A Robust Scheduling Framework for Re-Manufacturing Activities of Turbine Blades

Abstract

Refurbished products are gaining importance in many industrial sectors, specifically high-value products whose residual value is relevant and guarantee the economic viability of the re-manufacturing at an industrial level, e.g., turbine blades for power generation. In this paper, we address the robust scheduling scheme of re-manufacturing activities for turbine blades. Parts entering the process may have very different wear states or presence of defects. Thus, the repair process is affected by a significant degree of uncertainty. The paper investigates the uncertainties and discusses how they affect the scheduling performance of the re-manufacturing system. We then present a robust scheduling framework for the re-manufacturing scheduling strategies, policies, and methods. This framework is based on a wide variety of experimental and practical approaches in the re-manufacturing scheduling area, which will be a guideline for the planning and scheduling of re-manufacturing activities of turbine blades. A case study approach was adopted to examine how re-manufacturers design their scheduling strategies.