The Sequencing of Expansion Projects,

Abstract

The paper examines the problem of finding the sequencing of a set of expansion projects which meets a given demand projection at minimum cost. For the particular type of situation defined, the timing for a next expansion may be determined from knowledge of projected demand and present capacity. Under suitable restrictions, a simple ranking of the projects can be constructed which provides an optimal sequencing. A dynamic programming method for sequencing projects which appears to work well in many situation shas been proposed by Butcher, Haimes, and Hall. However, this method fails to solve an example problem with four projects. The expansion sequencing problem is closely related to the traveling salesman problem, and a general solution method is developed for sequencing projects which is similar to the solution of traveling salesman problems by dynamic programming on the unit hypercube. This dynamic programming method may be extended to include interdependence between projects and joint selection of project scale and sequencing. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1970
Accession Number
AD0717944

Entities

People

  • Donald Erlenkotter

Organizations

  • University of California, Los Angeles

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Computer Programming
  • Computing-Related Activities
  • Dynamic Programming
  • Interdisciplinary Science
  • Mathematical Programming
  • Mathematics

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Operations Research
  • Systems Analysis and Design