Process plant layout using an improvement-type algorithm

This paper presents an efficient solution approach for large-scale, single-floor process plant layout problems based on mixed integer optimisation. The final plant layouts (i.e. coordinates and dimensions for each equipment item) are determined from an initial feasible solution followed by an iterative improvement procedure. The applicability of the solution algorithm is demonstrated through a number of illustrative examples. The computational results indicate that the proposed approach successfully achieves good quality solutions for examples with up to 36 facilities with modest computational requirements.