...

This paper proposes a mathematical formulation for the facility layout problem (FLP) based on the generalized quadratic assignment problem (GQAP). The GQAP is a generalization of the NP-hard quadratic assignment problem (QAP) that allows multiple facilities to be assigned to a single location as long as the capacity of the location allows. As a case study, we adapt the GRASP with path-relinking...

The quadratic assignment problem (QAP) was first proposed by Koopmans and Beckman [5] in the context of the plant location problem. Given n facilities, represented by the set F f1 fn , and n locations represented by the set L l1 ln , one must determine to which location each facility must be assigned. Let An n ai j be a matrix where ai j represents the flow between facilities fi and f j. Let Bn...

The job shop scheduling problem with the makespan criterion is a certain NP-hard case from OR theory having excellent practical applications. This problem, having been examined for years, is also regarded as an indicator of the quality of advanced scheduling algorithms. In this paper we provide a new approximate algorithm that is based on the big valley phenomenon, and uses some elements of so-...