Abstract
In this article, we study a single-machine scheduling problem in which the processing time of a job is a nonlinear function of its basic processing time and starting time. The objectives are to minimise the makespan, the sum of weighted completion times and the sum of the kth powers of completion times. We show that the makespan minimisation problem can be solved in polynomial time. However, the total completion time and the sum of the kth powers of completion times minimisation problems can be solved in polynomial time in some cases. Besides, some useful properties are also provided for the sum of weighted completion times problem under certain conditions.
Acknowledgements
We wish to express our appreciation to the Editor-in-Chief and the three referees for the valuable comments and suggestions on earlier versions of this article. This research is supported in part by the National Science Council of Taiwan, Republic of China, under grant number NSC-97-2221-E150-056-MY2.