In this thesis, the problem of partitioning a network into interconnected sub-networks is addressed. The goal is to achieve a partitioning which satisfies a set of specific engineering constraints, imposed in this case, by the requirements of the decomposed state-estimation (DSE) in electrical power systems. The network-partitioning problem is classified as NP-hard problem. Although many heuristic algorithms have been proposed for its solution, these often lack directness and computational simplicity. In this thesis, three new partitioning techniques are described which (i) satisfy the DSE constraints, and (ii) simplify the NP-hard problem by using the natural graph properties of a network. The first technique is based on partitioning a spanning tree optimally using the natural property of the spanning tree branches. As with existing heuristic techniques, information on the partitioning is obtained only at the end of the partitioning process. The study of the DSE constraints leads to define conditions of an ideal balanced partitioning. This enables data on the balanced partitioning to be obtained, including the numbers of boundary nodes and cut-edges. The second partitioning technique is designed to obtain these data for a given network, by finding the minimum covering set of nodes with maximum nodal degree. Further simplification is then possible if additional graph-theoretical properties are used. A new natural property entitled the 'edge state phenomenon' is defined. The edge state phenomenon may be exploited to generate new network properties. In the third partitioning technique, two of these, the 'network external closed path' and the 'open internal paths', are used to identify the balanced partitioning, and hence to partition the network. Examples of the application of all three methods to network partitioning are provided.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Statistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Operations Research (OR) is a scientific method for developing quantitatively well-grounded recommendations for decision making. While it is true that it uses a variety of mathematical techniques, OR has a much broader scope. It is in fact a systematic approach to solving problems, which uses one or more analytical tools in the process of analysis. Over the years, OR has evolved through different stages. This study is motivated by new real-world challenges needed for efficiency and innovation in line with the aims and objectives of OR – the science of better, as classified by the OR Society of the United Kingdom. New real-world challenges are encountered on a daily basis from problems arising in the fields of water, energy, agriculture, mining, tourism, IT development, natural phenomena, transport, climate change, economic and other societal requirements. To counter all these challenges, new techniques ought to be developed. The growth of global markets and the resulting increase in competition have highlighted the need for OR techniques to be improved. These developments, among other reasons, are an indication that new techniques are needed to improve the day-to-day running of organisations, regardless of size, type and location. The principal aim of this study is to modify and develop new OR techniques that can be used to solve emerging problems encountered in the areas of linear programming, integer programming, mixed integer programming, network routing and travelling salesman problems. Distribution models, resource allocation models, travelling salesman problem, general linear mixed integer ii programming and other network problems that occur in real life, have been modelled mathematically in this thesis. Most of these models belong to the NP-hard (non-deterministic polynomial) class of difficult problems. In other words, these types of problems cannot be solved in polynomial time (P). No general purpose algorithm for these problems is known. The thesis is divided into two major areas namely: (1) network models and (2) resource allocation and distribution models. Under network models, five new techniques have been developed: the minimum weight algorithm for a non-directed network, maximum reliability route in both non-directed and directed acyclic network, minimum spanning tree with index less than two, routing through 0k0 specified nodes, and a new heuristic to the travelling salesman problem. Under the resource allocation and distribution models section, four new models have been developed, and these are: a unified approach to solve transportation and assignment problems, a transportation branch and bound algorithm for the generalised assignment problem, a new hybrid search method over the extreme points for solving a large-scale LP model with non-negative coefficients, and a heuristic for a mixed integer program using the characteristic equation approach. In most of the nine approaches developed in the thesis, efforts were done to compare the effectiveness of the new approaches to existing techniques. Improvements in the new techniques in solving problems were noted. However, it was difficult to compare some of the new techniques to the existing ones because computational packages of the new techniques need to be developed first. This aspect will be subject matter of future research on developing these techniques further. It was concluded with strong evidence, that development of new OR techniques is a must if we are to encounter the emerging problems faced by the world today. Key words: NP-hard problem, Network models, Reliability, Heuristic, Largescale LP, Characteristic equation, Algorithm.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2017-06-29T14:15:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1397036 bytes, checksum: 303111e916d8c9feca61ed32762bf54c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-29T14:15:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1397036 bytes, checksum: 303111e916d8c9feca61ed32762bf54c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-01-31 / The Maximu m Diversity Problem (MDP) is a problem of combinatorial optimization area that aims to select a pre-set number of elements in a given set so that a sum of the differences between the selected elements are greater as possible. MDP belongs to the class of NP-Hard problems, that is, there is no known algorithm that solves in polynomial time accurately. Because they have a complexity of exponential order, require efficient heuristics to provide satisfactory results in acceptable time. However, heuristics do not guarantee the optimality of the solution found. This paper proposes a new hybrid approach for a resolution of the Maximum Diversity Problem and is based on the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Tabu Search (TS) metaheuristics, The algorithm is called PSO_TS. The use of PSO_TS achieves the best results for known instances testing in the literature, thus demonstrating be competitive with the best algorithms in terms of quality of the solutions. / O Problema da Diversidade Máxima (MDP) é um problema da área de Otimização Combinatória que tem por objetivo selecionar um número pré-estabelecido de elementos de um dado conjunto de maneira tal que a soma das diversidades entre os elementos selecionados seja a maior possível. O MDP pertence a classe de problemas NP-difícil, isto é, não existe algoritmo conhecido que o resolva de forma exata em tempo polinomial. Por apresentarem uma complexidade de ordem exponencial, exigem heurísticas eficientes que forneçam resultados satisfatórios em tempos aceitáveis. Entretanto, as heurísticas não garantem otimalidade da solução encontrada. Este trabalho propõe uma nova abordagem híbrida para a resolução do Problema da Diversidade Máxima e está baseada nas meta-heurísticas de Otimização por Nuvem de Partículas (PSO) e Busca Tabu(TS). O algoritmo foi denominado PSO_TS. Para a validação do método, os resultados encontrados são comparados com os melhores existentes na literatura.

Metrogaining is an urban outdoor navigational sport that uses a street map to which scored control points have been added. The objective is to collect maximum score points within a set time by visiting a subset of the scored control points. There is currently no metrogaining scoring standard, only guidelines on how to allocate scores. Accordingly, scoring approaches were explored to create new score sets by using scoring algorithms based on a simple relationship between the score of, and the number of visits to a control point. A spread model, which was developed to evaluate the score sets, generated a range of routes by solving a range of orienteering problems, which belongs to the class of NP-hard combinatorial optimisation problems. From these generated routes, the control point visit frequencies of each control point were determined. Using the visit frequencies, test statistics were subsequently adapted to test the goodness of scoring for each score set. The ndings indicate that the score-visits relationship is not a simple one, as the number of visits to a control point is not only dependent on its score, but also on the scores of the surrounding control points. As a result, the scoring algorithms explored were unable to cope with the complex scoring process uncovered. / Decision Sciences / M. Sc. (Operations Research)