Simplifying the nonlinear continuous time-cost tradeoff problem

Abstract

Equivalent simplification is an effective method for solving large-scale complex problems. In this paper, the authors simplify a classic project scheduling problem, which is the nonlinear continuous time-cost tradeoff problem (TCTP). Simplifying TCTP is a simple path problem in a critical path method (CPM) network. The authors transform TCTP into a simple activity float problem and design a complex polynomial algorithm for its solution. First, the authors discover relationships between activity floats and path lengths by studying activity floats from the perspective of path instead of time. Second, the authors perform simplification and improve the efficiency and accuracy of the solution by deleting redundant activities and narrowing the duration intervals of non-redundant activities. Finally, the authors compare our method with current methods. The relationships between activity floats and path lengths provide new approaches for other path and correlative project problems.