Date of Award
12-2013
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Legacy Department
Mathematical Science
Committee Chair/Advisor
Wiecek, Margaret M
Committee Member
Belotti, Pietro
Committee Member
Kurz, Mary E
Committee Member
Novick, Beth
Committee Member
Saltzman, Matthew
Abstract
Over the last couple of decades, the field of multiobjective optimization has received much attention in solving real-life optimization problems in science, engineering, economics and other fields where optimal decisions need to be made in the presence of trade-offs between two or more conflicting objective functions. The conflicting nature of objective functions implies a solution set for a multiobjective optimization problem. Obtaining this set is difficult for many reasons, and a variety of approaches for approximating it either partially or entirely have been proposed.
In response to the growing interest in approximation, this research investigates developing a theory and methodology for representing and approximating solution sets of multiobjective optimization problems. The concept of the tolerance function is proposed as a tool for modeling representation quality. Two types of subsets of the set being represented, covers and approximations, are defined, and their properties are examined.
In addition, approximating the solution set of the multiobjective set covering problem (MOSCP), one of the challenging combinatorial optimization problems that has seen limited study, is investigated. Two algorithms are proposed for approximating the solution set of the MOSCP, and their approximation quality is derived. A heuristic algorithm is also proposed to approximate the solution set of the MOSCP. The performance of each algorithm is evaluated using test problems. Since the MOSCP has many real-life applications, and in particular designing reserve systems for ecological species is a common field for its applications, two optimization models are proposed in this dissertation for preserving reserve sites for species and their natural habitats.
Recommended Citation
Weerasena, Lakmali, "Approximation in Multiobjective Optimization with Applications" (2013). All Dissertations. 1258.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1258