On the minimization of total weighted flow time with identical and uniform parallel machines

Azizoglu M., Kirca O.

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, vol.113, no.1, pp.91-100, 1999 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 113 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 1999
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/s0377-2217(97)00427-x
  • Journal Name: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.91-100
  • Keywords: scheduling, parallel machines, branch and bound
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

We consider the NP-hard problem of scheduling jobs on identical parallel machines to minimize total weighted flow time. We discuss the properties that characterize the structure of an optimal solution, present a lower bound and propose a branch and bound algorithm. The algorithm is superior to prior methods presented in the literature. We also extend the algorithm to uniform parallel machines and solve medium-sized problem instances. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.