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3.1 Transportation Problem

The document describes the transportation problem and how it can be represented in a transportation table. It explains key aspects of the transportation table including: the costs in each cell, the row and column constraints, feasible and basic solutions, loops and their properties, and how transportation problems can be solved using a triangular basis.

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Preethi
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71 views16 pages

3.1 Transportation Problem

The document describes the transportation problem and how it can be represented in a transportation table. It explains key aspects of the transportation table including: the costs in each cell, the row and column constraints, feasible and basic solutions, loops and their properties, and how transportation problems can be solved using a triangular basis.

Uploaded by

Preethi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Transportation Table

• Since transportation problem is just a special case of general


LPP, the application of simplex method would, no doubt, gives
optimum solution to the problem.

• Whenever it is possible to place the given LPP in the


transportation framework, it is far simpler to solve it by
transportation method than by simplex method.

• To facilitate presentation and solution, the transportation


problem is generally portrait in a tabular form as follows:

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Tabular form of the Transportation Problem

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• The mn large squares are called the cells.

• The per unit cost Cij of transporting from the ith origin Oi to the jth
destination Dj is displayed in the lower right position of the (i,j)th
cell.

• Any feasible solution to the transportation problem is displayed in


the table by variable xij at the upper left position of the (i,j)th cell.

• The various origin capacities and destination requirements are


listed in the right most (outer) column and bottom (outer) row
respectively.

• These are called rim requirements.


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Loops in a transportation method
• In a transportation table, an ordered set of four or more cells is
said to form a loop if

1. any two adjacent cells in the ordered set lie either in the
same row or in the same column, and

2. any three or more adjacent cells in the ordered set do not lie
in the same row or the same column. The first cell of the set
is considered to follow the last in the set.

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• If we join the cells of a loop by horizontal and vertical segments,
we get a closed path satisfying (1) and (2) above. Let us denote
by (i, j), the (i, j)th cell of a transportation table, then, it can be
seen from the tables below that the set

• L1 = {(2, 1), (4, 1), (4, 4), (1, 4), (1, 3), (2, 3)} forms a loop,
while

• L2 = {(3, 2), (3, 4), (1, 4), (1, 3), (1, 2)} does not form a loop.

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• The indication of independence of a set of individual positive
allocations is that we cannot form a loop by joining positive
allocations by horizontal and vertical lines only, for example see
fig (a) and (d).

• In fig (a) and (d), a closed loop is formed by joining the positive
allocation cells by horizontal and vertical lines. But in fig (e), we
will not be able to form such a loop. Thus, allocations in fig (a)
and (d) are independent in position while in fig (e) are dependent
in position.

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• Remarks:

• Note that every loop will contain even number of cells.

• Independent allocations have a property that it is impossible to


increase or decrease any individual allocation without altering the
positions of individual allocations or violating the row or column sum
restrictions.

• i.e., a closed loop can’t be formed through these allocations.

• Each row and column in the transportation table should have only one
+ and – sign. All cells that have a + (or) – sign, except the starting
unoccupied (non-basic) cell are occupied (basic) cells.

• Closed loops may or may not be square in shape.

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• Definition of Set containing a loop:

• A set X of cells of transportation table is said to contain a loop


if the cells of X (or) of a subset of X can be ordered
(sequenced) so as to form a loop.

• Definition of linear dependence and loops:

• Let X said to be set of column vectors of co-efficient matrix of


a transportation problem, then a necessary and sufficient
condition for vectors in X to be linearly dependent is that the
set of their corresponding cells in the transportation table
contains a loop.
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• Corollary:
• A feasible solution to a transportation problem is basic iff the
corresponding cells in the transportation problem do not
contain a loop.
• Note:
• The above corollary provides us method to check graphically
whether the current feasible solution to a transportation
problem is basic or not.
• Triangular basis in a transportation problem:
• W.k.t a system of n linear equations, AX = b is called a
triangular system if the matrix A is triangular.
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• i.e., it is of the form
 a11 a12 . . . . a1n 
 
 0 a22 . . . . a2 n 
 0 0 a33 . . . a3n 
A 
 0 0 0 a44 . . . 
 . . . . . . . 
 
 0 0 0 . . . ann 
• aii ≠ 0 for each i.
• The system has a property that there is atleast one equation
having only one variable.
• This variable can be eliminated from the remaining equations
resulting in a reduced system of (n-1) equations, which again
happens to be triangular.
• Thus a triangular system can be “solved” by back substitution.
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• Definition of triangular basis:

• A basis for the system AX = b is said to be a triangular basis, if a


triangular system is obtained when all the non-basic variables are
said to be equal to zero in the system.

• (or)

• All the basis for transportation problem are triangular.

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Proof
• Initially, we observe that there is no equation in which there is not at
least one basic variable. i.e. every equation has a basic variable
otherwise, the equation cannot be satisfied for ai ≠ 0 or bj ≠ 0.

• Suppose, every row and column equation has at least two basic
variables. Since there are m rows and n columns, the total number of
basic variables in row equations and column equations will be at least
2m and 2n respectively.

• Suppose, if the total number of basic variables is B, then obviously B


≥ 2m, B ≥ 2n.

• There can be three cases now,

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• Case (i) : m > n
• m + m > m + n ⇒ 2m > m + n ⇒ B ≥ 2m > m + n
• Case (ii) : m < n
• m + n < n + n ⇒ m + n < 2n ⇒ B ≥ 2n > m + n
• Case (iii) : m = n
• m + m = m + n ⇒ 2m = m + n ⇒ B ≥ 2m = m + n
• Thus, in all cases B ≥ m + n. But we know that the number of basic
variables in TP is (m + n - 1).
• Thus, we have a contradiction.
• So our supposition that every equation has at least two basic
variables is wrong.
• Therefore, there is at least one equation, either row or column,
having only one basic variable.
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• Let the rth - equation have only one basic variable and let xrs be
the only basic variable in the row r and column s, then xrs = ar.

• Eliminate rth - row from the system of equation and substitute


xrs = ar in sth - column equation and replace bs by bs′= bs – ar

• After eliminating the rth - row, the system has (m - 1) row


equations and n column equations, of which (m + n - 2) are
linearly independent. This implies that the number of basic
variables is (m + n - 2).

• Repeat the argument given earlier and conclude that in the


reduced system of equations, there is an equation which has
only one basic variable.
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• But if this equation happens to be the sth - column equation in
the original system, then it will have two basic variables.

• This suggests that in our original system of equations, there is


an equation which has at least two basic variables.

• i.e., it is not possible that all the rows and columns have two
or more basic variables.

• Continue the process to prove the theorem.

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