New methods for solving a vertex p-center problem with uncertain demand-weighted distance: A real case study

Abstract

Vertex and p-center problems are two well-known types of the center problem. In this paper, a p-center problem with uncertain demand-weighted distance will be introduced in which the demands are considered as fuzzy random variables (FRVs) and the objective of the problem is to minimize the maximum distance between a node and its nearest facility. Then, by introducing new methods, the proposed problem is converted to deterministic integer programming (IP) problems where these methods will be obtained through the implementation of the possibility theory and fuzzy random chance-constrained programming (FRCCP). Finally, the proposed methods are applied for locating bicycle stations in the city of Tabriz in Iran as a real case study. The computational results of our study show that these methods can be implemented for the center problem with uncertain frameworks.

Keywords

• Vertex p-center problem
• Possibility theory
• Fuzzy random variable
• Fuzzy random chance-constrained programming