An approach for solving nonlinear multi-objective separable discrete optimization problem with one constraint

We propose an exact solution approach for solving nonlinear multi-objective optimization problems with separable discrete variables and a single constraint. The approach converts the multi-objective problem into a single objective problem by using surrogate multipliers from which we find all the solutions with objective values within a given range. We call this the surrogate target problem which is solved by using an algorithm based on the modular approach. Computational experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in solving large-scale problems. A simple example is presented to illustrate an interactive decision making process. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.