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Abstract

This paper introduces the Multi-Vehicle Probabilistic Covering Tour Problem (MVPCTP) which extends the Covering Tour Problem (CTP) by incorporating multiple vehicles and probabilistic coverage. As in the CTP, total demand of customers is attracted to the visited facility vertices within the coverage range. The objective function is to maximize the expected customer demand covered. The MVPCTP is first formulated as an integer non-linear programming problem, and then a linearization is proposed, which is strengthened by several sets of valid inequalities. An effective branch-and-cut algorithm is developed in addition to a local search heuristic based on Variable Neighborhood Search to obtain upper bounds. Extensive computational experiments are performed on new benchmark instances adapted from the literature.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)278-287
Number of pages10
JournalEuropean Journal of Operational Research
Volume271
Issue number1
Early online date9 May 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Nov 2018

Keywords

  • Branch-and-cut
  • Covering tour
  • Integer programming
  • Linearization
  • Vehicle routing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Modelling and Simulation
  • Management Science and Operations Research
  • Information Systems and Management

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