Dr.

B Dayal
Dr. B Dayal
SIMPLEX METHOD: INTRODUCTION
 The simplex method is “a systematic procedure for
generating and testing candidate vertex solutions to a
linear program.” (Gill, murray and wright)
 The simplex method provides an efficient technique, which
can be applied for solving lpp of any magnitude involving
two or more decision variables.
 It is an iterative procedure for finding the optimal solution.
 Simplex method, according to its iterative search, selects
the optimal solution from among the set of feasible
solutions to the problem.
 It considers minimum number of feasible solutions to
obtain an optimal solution..
 STANDARD FORM OF LPP
The characteristics of the standard form of LPP are:
 All constraints are equations. The right hand side element
of each constraint equation is non-negative.
 All the variables are non-negative
 The objective function is of maximization type.
The inequality constraints of equations are obtained by
adding or subtracting the left hand side of each constraint
by a non-negative variable.
 Introduce slack variables (s1) for “≤” type of constraints.
 Introduce surplus variables (si) and artificial variables (ai)
for “≥” type of constraints.
 Introduce only artificial variable for “=“ type of constraints.
 Cost (cj) of slack and surplus variables will be zero and
that of artificial variable will be “m”.
 SOLVED PROBLEM 1

CONSIDER THE LPP

MINIMISE Z = 4X1 + X2

SUBJECT TO 3X1 + X2 = 3
4X1 + 3X2 ≥ 6
X1 + 2X2 ≤ 3
X1, X2 ≥ 0

Convert it by introducing slack and surplus and artificial variables.

 PROCEDURE TO SOLVE PROBLEM
BY SIMPLEX METHOD
 ZJ = SUM OF [COST OF VARIABLE X ITS COEFFICIENT IN
THE CONSTRAINTS – PROFIT OR COST COEFFICIENT OF
THE VARIABLE].
 CONVERT THE PROBLEM INTO STANDARD FORM
 FIND ZJ – CJ FOR EACH VARIABLE
 SLACK AND ARTIFICIAL VARIABLES WILL FORM BASIC
VARIABLE FOR THE FIRST SIMPLEX TABLE. SURPLUS
VARIABLE WILL NEVER BECOME BASIC VARIABLE FOR
THE FIRST SIMPLEX TABLE.
 SELECT THE MOST NEGATIVE VALUE OF ZJ – CJ. THAT
COLUMN IS CALLED KEY COLUMN. THE VARIABLE
CORRESPONDING TO THE COLUMN WILL BECOME
BASIC VARIABLE FOR THE NEXT TABLE.
 DIVIDE THE QUANTITIES BY THE CORRESPONDING
VALUES OF THE KEY COLUMN TO GET RATIOS. SELECT
 PROCEDURE TO SOLVE PROBLEM
BY SIMPLEX METHOD
THE MINIMUM RATIO. THIS BECOMES THE KEY ROW. THE
BASIC VARIABLE CORRESPONDING TO THIS ROW WILL
BE REPLACED BY THE VARIABLE FOUND IN PREVIOUS
STEP.
 THE ELEMENT THAT LIES BOTH ON KEY COLUMN AND
KEY ROW IS CALLED PIVOTAL ELEMENT.
 ONCE AN ARTIFICIAL VARIABLE IS REMOVED AS BASIC
VARIABLE, ITS COLUMN WILL BE DELETED FROM NEXT
ITERATION.
 FOR MAXIMISATION PROBLEM, DECISION VARIABLES
COEFFICIENT WILL BE SAME AS IN OBJECTIVE FUNCTION.
FOR MINIMISATION PROBLEM, DECISION VARIABLE
COEFFICIENTS WILL HAVE OPPOSITE SIGNS AS COMPARED
TO OBJECTIVE FUNCTION.
 VALUES OF ARTIFICIAL VARIABLES WILL ALWAYS BE M FOR
BOTH MAXIMISATION AND MINIMISATION PROBLEMS.
 THE PROCESS IS CONTINUED TILL ALL ZJ – CJ ≥ 0
 THE SIMPLEX ALGORITHM
STEPS
1. LOCATE THE MOST NEGATIVE NUMBER IN THE LAST
(BOTTOM) ROW OF THE SIMPLEX TABLE, EXCLUDING
THAT OF LAST COLUMN AND CALL THE COLUMN IN
WHICH THIS NUMBER APPEAR AS THE WORK COLUMN.
2. FORM RATIOS BY DEVIDING EACH POSITIVE NUMBER IN
THE WORK COLUMN, EXCLUDING THAT OF THE LAST
ROW INTO THE ELEMENT IN THE SAME ROW AND LAST
COLUMN. DESIGNATE THAT ELEMENT IN THE WORK
COLUMN THAT YIELDS THE SMALLEST RATIO AS THE
PIVOT ELEMENT. IF MORE THAN ONE ELEMENT YIELDS
THE SAME SMALLEST RATIO, CHOOSE ARBITRARILY
ONE OF THEM. IF NO ELEMENT IN THE WORK COLUMN IS
NON NEGATIVE, THE PROGRAM HAS NO SOLUTION.
3. USE ELEMENTARY ROW OPEATIONS TO CONVERT THE
PIVOT ELEMENT TO 1 AND THEN REDUCE ALL OTHER
ELEMENTS IN THE WORK COLUMN TO 0.
 THE SIMPLEX ALGORITHM
STEPS
4. REPLACE THE X VARIABLE IN THE PIVOT ROW AND
FIRST COLUMN BY X VARIABLE IN THE FIRST ROW AND
PIVOT COLUMN. THE VARIABLE, WHICH IS TO BE
REPLACED IS CALLED THE OUT GOING VARIABLE AND
THE VARIABLE THAT REPLACES IS CALLED THE
INCOMING VARIABLE. THIS NEW FIRST COLUMN IS THE
CURRENT SET OF BASIC VARIABLES.
5. REPEAT STEPS 1 THROUGH 4 UNTIL THERE ARE NO
NEGATIVE NUMBERS IN THE LAST ROW EXCLUDING THE
LAST COLUMN.
6. THE ASSOCIATED OPTIMAL VALUE OF THE OBJECTIVE
FUNCTION IS THE NUMBER IN THE LAST ROW AND LAST
COLUMN FOR A MAXIMISATION PROGRAM BUT THE
NEGATIVE OF THIS NUMBER FOR A MINIMISATION
PROBLEM.
 SOLVED PROBLEM 3
MAXIMISE Z= X1 + 9X2 + X3

