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Shortest Path Problem: October 18, 2009

The document discusses several examples of shortest path problems: 1) An equipment replacement problem that can be formulated as finding the shortest path through a network to minimize total replacement costs. 2) Finding the most reliable route between two points by transforming it into a shortest path problem where link distances are negative logarithms of reliability probabilities. 3) The "three-jug puzzle" of dividing water between jugs, which can be modeled as a shortest path problem on a network representing possible jug configurations.

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Julius Bersabe
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51 views14 pages

Shortest Path Problem: October 18, 2009

The document discusses several examples of shortest path problems: 1) An equipment replacement problem that can be formulated as finding the shortest path through a network to minimize total replacement costs. 2) Finding the most reliable route between two points by transforming it into a shortest path problem where link distances are negative logarithms of reliability probabilities. 3) The "three-jug puzzle" of dividing water between jugs, which can be modeled as a shortest path problem on a network representing possible jug configurations.

Uploaded by

Julius Bersabe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lecture 17

Shortest Path Problem

October 18, 2009


Lecture 17

Outline

• Network Models
• Minimal Spanning Tree Problem
• Shortest Route Problem - TODAY: modeling aspect
• Maximal-flow Problem

Operations Research Methods 1


Lecture 17

Shortest Path Problem: Form

Given a road network and a starting node s, we want to determine the


shortest path to all the other nodes in the network (or to a specified
destination node).

This is Shortest Path Problem


Note that the graph is directed. The weights on the links are costs.
We consider several applications.

Operations Research Methods 2


Lecture 17

Example: Equipment Replacement


RentCar is developing a replacement policy for its car fleet for a 4-year
period. At the start of the first year, the RentCar must purchase a car. At
the start of each subsequent year, a decision can be made as to keep a car
or to replace it. The car has to be in service for at least 1 year and no
more than 3 years. The replacement cost is shown in the table below as a
function of the period when it is purchased and the years kept in operation.
Years in operation
Start of a year 1 2 3
1 4000 5400 9800
2 4300 6200 8700
3 4800 7100 -
4 4900 - -
The problem is to determine the best decision that minimizes the total cost
incurred over the period of 4 years.

Operations Research Methods 3


Lecture 17

All possible decisions


Decision Cost Total Cost
By a car in years 1,2,3,4 4000 4300 4800 4900 18000
By a car in years 1,2,3 4000 4300 7100 x 15400
By a car in years 1,2,4 4000 6200 x 4900 15100
By a car in years 1,3,4 5400 x 4800 4900 15100
By a car in years 1,2 4000 8700 x x 12700
By a car in years 1,3 5400 x 7100 x 12500
By a car in years 1,4 9800 x x 4900 14700
The problem of determining the optimal decision can be formulated as
shortest path!

Operations Research Methods 4


Lecture 17

The best decision corresponds to the shortest path from node 1 to node 5,
which is 1 → 3 → 5 with the cost of 5400 + 7100 = 12500. This path
corresponds to the decision of purchasing the car in years 1 and 3.

Operations Research Methods 5


Lecture 17

Most Reliable Route


XY drives daily to work. There are several routes that XY can take. Each
link is patrolled by police and for each link there is an estimated probability
of not being stopped (see figure below). The reliability of a route is the
product of the reliability of the links in the route. XY wants to drive fast
(speeding) and maximize the probability of not being stopped by police.

Operations Research Methods 6


Lecture 17

Transform the problem to minimization form

Let P be the set of all paths from node 1 to node 7.


Let p ∈ P be a path.
Let ` ∈ p denote that link ` is traversed in a path p.
The maximum reliable route is the following problem

max Π`∈pπ`
p∈P

By taking ln transformation of the objective, the problem is equivalent to

X
max ln(π`) (1)
p∈P
`∈p

The problems are equivalent in the sense that their solutions are the same

Operations Research Methods 7


Lecture 17

The maximization of `∈p ln(π`) over p ∈ P is equivalent to minimization


P

of − `∈p ln(π`) over p ∈ P , i.e., the problem in (1) is equivalent to


P

X
min − ln(π`)
p∈P
`∈p

Again, the equivalence is in the sense that their optimal solutions are the
same
Thus the most reliable route can be found by finding the shortest route in
the network, where a link reliability is replaced with − ln of the reliability
(see the network below).

Operations Research Methods 8


Lecture 17

The most reliable route of the original network is the shortest path in this
network

Operations Research Methods 9


Lecture 17

Three-Jug Puzzle

We have an 8-gallon jug filled with water. We also have two empty jugs,
one 5-gallon and one 3-gallon. We want to divide 8 gallons of water into
two 4-gallon parts using the three jugs. No other measuring devices are
available.
What is the smallest number of transfers needed to achieve the result?
We can formulate the problem as shortest path.
• Construct a network with each node representing the amount of water
in the jugs
• a node is an ordered tuple representing the amount of water in
8-gallon, 5-gallon, and 3-gallon jug.
• Place a link from node a to node b when it is possible to move from
node a to node b in one transfer (i.e, by pouring water from one jug to
another jug)

Operations Research Methods 10


Lecture 17

Operations Research Methods 11


Lecture 17

Operations Research Methods 12


Lecture 17

Each link counts for one transfer. Assign cost of 1 to each link, and find
the shortest path from node (8,0,0) to (4,4,0).
The shortest path is shown below. The minimal number of transfers is 7.

Operations Research Methods 13

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