An Evaluation of a Modified Simulated Annealing Algorithm for Various Formulations

Abstract

Many combinatorial optimization problems are too large to allow exact solution methods to give results in a reasonable amount of time. An alternative is the use of heuristics that sacrifice a degree of optimality in return for timelier solutions. One such heuristic, simulated annealing, is a form of iterative improvement that probabilistically accepts less optimal configurations. This procedure allows the algorithm to escape local minima (or maxima) in its search for a global minimum. This paper presents modified simulated annealing formulations of common industrial engineering problems. The modified algorithm behaves like a biased random walk that can be tailored to suit a user's particular bias set. Modifications to the standard application include: an expert system front end, a constraints module, a user interrupt capability, and the creation of alternative acceptance functions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA224678

Entities

People

  • James S. Shedden

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computational Complexity
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Dynamic Programming
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Information Processing
  • Instruction Set Architecture
  • Operations Research
  • Probability Distributions
  • Quantum Mechanics
  • Random Variables
  • Statistical Mechanics

Readers

  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.
  • Parallel and Distributed Computing.
  • Systems Analysis and Design