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3.1 Introduction
Welcome to the third unit of Operations Research Management on the
simplex method. The simplex method focuses on solving LPP of any
enormity involving two or more decision variables.
The simplex algorithm is an iterative procedure for finding the optimal
solution to a linear programming problem. The objective function controls
the development and evaluation of each feasible solution to the problem. If a
feasible solution exists, it is located at a corner point of the feasible region
determined by the constraints of the system.
The simplex method simply selects the optimal solution amongst the set of
feasible solutions of the problem. The efficiency of this algorithm is because
it considers only those feasible solutions which are provided by the corner
points, and that too not all of them. You can consider obtaining an optimal
solution based on a minimum number of feasible solutions.
Learning objectives
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
Create a standard form of LPP from the given hypothesis
Apply the simplex algorithm to the system of equations
Interpret the big M-technique
Discuss the importance of the two phase method
Construct the dual from the primal (and vice versa)
Subject to:
n
a ij x j Si bi (bi 0) i 1, 2 .......... . m.
j 1
& xj 0, j = 1, 2, --- n.
S i 0, i = 1, 2, --- m
Solved Problem 1
Consider the following LPP
Minimise Z = 4x1 + x2
Subject to 3x1 + x2 = 3
4x1 + 3x2 6
x1 + 2x2 3,
x1, x2 0
x1
And x2 0
S
1
S2
A1
A
2
Solved Problem 2
Consider the system of equations
2x1 + x2 – x3 = 2
3x1 + 2x2 + x3 = 3
Where x1, x2, x3 0
Solution: At the onset, assign 3 – 2 = 1 variable, the value zero since
there are three variables and two equations.
Case (i):
Let x3 = 0 i.e., x3 be a non-basic variable, then equation becomes
2x1 + x2 = 2
3x1 + 2x2 = 3
Solving, we get
x1 = 1, x2 = 0.
The solution degenerates, but is feasible.
Case (ii): Let x2 be a non-basic variable i.e., x2 = 0, then solution is
x1 = 1 and x3 = 0
Here also the solution degenerates but is feasible
10. The element that lies both on key column and key row is called Pivotal
element.
11. Ratios with negative and “” value are not considered for determining
key row.
12. Once an artificial variable is removed as basic variable, its column will
be deleted from next iteration.
13. For maximisation problems, decision variables coefficient will be same
as in the objective function. For minimisation problems, decision
variables coefficients will have opposite signs as compared to
objective function.
14. Values of artificial variables will always is – M for both maximisation
and minimisation problems.
15. The process is continued till all Zj - Cj 0.
Caselet
A manufacturing company discontinued production of an unprofitable
product line. This created excess production capacity. The company’s
management is considering devoting this excess capacity to one or
more of the other ongoing products.
Knowing the capacity of the machines, the number of machine hours
required to produce one unit of each product and the unit profit per
product, the management needs to find out how much of each product
the company should produce to maximise profit.
The management can use the simplex method to arrive at the required
solution.
Solved Problem 3
Maximise z = x1+ 9x2 + x3
Subject to x1 + 2x2 + 3x3 9
3x1 + 2x2 + 2x3 15
x1, x2, x3 0.
Rewriting in the standard form
Maximise z = x1 + 9x2 + x3 + 0.S1 + 0.S2
Subject to the conditions
x1 + 2x2 + 3x3 + S1 = 9
3x1 + 2x2 + 2x3 + S2 = 15
x1, x2, x3, S1, S2 0.
Where S1 and S2 are the slack variables.
Solution: The initial basic solution is S1 = 9, S2 = 15
S1 0
X0 = , C0 =
S2 0
Solved Problem 4
Use simplex method to solve the LPP
Maximise Z = 2x1 + 4x2 + x3 + x4
Subject to x1 + 3x2 + x4 4
2x1 + x2 3
x2 + 4x3 + x4 3
x1, x2, x3, x4 0
Rewriting in the standard form
Maximise Z = 2x1 + 4x2 + x3 + x4 + 0.S1 + 0.S2 + 0.S3
Subject to x1 + 3x2 + x4 + S1 = 4
2x1 + x2 + S2 = 3
x2 + 4x3 + x4 + S3 = 3
x1, x2, x3, x4,
S1, S2, S3 0
Solution:
The initial basic solution is S1 = 4, S2 = 3, S3 = 3
S1 4 0
X0 = S 2 = 3 C0 = 0
S 3 0
3
The initial table is given by
Table 3.3: The initial table
X1 x2 x3 x4 S1 S2 S3 Ratio
2 4 1 1 0 0 0
S1 0 1 3* 0 1 1 0 0 4 4
3
S2 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 3
1
S3 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 1 3 3
1
Zj –Cj –2 –4 –1 –1 0 0 0 0
work column * pivot element
Work column
x3 enters the new basic set replacing S3, the second iteration gives the
following table :
x1 x2 x3 x4 S1 S2 S3 Ratio
2 4 1 1 0 0 0
x2 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 4 4
3 3 3 3
S2 0 5 0 0 1 1 1 0 5 1
* – –
3 3 3 3
x3 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 5
– –
12 6 12 4 12
3 0 0 1 5 0 1 23
Zj –Cj –
4 2 4 4 4
Work column
x1 enters the new basic set replacing S2, the third iteration gives the
following table:
Table 3.6: Third iteration table
x1 x2 x3 x4 S1 S2 S3
2 4 1 1 0 0 0
x2 4 0 1 0 2 2 1 0 1
–
5 5 5
x1 2 1 0 0 1 1 3 0 1
– –
5 5 5
x3 1 0 0 1 3 1 1 1 1
–
20 10 20 4 2
0 0 0 7 11 9 1 13
Zj –Cj 20 20 2
10 4
Since all elements of the last row are non-negative, the optimal solution
13 1
is Z = which is achieved for x2 = 1, x1 = 1, x3 = and x4 = 0.
2 2
Case Study
A manufacturing firm has discontinued production of a certain
unprofitable product line. This created considerable excess of
production capacity. Management is considering devoting this excess
capacity to one or more of three products, called product 1, 2 and 3.
The available capacity on the machines, which might limit output is
given below:
The unit profit would be Rs. 20, Rs. 6 and Rs. 8 for products 1, 2 and 3.
Find how much of each product the firm should produce in order to
maximise profit?
Let x1, x2, x3 units of products 1, 2 and 3 are produced in a week.
Then total profit from these units is
Z = 20 x1 + 6 x2 + 8 x3
To produce these units the management requires
8x1 + 2x2 + 3x3 machine hours of Milling Machine
x1 x2 x3 S1 S2 S3 Ratio
20 6 8 0 0 0
S1 0 8 2 3 1 0 0 250 250
31
8
S2 0 4 3 0 0 1 0 150 150
= 37.5
4
S3 0 2* 0 1 0 0 1 50 50
= 25
2
ZJ – Cj – –6 –8 0 0 0 0
20
Work column * pivot element
x1 enters the basic set of variables replacing the variable s3. The first
iteration gives the following table:
Table 3.10: The first iteration table
x1 x2 x3 s1 s2 s3 Ratio
20 6 8 0 0 0
s1 0 0 2 –1 1 0 –4 50 50
= 25
2
s2 0 0 3* –2 0 1 –2 50 50
3
x1 20 1 0 1 0 0 1 25
2 2
Z j – Cj 0 –6 2 0 0 10 500
Work column * pivot element
x2 enters the basic set of variables replacing the variable s2. The
second iteration gives the following table:
Table 3.11: The second iteration table
x1 x2 x3 S1 S2 S3 Ratio
20 6 8 0 0 0
S1 0 0 0 1 1 2 8 50 50
–
3 3 3 3
X2 6 0 1 2 0 1 2 50 –
– –
3 3 3 3
X1 20 1 0 1 0 0 1 25 50
* 2
2
Zj – Cj 0 0 –2 0 2 6 600
Work column * pivot element.
x3 enters the basic set of variables replacing the variable x1. The third
iteration yields the following table:
Table 3.12: The third iteration table
x1 x2 x3 S1 S2 S3
20 6 8 0 0 0
S1 0 2 0 0 1 2 –3 0
– –
3 3
X2 6 4 1 0 0 1 0 50
3 3
X3 8 2 0 1 0 0 1 50
Zj – cj 4 0 0 0 2 8 700
1) The last row of the simplex table is decomposed into two rows, the first
of which involves those terms not containing M, while the second
involves those containing M.
2) The step 1 of the simplex method is applied to the last row created in the
above modification and followed by steps 2, 3 and 4 until this row
contains no negative elements. Then step 1 of simplex algorithm is
applied to those elements next to the last row that are positioned over
zero in the last row.
3) Whenever an artificial variable ceases to be basic, it is removed from the
first column of the table as a result of step 4; it is also deleted from the
top row of the table as is the entire column under it.
4) The last row is removed from the table whenever it contains all zeroes.
5) If non-zero artificial variables are present in the final basic set, then the
program has no solution. In contrast, zero valued artificial variables in
the final solution may exist when one or more of the original constraint
equations are redundant.
Solved Problem 5
Use Penalty Cost method to
Maximise z = 2x1 + 3x2
Subject to x1 + 2x2 2
6x1 + 4x2 24,
x1, x2 0
Solution: Rewriting in the standard form, we have
Maximise z = 2x1 + 3x2 + 0S1 + 0S2 – M A1
Subject to x1 + 2x2 + S1 = 2
6x1 + 4x2 – S2 + A1 = 24,
x1, x2, S1, S2, A1 0
x1 x2 S1 S2 A1
2 3 0 0 –M Ratio
S1 0 1* 2 1 0 0 2 2
2
1
A1 – M 6 4 0 –1 1 24 24
4
6
–2 –3 0 0 0 0
– 6M – 4M 0 M –M –24M
Work column
The first iteration gives the following table:
Table 3.14: The first iteration table
x1 x2 S1 S2 A1
2 3 0 0 –M
x1 2 1 2 1 0 0 2
Ai – M 0 –8 –3 –1 1 12
0 1 2 0 0 4
0 8M 6M 1M 0 – 12M
The process is complete as all elements of the last two rows are non
negative. But existence of non-zero artificial variables in the basic
solution shows that the problem has no solution.
The drawback of the penalty cost method is the possible computational error
resulting from assigning a very large value to the constant M. To overcome
this difficulty, a new method is considered, where the use of M is eliminated
by solving the problem in two phases.
Phase I: Formulate the new problem. Start by eliminating the original
objective function by the sum of the artificial variables for a minimisation
problem and the negative of the sum of the artificial variables for a
maximisation problem. The Simplex method optimises the ensuing objective
with the constraints of the original problem. If a feasible solution is arrived,
the optimal value of the new objective function is zero (suggestive of all
artificial variables being zero). Subsequently proceed to phase II. If the
optimal value of the new objective function is non-zero, it means there is no
solution to the problem and the method terminates.
Phase II: Start phase II using the optimum solution of phase I as the base.
Then take the objective function without the artificial variables and solve the
problem using the Simplex method.
Solved Problem 6
Use the two phase method to
Maximise z = 3x1 – x2
Subject to 2x1 + x2 2
x1 + 3x2 2
x2 4,
x1, x2 0
Rewriting in the standard form,
Maximise z = 3x1 – x2 + 0S1 – MA1 + 0.S2 + 0.S3
Subject to 2x1 + x2 – S1 + A1 = 2
x1 + 3x2 + S2 = 2
x2 + S3 = 4,
x1, x2, S1, S2, S3, A1 0
Phase 1: Consider the new objective,
Maximise Z* = – A1
Subject to 2x1 + x2 – S1 + A1 = 2
x1 + 3x2 + S2 = 2
x2 + S3 = 4,
x1 x2 S1 A1 S2 S3
0 0 0 –1 0 0 Ratio
A1 –1 2* 1 –1 1 0 0 2 2
=1
2
S2 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 2 2
=2
1
S3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 4
–2 –1 1 0 0 0 –2
Work column * pivot element
x1 enters the basic set replacing A1.
The first iteration gives the following table:
Table 3.16: The first iteration table
x1 x2 x1 A1 S2 S3
0 0 0 –1 0 0
X1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
–
2 2 2
S2 0 0 5 1 1 1 0 1
2 2 –2
S3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 4
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Phase II:
Consider the original objective function,
Maximise z = 3x1 – x2 + 0S1 + 0S2 + 0S3
x S
Subject to x1 + 2 – 1 =1
2 2
5 S
x2 + 1 + S2 =1
2 2
x2 + S3 = 4
x1, x2, S1, S2, S3 0
With the initial solution x1 = 1, S2 = 1, S3 = 4, the corresponding simplex
table is
Table 3.17: The corresponding simplex table
x1 x2 S1 S2 S3
3 –1 0 0 0 Ratio
x1 3 1 1 1 0 0 1
–
2 2
S2 0 0 5 1 1 0 1 1
= 2
2 2 * 1
2
S3 0 0 1 0 0 1 4
0 5 2 0 0 3
–
2 3
Work column * pivot element
Proceeding to the next iteration, we get the following table:
Table 3.18: The Phase II iteration table
x1 x2 S1 S2 S3
3 –1 0 0 0
x1 3 1 3 0 1 0 2
S1 0 0 5 1 2 0 2
S3 0 0 1 0 0 1 4
0 10 0 3 0 6
Since all elements of the last row are non negative, the current solution is
optimal.
The maximum value of the objective function
Z = 6 which is attained for x1 = 2, x2 = 0.
Solved Problem 7
Maximise z = 3x1 + 2x2,
Subject to 2x1 + x2 2,
3x1 + 4x2 – S2 + A1 12,
x1, x2 0
Rewriting in the standard form,
Maximise z = 3x1 + 2x2 + 0S1 + 0.S2 – MA1
Subject to 2x1 + x2 + S1 = 2
3x1 + 4x2 – S2 + A1 = 2
x1, x2, S1, S2, A1 0
Solving the above using the two phase method.
Phase I:
Consider the new objective function
Maximise z* = – A1
Subject to 2x1 + x2 + S1 =2
3x1 + 4x2 – S2 + A1 = 12,
x1, x2, S1, S2, A1 0
The initial simplex table
Table 3.19: The initial simplex table
x1 x2 S1 S2 A1 Ratio
0 0 0 0 –1
S1 0 2 1* 1 0 0 2 2
=2
1
A1 – 1 3 4 0 –1 1 12 12
=3
4
–3 –4 0 1 0 –12
Work column
x1 x2 S1 S2 A1
0 0 0 0 –1
X2 0 2 1 1 0 0 2
A1 – 1 –5 0 –4 –1 1 4
5 0 4 1 0 –4
Since all elements of the last row are non negative, the procedure is
complete. But the existence of non-zero artificial variables in the basic
set indicates that the problem has no solution.
Solved Problem 8
Minimise = Z = 3x1 + 8x2
Subject to
x1 + x2 = 200
x1 80
x2 60
x1, x2 0
Solution:
In a standard form
Minimise Z = 3x1 + 8x2 + MA1 + OS1 + MA2 + OS2
Subject to
x1 + x2 +A1 = 200
x1 – S1 + A2 = 80
x2 + S2 = 60
S1, S2, A1, A2 0
-M A1 0 0 1 -1 1 60 60
1
R1 = R 1
P.E
1
-3 x1 1 0 -1 0 0 80 -ve R2 = R 2
1 1
-8 x2 0 1 0 1 0 60 R3 = R 3 – R 1
-M+
M-
Zj - Cj 0 0 3 0 0
8
KC
Transfor-
C.B B.V x1 x2 S1 S2 Qty Ratio
mation
1
0 S1 0 0 1 -1 60 - ve R1 = R 1
1 1
-3 x1 1 0 0 -1 140 -ve R2 = R 2 + R 1
-8 x2 0 1 0 1 60 80 K 1 1
R R3 = R 1
P.E
Zj - Cj 0 0 0 -5
Cj -3 -8 0 0
0 S2 0 1 0 1 60 R31 = R3
Zj - Cj 0 4 0 0
3.8 Summary
This unit explains how to solve LPP using the simplex method. The unit also
explains the constraints for which you need to introduce the slack, surplus
and artificial variables. Examples are used to illustrate the method of solving
LPP using the simplex method.
1. False
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. No
8. Yes
9. Yes
10. Yes
Answers to Terminal Questions
1. Z = 9 X1 = 3 X2 = 0
2. Z = 5.8 X1 = 8/3 X2 = 6
3.11 References