Title
A neural network system for solving an assortment problem in the steel industry
Abstract
A neural network model for solving an assortment problem found in the iron and steel industry is discussed in this paper. The problem arises in the yard where steel plate is cut into rectangular pieces. The neural network model can be categorized as a Hopfield model, but the model is expanded to handle inequality constraints. The idea of a penalty function is used. A large penalty is applied to the network if a constraint is not satisfied. The weights are updated based on the penalty values. A special term is added to the energy function of the network to guarantee the convergence of the neural network which has this feature. The performance of the neural network was evaluated by comparison with an existing expert system. The results showed that the neural network has the potential to identify in a short time near-optimal solutions to the assortment problem. The neural network is used as the core of a system for dealing with the assortment problem. In building the neural networks system for practical use, there were many implementation issues. Some of them are presented here, and the fundamental ideas are explained. The performance of the neural network system is compared to that of the expert system and evaluated from the practical viewpoint. The results show that the neural network system is useful in handling the assortment problem.
Year
DOI
Venue
1995
10.1007/BF02099702
Annals of Operations Research
Keywords
Field
DocType
Iron,Neural Network,Energy Function,Expert System,Steel Plate
Convergence (routing),Mathematical optimization,Stochastic neural network,Expert system,Network simulation,Recurrent neural network,Artificial intelligence,Artificial neural network,Neural network system,Mathematics,Penalty method
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
57
1
1572-9338
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
3
0.48
3
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Tomoharu Takada130.48
Katuaki Sanou230.48
Satoshi Fukumara330.48