SUBJECT TO X1 + 2X2 + 3X3 ≤ 9

3X1 + 2X2 + 2X3 ≤15

X1, X2, X3 ≥ 0
 SOLVED PROBLEM 4
MAXIMISE Z= 2X1 + 4X2 + X3 + X4
SUBJECT TO X1 + 3X2 + X4 ≤ 4
2X1 + X2 ≤ 3
X2 + 4X3 + X4 ≤ 3

X1, X2, X3, X4 ≥ 0

 CASESTUDY
A manufacturing firm has discontinued production of a
certain unprofitable product line. This created considerable
excess production capacity. Management is considering to
devote this excess capacity to one or more of three
product 1,2 and 3. The available capacity on the machines
which might limit output are given below:
Machine type AVAILABLE TIME
(IN MACHINE HOURS PER WEEK)
MILLING MACHINE 250
LATHE 150
GRINDER 50
The number of machine hours required for each units of the respective
product is given below;
 CASESTUDY (CONTD)

MACHINE TYPE PRODUCTIVITY (IN MACHINE HOURS/UNIT)

PRODUCT PRODUCT2 PRODUCT 3

1
MILLING MACHINE 8 2 3
LATHE 4 3 0
GRINDER 2 - 1
THE UNIT PROFIT WOULD BE 20 BIRR, 6 BIRR AND
8 BIRR FOR PRODUCTS 1,2 AND 3. FIND HOW
MUCH OF EACH PRODUCT THE FIRM SHOULD
PRODUCE IN ORDER TO MAXIMISE PROFIT ?
 PENALTY COST METHOD
OR BIG-M METHOD
CONSIDER A LPP WHEN ATLEAST ONE OF THE CONSTRAINTS IS OF
THE TYPE ≥ OR =. WHILE EXPRESSING IN THE STANDARD FORM,
ADD A NON NEGATIVE ARTIFICIAL VARIABLE TO EACH OF SUCH
CONSTRAINTS. IN OBJECTIVE FUNCTION, INCORPORATE THEM WITH
LARGE POSITIVE COEFFICIENTS FOR MINIMISATION PROGRAM AND
WITH VERY LARGE NEGATIVE COEFFICIENTS IN MAXIMISATION
PROGRAM. THESE COEFFICIENTS ARE DENOTED BY ±M.
THE MODIFICATION IN PROCEDURE
1. THE LAST ROW OF THE SIMPLEX TABLE IS DECOMPOSED INTO TWO
ROWS, THE FIRST OF WHICH INVOLVES THOSE TERMS NOT
CONTAINING M, WHILE THE SECOND INVOLVES THOSE CONTAINING
M.
2. THE TEP 1 OF THE SIMPLEX METHOD IS APPLIED TO THE LAST ROW
CREATED IN THE ABOVE MODIFICATION AND FOLLOWED BY STEPS
2,3 AND 4 UNTIL THIS ROW CONTAINS NO NEGATIVE ELEMENTS.
THEN STEP1 OF SIMPLEX ALGORITHM IS APPLIED TO THOSE
ELEMENTS NEXT TO THE LAST ROW THAT ARE POSITIONED OVER
ZERO IN THE LAST ROW.
3. WHENEVER AN ARTIFICIAL VARIABLE CEASES TO BE BASIC, IT IS
REMOVEDFROM THE FIRST COLUMN OF THE TABLE AS A RESULT OF
STEP 4. IT IS ALSO DELETED FROM THE TOP ROW OF THE TABLE
 PENALTY COST METHOD
OR BIG-M METHOD
AS IS THE ENTIRE COLUMN UNDER IT.
4. THE LAST ROW IS REMOVED FROM THE TABLE
WHENEVR IT CONTAINS ALL ZEROES.
5. IF NON ZERO ARTIFICIAL VARIABLES ARE PRESENT IN
THE FINAL BASIC SET, THEN THE PROGRAM HAS NO
SOLUTION. IN CONTRAST, ZERO VELUED ARTIFICIAL
VARIABLES IN THE FINAL SOLUTION MAY EXIST WHEN
ONE OR MORE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTRAINT
EQUATIONS ARE REDUNDANT.
 SOLVED PROBLEM 5

