Network Optimization Problem (2)

Danu Hadi Syaifullah ST., MSc.

 Maximum Flow Problems
• Many situations can be modeled by a network in which the arcs may
be thought of as having a capacity that limits the quantity of a
product that may be shipped through the arc.
• In these situations, it is often desired to transport the maximum amount
of flow from a starting point (called the source) to a terminal point
(called the sink).
• These types of problems are called maximum flow problems.
 Maximum Flow Problems
In general terms, the maximum flow problem can be described as follows:
1. All flow through a directed and connected network originates at one node,
called the source, and terminates at one other node, called the sink. (The
source and sink in the Seervada Park problem are the park entrance at
node O and the scenic wonder at node T, respectively.)
2. All the remaining nodes are transshipment nodes. (These are nodes A, B, C,
D, and E in the Seervada Park problem.)
3. Flow through an arc is allowed only in the direction indicated by the
arrowhead, where the maximum amount of flow is given by the capacity of
that arc. At the source, all arcs point away from the node. At the sink, all
arcs point into the node.
4. The objective is to maximize the total amount of flow from the source to the
sink. This amount is measured in either of two equivalent ways, namely,
either the amount leaving the source or the amount entering the sink.
 Maximum Flow Problems
Here are some typical kinds of applications of the maximum flow
problem:
• Maximize the flow through a company’s distribution network from its
factories to its customers.
• Maximize the flow through a company’s supply network from its
vendors to its factories.
• Maximize the flow of oil through a system of pipelines.
• Maximize the flow of water through a system of aqueducts.
• Maximize the flow of vehicles through a transportation network.
 Maximum Flow Problems
• The maximum flow problem can be formulated as a linear
programming problem
• However, an even more efficient augmenting path algorithm is
available for solving this problem
• This algorithm is based on two intuitive concepts, a residual network
and an augmenting path
• An augmenting path is a directed path from the source to the sink in
the residual network such that every arc on this path has strictly non
negative residual capacity
• After some flows have been assigned to the arcs, the residual network
shows the remaining arc capacities (called residual capacities) for
assigning additional flows
 Maximum Flow Problems
The Augmenting Path Algorithm for the Maximum Flow Problem:
1. Identify an augmenting path by finding some directed path from the
source to the sink in the residual network such that every arc on this
path has strictly non negative residual capacity (If no augmenting
path exists, the net flows already assigned constitute an optimal flow
pattern.)
2. Identify the residual capacity c* of this augmenting path by finding
the minimum of the residual capacities of the arcs on this path.
Increase the flow in this path by c*.
3. Decrease by c* the residual capacity of each arc on this augmenting
path. Increase by c* the residual capacity of each arc in the
opposite direction on this augmenting path. Return to step 1.
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• A problem facing the Seervada Park management during the peak
season is to determine how to route the various tram trips from the
park entrance (station O) to the scenic wonder (station T) to maximize
the number of trips per day. (Each tram will return by the same route it
took on the outgoing trip, so the analysis focuses on outgoing trips
only.)
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 1: one of several augmenting paths is O  B  E  T, which
has a residual capacity of min{7, 5, 6} 5. By assigning a flow of 5 to this
path, the resulting residual network is
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 1: one of several augmenting paths is O  B  E  T, which
has a residual capacity of min{7, 5, 6} 5. By assigning a flow of 5 to this
path, the resulting residual network is
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 2: Assign a flow of 3 to the augmenting path O  A  D  T.
The resulting residual network is
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 2: Assign a flow of 3 to the augmenting path O  A  D  T.
The resulting residual network is
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 3: Assign a flow of 1 to the augmenting path O  A  B  D
T
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 3: Assign a flow of 1 to the augmenting path O  A  B  D
T
• Iteration 4: Assign a flow of 2 to the augmenting path O  B  D  T.
The resulting residual network is
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 4: Assign a flow of 2 to the augmenting path O  B  D  T.
The resulting residual network is
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 5: Assign a flow of 1 to the augmenting path O  C  E  D
 T.
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 5: Assign a flow of 1 to the augmenting path O  C  E  D
 T.
• Iteration 6: Assign a flow of 1 to the augmenting path O  C  E  T.
The resulting residual network is
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 6: Assign a flow of 1 to the augmenting path O  C  E  T.
The resulting residual network is
Maximum Flow Problems: Example
• Iteration 7: Assign a flow of 1 to the augmenting path O  C  E  B
 D  T. The resulting residual network is

