A Quadratic Programming Formulation of the Equidistant Bi-directional Loop Layout Problem

Abstract

A loop layout is a common layout used in flexible manufacturing. In such a layout, a set of stations or facilities are to be arranged in a closed loop so that the total cost of flow between each pair of facilities is minimized. The most common mathematical programming formulation of the problem is based on a quadratic assignment formulation. In this paper, we modify that formulation taking advantage of the structure of the problem