Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Multi-objective Optimization for Equitable Post-Disaster Relief Supply Distribution

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/0p096g13m

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  • Humanitarian logistics in the post-disaster phase of an earthquake requires detailed planning about the relief distribution network including assigning available distribution centers (DCs) to the affected areas, distribution of the relief commodities demanded by the affected population, and efficient allocation of the available vehicle fleet for the distribution in a short span of time. As the demand for relief commodities changes dynamically, the allocation of relief commodities requires a multi-period emergency plan to fully utilize the emergency resources efficiently. Furthermore, as a disaster occurs suddenly without any warning, relief supplies are insufficient in the initial phase of the disaster. At such times, the decision makers face difficulties distributing the available supplies equitably across all the affected areas without putting any particular community at risk. This study focuses on two different dimensions: efficiency and equity by minimizing the total unmet demand as well as minimizing the total travel time to satisfy demand at different nodes across different time periods while requiring that the percentage of satisfied demand at each node is within a specified deviation range from the average demand satisfaction rate for all nodes. To address this problem, a deterministic multi-objective mathematical programming formulation is developed to model the design of a disaster relief distribution network with the primary objective of minimizing the total unmet demand across all demand nodes and the secondary objective of minimizing the total transportation time. The model is solved using the lexicographic method for a problem instance of a Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake in the state of Oregon. Four scenarios are evaluated for two different earthquake magnitudes with different levels of damage to candidate DCs. Pareto optimal frontiers are obtained to determine the trade-off between the unmet demand and the total travel time for these scenarios. The model results show that an equitable distribution of relief commodities is possible at a relatively high demand satisfaction rate when supplies are still limited but the number of vehicles for two different modes of transportation is large. Moreover, shortages in vehicles significantly increase the unmet demand across different demand nodes. Overall, this research provides useful insights about the characteristics of the relief distribution network and provides a method for trade-off analysis that decision-makers can use to improve the efficiency of humanitarian logistics in a post-disaster setting.
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