The Hierarchical Mixed Rural Postman Problem: Polyhedral analysis and a branch-and-cut algorithm

Abstract

The Hierarchical Mixed Rural Postman Problem is defined on a mixed graph where arcs and edges that require a service are divided into clusters that have to be serviced in a hierarchical order. The problem generalizes the Mixed Rural Postman Problem and thus is NP-hard. In this paper, we provide a polyhedral analysis of the problem and propose a branch-and-cut algorithm for its solution based on the introduced classes of valid inequalities. Extensive computational experiments are reported on benchmark instances. The exact approach allows to find the optimal solutions in less than 1 hour for instances with up to 999 vertices, 2678 links, and five clusters.