Scheduling on tractor and trailer transportation considering the influence of disrupted events based on the contract net and simulated annealing algorithm

Abstract

To provide a much more resilient transport scheme for tractor and trailer transportation systems, this paper explores the generation method of tractor and trailer transport schemes considering the influence of disrupted events. Three states of tractors including towing loaded trailers, towing empty trailers, and idle driving are taken into account. Based on the disruption management theory, a scheduling model is constructed to minimize the total deviation cost including transportation time, transportation path, and number of used vehicles under the three states of tractors. A heuristics based on the contract net and simulated annealing algorithm is designed to solve the proposed model. Through comparative analysis of examples with different numbers of newly added transportation tasks and different types of road networks, the performance of the contract net algorithm in terms of deviations in idle driving paths, empty trailer paths, loaded trailer paths, time, number of used vehicles, and total deviation cost are analyzed. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the model and algorithm, highlighting the superiority of the disruption management model and the contract net annealing algorithm. The study provides a reference for handling unexpected events in the tractor and trailer transportation industry.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Tractor and trailer transportation / Disrupted event / Hub-and-spoke network / Disruption management / Contract net and simulated annealing algorithm