A stochastic programming approach for chemotherapy appointment scheduling

Chemotherapy appointment scheduling is a challenging problem due to the uncertainty in premedication and infusion durations. In this paper, we formulate a two‐stage stochastic mixed integer programming model for the chemotherapy appointment scheduling problem under limited availability of nurses and infusion chairs. The objective is to minimize the expected weighted sum of nurse overtime, chair idle time, and patient waiting time. The computational burden to solve real‐life instances of this problem to optimality is significantly high, even in the deterministic case. To overcome this burden, we incorporate valid bounds and symmetry breaking constraints. Progressive hedging algorithm is implemented in order to solve the improved formulation heuristically. We enhance the algorithm through a penalty update method, cycle detection and variable fixing mechanisms, and a linear approximation of the objective function. Using numerical experiments based on real data from a major oncology hospital, we compare our solution approach with several scheduling heuristics from the relevant literature, generate managerial insights related to the impact of the number of nurses and chairs on appointment schedules, and estimate the value of stochastic solution to assess the significance of considering uncertainty.     

Simulation of the plasticizing behavior of composite modified double-base (CMDB) propellant in grooved calendar based on adaptive grid technology

The frequent occurrence of safety accidents during the calendering process is caused by the flammable and explosive properties of composite modified double-base (CMDB) propellant. Optimization of process parameters with the aid of fluid simulation technology could effectively ensure the safety of the calendering process. To improve the accuracy of the simulation results, material parameters and model structure were corrected based on actual conditions, and adaptive grid technology was applied in the local mesh refinement. In addition, the rheological behavior, motion trajectories and heat transfer mechanisms of CMDB propellant slurry were studied with different gaps, rotational rates and temperatures of two rollers. The results indicated that the refined mesh could significantly improve the contour clarity of boundaries and simulate the characteristics of CMDB propellant slurry reflux movement caused by the convergent flow near the outlet. Compared with the gap, the increased rotational rate of roller could promote the reflux movement and intensify the shear flow of slurry inside the flow region by viscous shear dragging. Meanwhile, under the synergistic effect of contact heat transfer as well as convective heat exchange, heat accumulated near the outlet and diffused along the reflux movement, which led to the countercurrent heat dissipation behavior of CMDB propellant slurry. The plasticizing mechanism of slurry and the safety of calendering under different conditions were explored, which provided theoretical guidance and reference data for the optimization of calendering process conditions. Based on the simulation results, the safety of the CMDB propellant calendering process could be significantly improved with a few tests conducted during a short research and development cycle.     

面向两类典型分析仿真的多样本任务调度工具的设计

当在多台计算机上调度很多样本并行运行时,采用手工操作效率低且极易出错。设计一个自动化的任务分发与调度工具可以有效地提高仿真运行效率。蒙特卡罗仿真和粒子群优化算法仿真是两类典型的分析仿真,介绍了面向这两类仿真的多样本任务调度工具的实现原理和关键技术,这些方法具有很好的通用性和可扩展性,可以广泛应用于解决各类仿真任务的自动分发与调度问题。     

非定常超音速流动数值计算方法比较

为适用于非定常流场计算 ,在保证时、空二阶精度的前提下 ,通过引入变系数残值光顺技术 ,提高了四步Runge Kutta方法的计算效率 ;并针对球锥简谐振动过程 ,数值比较Runge Kutta多步法和“双时间法”的计算精度。     

任务分配与调度中遗传算子的设计

应用遗传算法等进化方法进行任务分配与调度为越来越多的计算机学者们所关注。基于任务排列的知识表示 ,常规的标准遗传操作算子并不总是有效的。好的遗传算子对算法收敛性及收敛到好点是非常重要的。在列表编码的知识表示基础上 ,设计了三个有针对性的遗传算子 ,即改进的交配算子、内部交配算子和一种作为变异的迁移算子。模拟实验结果与分析表明这些算子对任务分配与调度是有效的。     

用多重网格TVD方法求解三维高超音速粘性流场

本文采用时间相关法求解了三维Ｎ－Ｓ方程。在计算中，对于压力和对流项采用Ｒｏｅ的通量差分分裂技术和Ｏｓｈｅｒ－Ｃｈａｋｒａｖａｒｔｈｙ的ＴＶＤ格式，对于粘性项，采用了中心差分格式。通过数值模拟得到了钝头双锥体高超音速层流流场在不同攻角下的数值解。计算的重点放在壁面热流率的预测。在攻角为４°和１２°的状态下，Ｓｔａｎｔｏｎ数的计算值与实验值进行了比较，二者吻合较好。为了加快收敛速率，计算时采用了多重网格方法。     

跨声速母弹空腔流的数值模拟

将ＳＬＩＰ格式和ＬＵ－ＳＳＯＲ隐式迭代方法结合，数值模拟了尖头母弹在开舱前后的跨声速定常流场。采用修正的Ｂ－Ｌ湍流模型，用轴对称Ｎ－Ｓ方程求解零攻角时母弹在Ｍａｃｈ数０．９４～０．９８ 的临界气动特性和空腔流特性。开舱前母弹计算结果与实验以及Ｓａｈｕ 的结果能够很好吻合， 开舱后空腔流的计算结果也给出了合理的理论分析。     

两段探测目标的传感器任务调度问题0-1规划模型及算法

为解决指挥系统控制中的调度困难,研究了一类特殊的传感器资源调度问。主要分析了跟踪目标的探测次数、时间间隔和传感器资源等约束条件。用跟踪目标的重要程度之和作为目标函数,建立了一个0-1规划的数学模型,再利用变换将其转化为0-1线性整数规划模型。利用割平面法求解得出最优调度策略,其能在工作量饱和的情况下合理调度传感器资源。为提高求解速度,提出了对应的模拟退火算法。通过对一些不同规模实例的求解,在资源利用率和算法的求解速度等指标上,与割平面法及遗传算法进行对比分析,验证了模型的有效性和模拟退火算法求解的高效性。     

Two‐agent scheduling on a single sequential and compatible batching machine

We study two‐agent scheduling on a single sequential and compatible batching machine in which jobs in each batch are processed sequentially and compatibility means that jobs of distinct agents can be processed in a common batch. A fixed setup time is required before each batch is started. Each agent seeks to optimize some scheduling criterion that depends on the completion times of its own jobs only. We consider several scheduling problems arising from different combinations of some regular scheduling criteria, including the maximum cost (embracing lateness and makespan as its special cases), the total completion time, and the (weighted) number of tardy jobs. Our goal is to find an optimal schedule that minimizes the objective value of one agent, subject to an upper bound on the objective value of the other agent. For each problem under consideration, we provide either a polynomial‐time or a pseudo‐polynomial‐time algorithm to solve it. We also devise a fully polynomial‐time approximation scheme when both agents’ scheduling criteria are the weighted number of tardy jobs.