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US 10,241,480 B2Granted
Configuration of regulating elements in a partition of a distribution network
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsNicola Fontana, Maurizio Giugni, Marcello Vitaletti
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for configuring a distribution network of a commodity, wherein the determination of a setting of each inflow regulating element (according to at least one optimization criterion) is repeated for different versions of a working subset (defined by one or more of the parts having no outflow regulating element whose setting is still to be determined) until the settings of all the regulating elements have been determined. A further aspect provides a software program and a software program product for implementing the method. A further aspect provides a corresponding system.
Claims13
A method for configuring a distribution network of a commodity, the method comprising:
- providing a representation of a partition of the distribution network from a storage device of a computing system, the partition being defined by a plurality of disjoint parts, each one comprising a plurality of interconnected sources and/or users of the commodity, and by a plurality of regulating elements each one for regulating a transfer of the commodity from an outflow one of the parts to an inflow one of the parts, the regulating element being an outflow regulating element for the outflow part and an inflow regulating element for the inflow part;
- identifying a first version of a working subset of the parts by the computing system, the first version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts having no outflow regulating element;
- repeating, by the computing system, steps of:
- determining a setting of each inflow regulating element of the working subset according to at least one optimization criterion;
- and
- identifying a next version of the working subset, the next version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts being comprised in no previous version of the working subset and having no outflow regulating element whose setting is still to be determined;
- until the settings of all the regulating elements have been determined;
- and
- outputting an indication of the settings of the regulating elements on an output device of the computing system for configuring the distribution network;
- wherein said receiving a representation of the distribution network comprises:
- verifying whether the distribution network comprises at least one cycle of the regulating elements;
- and
- discarding the partition in response to said at least one cycle.
10 more elements
A method for configuring a distribution network of a commodity, the method comprising:
- providing a representation of a partition of the distribution network from a storage device of a computing system, the partition being defined by a plurality of disjoint parts, each one comprising a plurality of interconnected sources and/or users of the commodity, and by a plurality of regulating elements each one for regulating a transfer of the commodity from an outflow one of the parts to an inflow one of the parts, the regulating element being an outflow regulating element for the outflow part and an inflow regulating element for the inflow part;
- identifying a first version of a working subset of the parts by the computing system, the first version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts having no outflow regulating element;
- repeating, by the computing system, steps of:
- determining a setting of each inflow regulating element of the working subset according to at least one optimization criterion;
- and
- identifying a next version of the working subset, the next version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts being comprised in no previous version of the working subset and having no outflow regulating element whose setting is still to be determined;
- until the settings of all the regulating elements have been determined;
- and
- outputting an indication of the settings of the regulating elements on an output device of the computing system for configuring the distribution network;
- wherein said determining the setting of each inflow regulating element of the working subset comprises, for each one of the parts of the working subset:
- initializing the setting of each inflow regulating element of the part;
- determining a shift value for the part according to said at least one optimization criterion;
- and
- updating the setting of each inflow regulating element of the part according to the shift value;
- wherein said determining a shift value for the part comprises, when the part has a significant loss of the commodity therein:
- initializing the shift value;
- repeating steps of:
- determining a further estimated supply of the commodity to each user of the part according to a simulation of a corresponding portion of the distribution network with the setting of each inflow regulating element of the part updated according to the shift value;
- and
- updating the shift value according to a comparison of the further estimated supply with a required supply of each user of the part;
- until a convergence condition is satisfied;
- wherein said determining a shift value for the part comprises:
- performing a binary search of the shift value;
- wherein said initializing the setting of each inflow regulating element of the part comprises:
- determining an estimated transfer of the commodity across each inflow regulating element of the part with each inflow regulating element of the part in an open condition;
- and
- initializing the setting of each inflow regulating element of the part according to the corresponding estimated transfer;
- and
- wherein said performing a binary search comprises:
- initializing a searching range for the binary search according to the estimated transfers of one or more regulating elements of the part.
