Purdue University Calumet, Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, & Statistics, Hammond, IN 463233
We are studying the problem of minimizing total completion time in the two-machine flow shop with exact delay. This is a situation in the manufacturing field in which we consider two machines and one job. The job spends x amount of time on machine A, has y amount of time in delay (the time between machines A and B), and z amount of time on machine B. With this situation, we want to be able to minimize the total completion time for n number of jobs. To attempt to solve this problem, we are studying and testing the results of how the Ant Colony Algorithm works with the two-machine flow shop with exact delay problem. The Ant Colony Algorithm will use the pheromone element that ants use to create a path through the jobs. First we will show that it works for specific cases and then attempt to use this on a broader basis, or rather, a more general situation through running test experiments.