International Journal of Industrial Engineering & Production Research

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Abstract: This paper presents an exact model and a genetic algorithm for the multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem with generalized precedence relations in which the duration of an activity is determined by the mode selection and the duration reduction (crashing) applied within the selected mode. All resources considered are renewable. The objective is to determine a mode, the amount of continuous crashing, and a start time for each activity so that all constraints are obeyed and the project duration is minimized. Project scheduling of this type occurs in many fields for instance, predicting the resources and duration of activities in software development projects. A key feature of the model is that none of the typical models can cope with the continuous resource constraints. Computational results with a set of 100 generated instances have been reported and the efficiency of the proposed model has been analyzed.

 

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 In the present paper, partial cavitation over various head-forms was studied numerically to predict the shape of the cavity. Navier-Stokes equations in addition to an advection equation for vapor volume fraction were solved. Mass transfer between the phases was modeled by a sink term in vapor equation in the numerical analysis for different geometries in wide range of cavitation numbers. The re-entrant jet formation, which is the main cause for the cavitation cloud separation, was modeled very well with a modification of turbulent viscosity. In regions with higher vapor volume fractions (lower mixture densities) a modification of the turbulence model was made by artificially reducing the turbulent viscosity of mixture. Computed shapes of cavities were found to be in good agreement with those of the reported experiments. Simulation results also compared well with those obtained from analytical relations.

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Nowadays, competitive market creates the necessity of quality improvement in different levels of supply chains (SCs). This paper contributes to the SC coordination literature and proposes a bilateral coordination contract for optimizing pricing decisions along with quality improvement decisions in different echelons of a real case of a cell phone SC. The SC comprises a manufacturer who deals with determining the product quality, and a retailer who seeks for the optimal strategy on price, after-sale service and service level in a periodic review inventory system. The proposed bilateral wholesale price (BWP) contract is shown to be capable of simultaneous coordination of these decisions. The sensitivity analysis showed that in a market which is sensitive to quality and after-sale service as well as the product price, the proposed model facilitates investing more in such quality improvements while the members’ profitability with respect to the case without contracts is guaranteed. Moreover, it can increase the SC service level since it enables the members to hold more safety stock even under high inventory costs. Overall, the proposed coordination model on pricing, product quality, after-sale service and service level, leads to the optimal performance of the SC and its members while it is beneficial for the customers.