Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Computer and Information - Department of Operation Research and Decision Support

Multi - center location problem answers the question of where to locate facilities or services. Mainly, there exist two types of location problems; (1) p - center location problem is to locate p facilities, called centers, to minimize the maximum distance between demand points and its nearest facility. (2) p - median location problem is to locate p facilities, called medians, to minimize the sum of the distances from each demand point to its nearest facility. Multi - center location problems are NP - hard problems. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a metaheuristic intelligent approach, which recently proved to be a successful intelligent approach in solving complex optimization problems. This thesis developed new PSO intelligent approach to solve multi - center location problems (p - center and p - median) on two different spaces (network and plane). The result is a simple but effective approach for solving large-scale multi - center problems. The novelty of this thesis comes from the success of developing a simple but effective PSO intelligent approach to solve four different types of multi-center location problem

Issued also as CD