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Approximation Algorithms for Scheduling Multiple Two-Stage Flowshops

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Computing and Combinatorics (COCOON 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 10392))

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Abstract

This paper studies the problem that schedules n two-stage jobs on m multiple two-stage flowshops, with the objective of minimizing the makespan. The problem is NP-hard even when m is a fixed constant, and becomes strongly NP-hard when m is a part of input. A 17/6-approximation algorithm along with its analysis is presented for arbitrary \(m \ge 2\). This is the first approximation algorithm for multiple flowshops when the number m of flowshops is a part of input. The arbitrary m and the time complexity \(O(n \log n + m n)\) of the algorithm demonstrate that the problem, which plays an important role in the current research in cloud computing and data centers, can be solved efficiently with a reasonable level of satisfaction.

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grants 61420106009, 61672536, 61232001, and 61472449, Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department under grant 16C1660.

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Correspondence to Jianxin Wang .

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Wu, G., Wang, J. (2017). Approximation Algorithms for Scheduling Multiple Two-Stage Flowshops. In: Cao, Y., Chen, J. (eds) Computing and Combinatorics. COCOON 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10392. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62389-4_43

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62389-4_43

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62389-4

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