• There are no more augmenting paths, so the current flow pattern is

optimal.
 Finding an Augmenting Path
• The most difficult part of this algorithm when large networks are
involved is finding an augmenting path. This task may be simplified by
the following systematic procedure.
o Begin by determining all nodes that can be reached from the source
along a single arc with strictly non negative residual capacity
o Then, for each of these nodes that were reached, determine all new
nodes (those not yet reached) that can be reached from this node along
an arc with strictly positive residual capacity
o Repeat this successively with the new nodes as they are reached.
o The result will be the identification of a tree of all the nodes that can be
reached from the source along a path with strictly positive residual flow
capacity.
• Hence, this fanning-out procedure will always identify an augmenting
path if one exists
 Finding an Augmenting Path
• It is sometimes possible to recognize when optimality has been
reached because of an important theorem of network theory known
as the max-flow min-cut theorem.
• A cut may be defined as any set of directed arcs containing at least
one arc from every directed path from the source to the sink
• For any particular cut, the cut value is the sum of the arc capacities of
the arcs (in the specified direction) of the cut.
• The max-flow min-cut theorem states that, for any network with a
single source and sink, the maximum feasible flow from the source to
the sink equals the minimum cut value for all cuts of the network
 Finding an Augmenting Path
• To illustrate, consider the network of previous example. One interesting
cut through this network is shown in Figure below. Notice that the
value of the cut is 3 + 4 + 1 + 6 = 14, which was found to be the
maximum value of F, so this cut is a minimum cut.
 Maximum Flow Problems: Exercise (1)
• Find the maximum flow for the following network:
 Maximum Flow Problems: Exercise (2)
• Find the maximum flow for the following network:
 Maximum Flow Problems: Exercise (3)
• The diagram below depicts a system of aqueducts that originate at
three rivers (nodes R1, R2, and R3) and terminate at a major city (node
T), where the other nodes are junction points in the system.

• Using units of thousands of acre feet, the following tables show the
maximum amount of water that can be pumped through each
aqueduct per day.
 Maximum Flow Problems: Exercise (3)

• The city water manager wants to determine a flow plan that will
maximize the flow of water to the city.
a) Formulate this problem as a maximum flow problem by identifying a source, a
sink, and the transshipment nodes, and then drawing the complete network that
shows the capacity of each arc.
b) Use the augmenting path algorithm to solve this problem!
 Assignment 5a
• In intermodal transportation, loaded truck trailers are Shipped
between railroad terminals on special flatbed carts.
• Figure below shows the location of the main railroad terminals in the
United States and the existing railroad tracks.
• The objective is to decide which tracks should be "revitalized" to
handle the intermodal traffic.
• In particular, the Los Angeles (LA) terminal must be linked directly to
Chicago (CH) to accommodate expected heavy traffic.
• Other than that, all the remaining terminals can be linked, directly or
indirectly, such that the total length (in miles) of the selected tracks is
minimized.
 Assignment 5a
• Determine the segments of the railroad tracks that must be included in
the revitalization program.
 Assignment 5b
• Telephone calls from New York to Los Angeles are transported as
follows: The call is sent first to either Chicago or Memphis, then routed
through either Denver or Dallas, and finally sent to Los Angeles. The
number of phone lines joining each pair of cities is shown in Table
below. Determine the maximum number of calls that can be sent from
New York to Los Angeles at any given time.
The End