A Decision Support System with EDA_PR Algorithm for the Hot Rolling Scheduling

Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid algorithm for the hot rolling scheduling problem, which is derived from the actual steel production, and some features make the solution methodology more difficult. The hybrid strategy is based on the solution construction mechanism of estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) with path relinking (PR), an evolutionary method, which results in a novel approach that we call EDA_PR. Moreover, a decision support system in which the algorithm has been embedded for the hot rolling scheduling is designed. The computational experiments show that the EDA_PR method has more potential for improvement to solve the hot rolling scheduling problem compared with the manual scheduling method.