Title
A modification of the stochastic ruler method for discrete stochastic optimization
Abstract
We propose a modified stochastic ruler method for finding a global optimal solution to a discrete optimization problem in which the objective function cannot be evaluated analytically but has to be estimated or measured. Our method generates a Markov chain sequence taking values in the feasible set of the underlying discrete optimization problem; it uses the number of visits this sequence makes to the different states to estimate the optimal solution. We show that our method is guaranteed to converge almost surely (a.s.) to the set of global optimal solutions. Then, we show how our method can be used for solving discrete optimization problems where the objective function values are estimated using either transient or steady-state simulation. Finally, we provide some numerical results to check the validity of our method and compare its performance with that of the original stochastic ruler method.
Year
DOI
Venue
2001
10.1016/S0377-2217(00)00190-9
European Journal of Operational Research
Keywords
Field
DocType
Simulation,Optimization,Discrete parameters
Continuous optimization,Mathematical optimization,Stochastic optimization,Global optimization,Discrete-time stochastic process,Discrete optimization,Combinatorial optimization,Stochastic programming,Optimization problem,Mathematics
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
133
1
0377-2217
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
35
2.86
7
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Mahmoud H. Alrefaei19010.14
Sigrún Andradóttir254855.09