Exact and Approximation Algorithms for the Multi-Depot Capacitated Arc Routing Problems

摘要

In this work,we investigate a generalization of the classical capacitated arc routing problem,called the Multi-depot Capacitated Arc Routing Problem(MCARP).We give exact and approximation algorithms for different variants of the MCARP.First,we obtain the first constant-ratio approximation algorithms for the MCARP and its nonfixed destination version.Second,for the multi-depot rural postman problem,i.e.,a special case of the MCARP where the vehicles have infinite capacity,we develop a(2-1/2k+1)-approximation algorithm(k denotes the number of depots).Third,we show the polynomial solvability of the equal-demand MCARP on a line and devise a 2-approximation algorithm for the multi-depot capacitated vehicle routing problem on a line.Lastly,we conduct extensive numerical experiments on the algorithms for the multi-depot rural postman problem to show their effectiveness.