Optimal design of batch-storage network under sporadic operating time loss

The purpose of this study was to find an analytic solution for the optimal capacity of a batch-storage network that meets the demand for finished products under sporadic operating time losses. Batch processes are prone to random but infrequent operating time losses. Two common remedies for such failures are the duplication of the process and increases in the process and storage capacity, which are both very costly. A model that minimizes the total cost, which consists of setup and inventory holding costs as well as the capital costs of constructing processes and storage units, has been developed by using the framework of a batch-storage network with the flows that are susceptible to sporadic operating time losses. A graphical analysis for the estimation of the upper and lower bounds of the flows under sporadic shutdowns is used in this approach. The advantage of our model is that it provides a set of simple analytic solutions in spite of its realistic description of the material flows between processes and storage units.