A continuous-time approach to short-term scheduling of resource-constrained multistage batch facilities

C.A. MÉNDEZ; G.P. HENNING; J. CERDÁ

Computer-Aided Chemical Engineering, 8

Elsevier

Año: 2000; p. 1045 - 1050

This work presents a new MILP mathematical formulation for the resource-constrained short term scheduling of flowshop batch facilities with a known topology and limited supplies of discrete resources. The proposed MILP approach is based on a continuous time domain representation and accounts for sequence-dependent setups. Assignment and sequencing decisions are independently handled through separate sets of binary variables. In addition, a proper formulation of the sequencing constraints provides a substantial saving in the number of sequencing variables and constraints. By postulating a pair of conditions for the simultaneous execution of processing tasks, rather simple resource constraints requiring a few extra binary variables are also derived. The proposed approach shows a remarkable computational efficiency when applied to industrial applications.