27 more elements
A method for configuring a distribution network of a commodity, the method comprising:
- providing a representation of a partition of the distribution network from a storage device of a computing system, the partition being defined by a plurality of disjoint parts, each one comprising a plurality of interconnected sources and/or users of the commodity, and by a plurality of regulating elements each one for regulating a transfer of the commodity from an outflow one of the parts to an inflow one of the parts, the regulating element being an outflow regulating element for the outflow part and an inflow regulating element for the inflow part;
- identifying a first version of a working subset of the parts by the computing system, the first version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts having no outflow regulating element;
- repeating, by the computing system, steps of:
- determining a setting of each inflow regulating element of the working subset according to at least one optimization criterion;
- and
- identifying a next version of the working subset, the next version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts being comprised in no previous version of the working subset and having no outflow regulating element whose setting is still to be determined;
- until the settings of all the regulating elements have been determined;
- and
- outputting an indication of the settings of the regulating elements on an output device of the computing system for configuring the distribution network;
- wherein said providing a representation of a partition of the distribution network comprises providing a representation of a configured version of the partition by the computing system, said providing a representation of a configured version of the partition comprising:
- providing a representation of a non-configured version of the partition in the storage device, the non-configured version of the partition being defined by the parts each one comprising one or more interconnected users with each interconnection of the distribution network between different parts being set to a closed condition;
- and
- configuring the non-configured version of the partition into the configured version of the partition by:
- initializing a grouping at least partial of the sources and of the parts into a plurality of disjoint groups each one comprising one or more interconnected sources and parts;
- repeating steps of:
- selecting an enlarging group among the groups being over supplied by having a residual capacity indicative of an excess of a supply balance thereof based on a difference between a total capacity of the corresponding sources and a total demand of the corresponding users, the enlarging group being selected in decreasing order of the residual capacity of the over supplied groups;
- selecting an adding part among the parts adjacent to the enlarging group being under supplied by having a non-zero residual demand based on a difference between the total demand of the corresponding users and a total supply of the corresponding sources, the adding part being selected in decreasing order of a matching of the residual demand of the under supplied parts with the residual capacity of the expanding group;
- and
- merging the adding part and the possible group thereof into the enlarging group by setting at least one interconnection between the adding part and the expanding group to an open condition;
- until all the parts belong to a single group;
- and
- associating an intercepting element with each interconnection in the closed condition and one of the regulating elements with each interconnection in the open condition;
- and
- saving the representation of the configured version of the partition into the storage device.
21 more elements
A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing system to cause the computing system to perform a method for configuring a distribution network of a commodity, the method comprising:
- providing a representation of a partition of the distribution network from a storage device of a computing system, the partition being defined by a plurality of disjoint parts, each one comprising a plurality of interconnected sources and/or users of the commodity, and by a plurality of regulating elements each one for regulating a transfer of the commodity from an outflow one of the parts to an inflow one of the parts, the regulating element being an outflow regulating element for the outflow part and an inflow regulating element for the inflow part;
- identifying a first version of a working subset of the parts by the computing system, the first version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts having no outflow regulating element;
- repeating, by the computing system, steps of:
- determining a setting of each inflow regulating element of the working subset according to at least one optimization criterion;
- and
- identifying a next version of the working subset, the next version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts being comprised in no previous version of the working subset and having no outflow regulating element whose setting is still to be determined;
- until the settings of all the regulating elements have been determined;
- and
- outputting an indication of the settings of the regulating elements on an output device of the computing system for configuring the distribution network;
- wherein said receiving a representation of the distribution network comprises:
- verifying whether the distribution network comprises at least one cycle of the regulating elements;
- and
- discarding the partition in response to said at least one cycle.
10 more elements
A system for configuring a distribution network of a commodity, the system comprising:
- a circuitry for providing a representation of a partition of the distribution network, the partition being defined by a plurality of disjoint parts, each one comprising a plurality of interconnected sources and/or users of the commodity, and by a plurality of regulating elements each one for regulating a transfer of the commodity from an outflow one of the parts to an inflow one of the parts, the regulating element being an outflow regulating element for the outflow part and an inflow regulating element for the inflow part;
- a circuitry for identifying a first version of a working subset of the parts, the first version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts having no outflow regulating element;
- a circuitry for repeating:
- determining a setting of each inflow regulating element of the working subset according to at least one optimization criterion;
- and
- identifying a next version of the working subset, the next version of the working subset being defined by one or more of the parts being comprised in no previous version of the working subset and having no outflow regulating element whose setting is still to be determined;
- until the settings of all the regulating elements have been determined;
- and
- a circuitry for outputting an indication of the settings of the regulating elements for configuring the distribution network;
- wherein said receiving a representation of the distribution network comprises:
- verifying whether the distribution network comprises at least one cycle of the regulating elements;
- and
- discarding the partition in response to said at least one cycle.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.