Design and Operation of Assembly Systems

这项研究的目的是为装配系统的设计和操作建立一个科学基础。具体目标是：(1)最先进的分支和界限方法，以规定最低成本的设计和运营决策；(2)强大的割平面法，以规定大规模装配系统的最低成本解决方案；(3)计算评估；以及(4)与行业的互动，以确保研究的相关性。研究意义是双重的。首先，它将提高组装系统的竞争力，降低成本，促进按时交付。其次，它是对整数规划方法的创新贡献，需要进行基础研究，为众多工程应用奠定基础。

The objective of this research is to establish a science base for the design and operation of assembly systems. Specific objectives are: (1) state-of-the-art branch and bound approach to prescribe minimum cost design and operating decisions, (2) strong cutting plane methods to prescribe minimum cost solutions for large-scale assembly systems, (3) computational evaluation, and (4) interaction with industry to assure research relevancy. Research significance is two-fold. First, it will improve competitiveness of assembly systems, reducing costs and promoting on-time delivery. Second, it represents an innovative contribution to integer programming methods and entails basic research to lay a foundation for numerous engineering applications.