A NETWORK RELIABILITY APPROACH TO OPTIMAL DECOMPOSITION OF DESIGN, PROBLEMS

Methods for solving partitioned mathematical programming problems requ ire that an appropriate structure suitable for-decomposition be identi fied. This first step consists of identifying linking variables that e ffect independent subproblems coordinated by a master problem. This ar ticle presents a network reliability-based solution of the optimal dec omposition problem that avoid subjective criteria to identify linking variables and partitions. The relationships among design variables are modeled as the processing units of a network. The design variables th emselves are modeled as the communication links between these units. T he optimal decomposition is attained by minimizing the network reliabi lity while maximizing the number of operating links.