City-Scale Agent-Based Simulators for the Study of Non-pharmaceutical Interventions in the Context of the COVID-19 Epidemic IISc-TIFR COVID-19 City-Scale Simulation Team
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
Authors: Agrawal, Shubhada; Bhandari, Siddharth; Bhattacharjee, Anirban; Deo, Anand; Dixit, Narendra M.; Harsha, Prahladh; Juneja, Sandeep; Kesarwani, Poonam; Swamy, Aditya Krishna; Patil, Preetam; Rathod, Nihesh; Saptharishi, Ramprasad; Shriram, Sharad; Srivastava, Piyush; Sundaresan, Rajesh; Vaidhiyan, Nidhin Koshy; Yasodharan, Sarath
Abstract
We highlight the usefulness of city-scale agent-based simulators in studying various non-pharmaceutical interventions to manage an evolving pandemic. We ground our studies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrate the power of the simulator via several exploratory case studies in two metropolises, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Such tools may in time become a common-place item in the tool kit of the administrative authorities of large cities.
Modeling and Optimization of Truck-Shovel Allocation to Mining Faces in Cement Quarry
JOURNAL OF MINING AND ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Shah, K. S.; Rehman, S. U.
Abstract
Truck and shovel are the most common raw material transportation system used in the cement quarry operations. One of the major challenges associated with the cement quarry operations is the efficient allocation of truck and shovel to the mining faces. In order to minimize the truck and shovel operating cost, subject to quantity and quality constraints, the mixed integer linear programing (MILP) model for truck and shovel allocation to mining faces for cement quarry is presented. This model is implemented using the optimization IDE tool GUSEK (GLPK under SciTE Extended Kit) and the GLPK (GNU Linear Programming Kit) standalone solver. The MILP model is applied to an existing cement quarry operation, the Kohat cement quarry located at Kohat (Pakistan) as a case study. The analysis of the results of the relating case study reveals that significant gains are achievable through employing the MILP model. The results obtained not only show a significant cost reduction but also help in achieving a better coordination among the quarry and quality department.