TY - JOUR
T1 - A method for designing minimum-cost multisource multisink network layouts
AU - Heijnen, Petra W.
AU - Chappin, Emile J.L.
AU - Herder, Paulien M.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Systems engineers are equipped to design complex networked systems such as infrastructures. A key goal is cost minimization over a vast solution space. However, finding a minimum-cost system while comprehensively satisfying different stakeholders is challenging and lacks proper methodological support. Stakeholders often employ their own expert estimations for lack of suitable decision-support methods. In these settings, systems engineers typically require mid-fidelity, easy-to-use methods. We present a rigorous method that quickly finds minimum-cost solutions for networks with multiple sources and sinks, focusing on pipeline topology, length, and capacity. It can serve as a discussion tool in multiactor design processes, to demarcate the design space, indicate sources of uncertainty, and provoke further analyses, different designs, or contractual negotiations. It is applicable to a wide variety of cases, including many prominent infrastructures needed to mitigate CO₂. We prove that the optimal layout is a minimum-cost Gilbert tree, and develop a heuristic based on the Gilbert-Melzak method. We demonstrate the method's efficacy for a case set regarding solution quality, computational time, and scalability. We also show its efficiency and usefulness for systems engineers in real-world settings. Systems engineers can use the generated cost-optimal system designs to benchmark any design changes in real-world negotiation processes.
AB - Systems engineers are equipped to design complex networked systems such as infrastructures. A key goal is cost minimization over a vast solution space. However, finding a minimum-cost system while comprehensively satisfying different stakeholders is challenging and lacks proper methodological support. Stakeholders often employ their own expert estimations for lack of suitable decision-support methods. In these settings, systems engineers typically require mid-fidelity, easy-to-use methods. We present a rigorous method that quickly finds minimum-cost solutions for networks with multiple sources and sinks, focusing on pipeline topology, length, and capacity. It can serve as a discussion tool in multiactor design processes, to demarcate the design space, indicate sources of uncertainty, and provoke further analyses, different designs, or contractual negotiations. It is applicable to a wide variety of cases, including many prominent infrastructures needed to mitigate CO₂. We prove that the optimal layout is a minimum-cost Gilbert tree, and develop a heuristic based on the Gilbert-Melzak method. We demonstrate the method's efficacy for a case set regarding solution quality, computational time, and scalability. We also show its efficiency and usefulness for systems engineers in real-world settings. Systems engineers can use the generated cost-optimal system designs to benchmark any design changes in real-world negotiation processes.
KW - cost minimization
KW - decision support method
KW - multiactor network design
KW - multisource multisink
KW - network design
KW - system architecting
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85066465378&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/sys.21492
DO - 10.1002/sys.21492
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85066465378
VL - 23
SP - 14
EP - 35
JO - Systems Engineering: the journal of the International Council on Systems Engineering
JF - Systems Engineering: the journal of the International Council on Systems Engineering
SN - 1098-1241
IS - 1
ER -