A novel minimal cut-based algorithm to find all minimal capacity vectors for multi-state flow networks

Ding-Hsiang Huang, Cheng-Fu Huang and Yi-Kuei Lin

European Journal of Operational Research, 2020, vol. 282, issue 3, 1107-1114

Abstract: Real systems, such as computer systems, can be modeled as network topologies with vertices and edges. Owing to equipment failures and maintenance requirements, the capacities of edges have several states. Such systems are regarded as multi-state flow networks (MSFN). System reliability of an MSFN is the probability that the required flow (i.e., demand) can successfully be sent from the source to the sink. By adopting a minimal path (MP) approach, system reliability can be computed in terms of all minimal capacity vectors meeting the demand d. A minimal capacity vector is called a d-MP. Although several algorithms have been presented in the literature for finding all d-MP, improving efficiency in the search for all d-MP is always a challenge. A group approach with both the concepts of minimal cut and MP is developed in this study, narrowing the search range of feasible flow vectors. An algorithm based on the group approach is then proposed to improve the efficiency of the d-MP search. According to the structure of the proposed algorithm, parallel computing can be implemented with significant improvement in the efficiency of the d-MP generation, where the proposed algorithm is compared with previous ones based on three benchmarks, in terms of CPU time.

Keywords: Reliability; d-MP; Minimal cuts; Multi-state flow network; Parallel computing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221719308653
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ejores:v:282:y:2020:i:3:p:1107-1114

DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2019.10.030

Access Statistics for this article

European Journal of Operational Research is currently edited by Roman Slowinski, Jesus Artalejo, Jean-Charles. Billaut, Robert Dyson and Lorenzo Peccati

More articles in European Journal of Operational Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().