Optimization

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10

Integer Programming

10.1 Introduction

In the previous chapters, decision variables in optimization problems were

considered to be continuous and they could take any fractional values such

as 10.5, 5.64, etc. Some optimization problems require design variables to

be integers. For example, the number of cars produced in a day, number of

maneuvers required by a spacecraft in an orbit, number of rivets required,

amount of manpower required, and so forth, all have to be integers. It does

not make much sense to get a solution such as 8.4 rivets for butting two

plates. It is important to note that rounding off the decision variable ...