A Solution Procedure for the Multi-Component Deterministic Opportunistic Replacement Problem

Researchers in the past dealt with the optimization problem relating to deterministic opportunistic replacement problem. Complete solutions were obtained for a two component situation for both finite and infinite time horizon. For the multi-component opportunistic replacements with fixed time horizon, a mixed integer linear programming formulation is given in the literature. In this paper, a simplified alternative approach to solving the two-component problem is given. A Dynamic Programming approach to solve the two-component problem which can be extended to K-component situation is also discussed. The mixed integer programming formulation is modified and computational advantages are discussed.