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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Drone Location And Scheduling Problems In Humanitarian Logistics., Zabih Ghelichi
Drone Location And Scheduling Problems In Humanitarian Logistics., Zabih Ghelichi
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, are a promising technology for the last-mile delivery of medical and aid items in humanitarian logistics. In emergency scenarios, like disasters, where transportation networks are destroyed and people are stranded, drones can accelerate the delivery of urgently needed items, e.g., food and water, insulin shots and blood pressure pills, to those trapped in the disaster-affected areas. Drones can also provide logistics services in many non-emergency situations by delivering medical items, e.g., vaccine shots and lab specimens, to remote communities and hard-to-access locations. The contribution of using UAVs goes beyond merely having …
Optimization And Simulation Models To Improve Access To Organ Transplantation In The United States., Fatemeh Karami
Optimization And Simulation Models To Improve Access To Organ Transplantation In The United States., Fatemeh Karami
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organ allocation in the U.S. is administrated by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS). UNOS’s mission is to ensure fair and equitable allocation of organs as stated in the Code of Federal Regulations, which reads "neither place of residence nor place of listing shall be a major determinant of access to transplant". Despite the regulations, there has been endless controversy surrounding the disparity in access to organ transplants. In this context, the primary research goal in this dissertation was to reduce geographic disparity in access to transplants in the U.S., with a focus on heart and kidney transplants. To …
Simulation And Optimization Of A Multi-Agent System On Physical Internet Enabled Interconnected Urban Logistics., Long Zheng
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
An urban logistics system is composed of multiple agents, e.g., shippers, carriers, and distribution centers, etc., and multi-modal networks. The structure of Physical Internet (PI) transportation network is different from current logistics practices, and simulation can effectively model a series of PI-approach scenarios. In addition to the baseline model, three more scenarios are enacted based on different characteristics: shared trucks, shared hubs, and shared flows with other less-than-truckload shipments passing through the urban area. Five performance measures, i.e., truck distance per container, mean truck time per container, lead time, CO2 emissions, and transport mean fill rate, are included in …
Optimization Models And Algorithms For Demand Response In Smart Grid., Guangyang Xu
Optimization Models And Algorithms For Demand Response In Smart Grid., Guangyang Xu
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
For demand response in smart grid, a utility company wants to minimize total electricity cost and end users want to maximize their own utility. The latter is considered to consist of two parts in this research: electricity cost and convenience/comfort. We first develop a system optimal (SO) model and a user equilibrium (UE) model for the utility company and end users, respectively and compare the difference of the two. We consider users' possible preference on convenience over cost-saving under the real-time pricing in smart grid, and each user is assumed to have a preferred time window for using a particular …
Order Picking Strategies For Healthcare Warehouses., Ehsan Khodabandeh
Order Picking Strategies For Healthcare Warehouses., Ehsan Khodabandeh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Order picking is the process of collecting goods and items in specified quantities from storage locations, in response to customer orders. Since many labor resources are involved in this process, finding ways to make it more efficient have been a primary goal for researchers and practitioners. Determining a better allocation of products to the storage areas, finding the best route and sequence to pick multiple products, and choosing the best picking policies to minimize congestion in the aisles are just a few of many objectives regarding order picking process. Due to regulatory compliances and the chance of product spoilage, additional …
A Heuristic Algorithm For Determining The Part Set In A Powder-Bed Additive Manufacturing Machine., Sonja Dieder
A Heuristic Algorithm For Determining The Part Set In A Powder-Bed Additive Manufacturing Machine., Sonja Dieder
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The goal of this research is to develop a procedure for the placement of a priority part into a planned build in a powder-bed additive manufacturing machine. Toward that goal, a heuristic procedure was developed that seeks to maximize the revenue in a scheduled build, subject to due-date constraints; i.e., all parts with the closest due date will not only be included in the build, but will be placed near the bottom of the build. Likewise, any part in the scheduled build that does not have an immediate due date is a candidate for removal in order to accommodate a …