Efficiently solving the redundancy allocation problem using tabu search

Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Alice E. Smith, David W. Coit

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

234 Scopus citations

Abstract

A tabu search meta-heuristic has been developed and successfully demonstrated to provide solutions to the system reliability optimization problem of redundancy allocation. Tabu search is particularly well-suited to this problem and it offers distinct advantages compared to alternative optimization methods. While there are many forms of the problem, the redundancy allocation problem generally involves the selection of components and redundancy levels to maximize system reliability given various system-level constraints. This is a common and extensively studied problem involving system design, reliability engineering and operations research. It is becoming increasingly important to develop efficient solutions to this reliability optimization problem because many telecommunications (and other) systems are becoming more complex, yet with short development schedules and very stringent reliability requirements. Tabu search can be applied to a more diverse problem domain compared to mathematical programming methods, yet offers the potential of greater efficiency compared to population-based search methodologies, such as genetic algorithms. The tabu search is demonstrated on numerous variations of three different problems and compared to integer programming and genetic algorithm solutions. The results demonstrate the benefits of tabu search for solving this type of problem.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)515-526
Number of pages12
JournalIIE Transactions (Institute of Industrial Engineers)
Volume35
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2003

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Efficiently solving the redundancy allocation problem using tabu search'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this