A Dynamic Programming Approach to the Daily Routing of Aeromedical Evacuation System Missions
Abstract
This thesis examines vehicle routing algorithms to determine if they would be applicable to routing Aeromedical Evacuation System (AES) daily missions. The objective of the study was to develop an algorithm that could find the optimum routing to visit airfields selected by the Patient Airlift Center (PAC) schedulers. If such an algorithm could be developed, a subobjective was to see if such an application would result in a savings in total flying distances for these missions. Such savings could be used to shorten the mission time to allow another airfield to be serviced by a mission, reduce the operating costs of the AES, or allow more training time for the crews manning the system. A forward dynamic programming algorithm developed by Desrosiers, Dumas, and Soumis was modified to model the AES. This algorithm was then applied to several actual AES missions to determine if a distance savings could be realized. Of the 53 missions examined, 14 resulted in routings with shorter distances. The savings varied from 4 to 179 miles. The other 39 resulted in the same routing as that determined by the schedulers. Overall, the savings realized were insignificant showing that the schedulers are routing the missions in an efficient manner. The algorithm does however, have the potential to save time in the scheduling process.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 08, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA209155
Entities
People
- David C. Mullen
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology