water truck routing optimization in open pit mines using the general algebraic modelling system approach

This paper presents a methodological approach for routing optimization in large scale open pit mines which is a hot topic for decreasing dust emission in mining process. for this purpose, the necessity of the research and its contribution to the knowledge is firstly described based on a comprehensive literature survey in the field. then, as an arc routing problem (arp), the mathematical model for the process is generated including the objective function, minimization of the total distance traveled by the water truck fleets, practical constraints that should be met and the used assumptions. finally, the formulated optimization problem is solved using general algebraic modelling system (gams) approach respect to the nature of the mathematical equations. the results obtained from simulations are discussed to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method in dealing with the in-hand problem. this methodological approach could be used in optimization of other similar engineering problem as well.