In mining, deposits are divided into blocks, forming the basis for open-pit mine planning, covering production and haulage route planning. Current studies often stage optimization and lack the consideration of road capacity, leading to suboptimal solutions. A novel approach integrates production scheduling and haulage route planning through a bilevel optimization model. The upper-level model integrates ore mining constraints to establish a mixed-integer production scheduling model, minimizing haulage costs. Spatiotemporal correlation constraints for block mining are determined using a two-stage algorithm. The lower-level model incorporates road capacity, forming a haulage route optimization model based on multicommodity network flow. A solution algorithm with a distance penalty strategy facilitates feedback between the upper and lower levels, achieving optimal solutions. Tested on a real open-pit coal mine with over 5 million blocks, this approach reduces haulage costs by 10.06% compared to stage optimization. Additionally, this approach allows for adjusting haulage demand in both temporal and spatial dimensions, effectively preventing road congestion. This study advances rational mining processes and enhances the efficiency of open-pit mining haulage systems.
The cross-line operation (CO) of trains in urban rail transit is an effective method to efficiently satisfy transfer passenger travel demand as well as relieve the pressure of transfer stations. The primary problem of CO is designing train services to satisfy travel demand with an uneven spatial distribution of passengers. This study constructs a nonlinear integer programming model with a novel train operation scheme, i.e., virtual coupling (VC) technology, which allows the coupling/decoupling of trains on different lines at both ends of each operation zone. This scheme makes the train capacity equitably distributed in each operation zone, thereby balancing train capacity utilization over the whole CO system. Regarding the nonlinear characteristics of the proposed model, an adaptive simulated annealing genetic algorithm (ASA-GA) was designed to quickly generate high-quality solutions. Based on real-world data from the Beijing Changping Line and Line 13, the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm were verified. The computation results show that in comparison to a single grouping train composition scheme without CO, a VC scheme with CO would reduce operation costs by 46.8%, with 80.6% savings of train capacity equity. Furthermore, the average passenger residence time would be reduced by 25.9%.
4 November 2025 in Expert Systems with Applications
Efficient truck–shovel allocation is essential for optimizing open-pit mining operations, but the integration of heterogeneous diesel and electric fleets introduces complex scheduling challenges, including charging requirements, range limitations, and equipment capacity constraints. This study proposes an integrated allocation framework tailored to heterogeneous fleets, formulating a multi-objective optimization model that minimizes transportation cost and waiting time under realistic constraints. An enhanced multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm with adaptive penalty mechanisms is developed, providing superior convergence and computational efficiency compared to traditional methods. A case study demonstrates that heterogeneous fleets achieve a better trade-off, with a balanced fleet configuration reducing transportation cost by 26.1% and waiting time by 19.2% compared to pure diesel and electric fleets, respectively. Sensitivity analyses reveal that fluctuations in fuel and electricity prices reshape the trade-off, while faster charging enhances electric truck competitiveness but increases diesel idle time. These findings offer practical insights for configuring heterogeneous fleets and adapting scheduling strategies in dynamic energy and technology environments, supporting sustainable mining operations.