Optimal hybrid control of a two-stage manufacturing system

Abstract

We consider a two-stage serial hybrid system for which the arrival times are known and the service times are controllable. We derive some optimal sample path characteristics, in particular, we show that no buffering is observed between stages. The original non-smooth optimal control problem is first transformed into a convex optimization problem which is then simplified by the no buffer property. Further simplifications are possible for the bulk arrival case. © 2006 IEEE.