USE PENALTY COST METHOD TO

MAXIMISE Z = 2X1 + 3X2

SUBJECT TO X1 + 2X2 ≤ 2
6X1 + 4X2 ≥ 24
X1, X2 ≥ 0
 TWO PHASE METHOD
THE DRAW BACK OF THE PENALTY COST METHOD IS THE
POSSIBLE COMPUTATIONAL ERROR THAT COULD
RESULT FROM ASSIGNING A VERY LARGE VALUE TO
THE CONSTANT M. TO OVER COME THIS DIFFICULTY,
USE OF M IS ELIMINATED BY SOLVING THE PROBLEM IN
TWO PHASES:
PHASE1.
FORMULATE THE PROBLEM BY ELIMINATING THE
ORIGINAL OBJECTIVE FUNCTION BY THE SUM OF THE
ARTIFICIAL VARIABLES FOR A MINIMISATION PROBLEM
AND THE NEGATIVE OF THE SUM OF THE ARTIFICIAL
VARIABLES FOR MAXIMISATION PROBLEM. THE
RESULTING OBJECTIVE FUNCTION IS OPTIMISED BY THE
SIMPLEX METHOD WITH THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE
ORIGINAL PROBLEM. IF THE PROBLEM HAS THE
FEASIBLE SOLUTION, THE OPTIMAL VALUE OF THE NEW
OBJECTIVE FUNCTION IS ZERO (WHICH INDICATES THAT
ALL ARTIFICIAL VARIABLES ARE ZERO). THEN WE
PROCEED TO PHASE2. OTHERWISE, IF THE OPTIMAL
 TWO PHASE METHOD
VALUE OF THE NEW OBJECTIVE FUNCTION IS NON ZERO,
THE PROBLEM HAS NO SOLUTION AND THE METHOD
TERMINATES.
PHASE2:
USE THE OPTIMUMSOLUTION OF THE PHASE 1 AS THE
STARTING SOLUTION OF THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM. THEN
THE OBJECTIVE FUNCTION IS TAKEN WITHOUT THE
ARTIFICIAL VARIABLES AND IS SOLVED BY SIMPLEX
METHOD.
 SOLVED PROBLEM 6
USE THE TWO PHASE METHOD TO

MAXIMISE Z = 3X1 – X2
SUBJECT TO 2X1 + X2 ≥ 2
X1 + 3X2 ≤ 2
X2 ≤ 4
X1, X2 ≥ 0
 SOLVED PROBLEM 7

MAXIMISE Z = 3X1 + 2X2

SUBJECT TO 2X1 + X2 ≤ 2
3X1 + 4X2 ≥ 12
X1, X2 ≥ 0
 SOLVED PROBLEM 8

MINIMISE Z = 3X1 + 8X2

SUBJECT TO X1 + X2 = 200
X1 ≥ 80
X2 ≤ 60
X1, X2 ≥ 0
 TERMINAL QUESTION 1

MAXIMISE Z = 3X1 – X2
SUBJECT TO
X1 + 3X2 ≤ 3
2X1 + X2 ≥ 2
X2 ≤ 4
X1, X2 ≥ 0
 TERMINAL QUESTION 2

MAXIMISE Z = 6X1 + 7X2

SUBJECT TO
X1 + 3X2 ≥ 12
3X1 + X2 ≥ 12
X1 + X2 ≥ 8
X1, X2 ≥ 0