Optimal design of multi-type component allocation system with shared positions

Modular design is a common idea in modern system design. In a modular system, since most components are modular, components with the same function but different qualities can swap positions with each other. Therefore, from the perspective of reliability engineering, component allocation of modular systems (that is, placing high -quality components in key positions and lower -quality components in other positions) has become an efficient quality control method. Component allocation problem, also termed CAP, has become a specialized class of problems and is widely used in multiple industries such as hydraulics and communications. However, it is noticed that when CAPs are applied to some complex systems in reality, some new situations such as shared positions will arise, making the modeling and solving of CAP more complicated. For example, in the installation of communication base stations, operators generally only allow base station facilities within their own sphere of influence to install their own base stations. Also, for economic reasons, communication operators in nearby areas are willing to share the positions of boundaries between different regions. The introduction of shared positions has become a difficult problem in the current field of CAPs. To the best of our knowledge, existing works do not address the multi -type component allocation problem with shared positions. Therefore, this paper establishes a new component allocation model for multi -type component allocation problem with shared positions, namely SP-MCAP, based on the scenario of base station installation in communication systems. Then, an integrated genetic algorithm, termed the BI -based two -stage genetic algorithm (BITSGA), is designed to address it. To verify the efficiency of BITSGA, some numerical experiments are performed, respectively. Finally, a case on a wireless transmission system is given to show its application in real -world problems.