Advisor(s)

Emanuel Melachrinoudis (1946-)

Date of Award

2010

Date Accepted

7-2010

Degree Grantor

Northeastern University

Degree Level

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department or Academic Unit

College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Keywords

bicriteria location, maximin, minisum, network location, semi-desirable facility, mixed metrics

Subject Categories

Operations research

Disciplines

Operational Research

Abstract

For the last few decades, increasing public awareness and higher environmental standards have been giving rise to intensive research on operational location models for semi-desirable facilities which provide an important service to the community but also have adverse effects on people and the environment. Examples of these facilities are power plants, chemical plants, airports, incinerators and waste dumps. Therefore, these facilities should be located far away from population centers, but not too far away because transportation cost may become excessive.

In this Thesis, we formulate the Euclidean maximin with the network minisum biobjective location model for a semi-desirable facility. Our motivation in using different distance metrics for different objectives is as follows. Airports, chemical plants, incinerators and landfills have two groups of common characteristics: (a) emissions of airborne pollution in the form of dust, gases, noise and odor that spread from the facility to all directions, and (b) some travel of materials, employees, energy or customers between these facilities and population centers on transportation networks. Therefore, the Euclidean distance metric is most appropriate in modeling the undesirable characteristics of the facility, using the maximin objective, as is the network shortest path distance metric for modeling transportation cost to these facilities using the minisum objective. Finally, since these facilities are located on or adjacent to the transportation network, the transportation network itself is the most appropriate solution space for such location.

Instead of using traditional multiple criteria methodologies, we introduce a direct solution approach which compares and fathoms inefficient subsets. Efficient solution properties in both the decision and objective space are identified and exploited in the development of the algorithm. A number of powerful fathoming rules are developed in order to eliminate inefficient edges and edge segments as early as possible in the solution procedure. Unfathomed edges and edge segments are than mapped into the criterion space and 2-dimensional search is implemented to construct the nondominated set and by inverse mapping the efficient set. A numerical example which involves the placement of a semi-desirable facility in the Bursa Province of Turkey is provided to illustrate the use of the algorithm.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Information

copyright 2010

Rights Holder

Emre Yavuz


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