A methodology for modeling and adaptive planning of disassembly processes

A principal process during the remanufacturing of worn-out or malfunctioning products is disassembly that enables the dumping, cleaning, repair or replacement of components as desired. Products subjected to disassembly exhibit uncertainty in the product structure and component conditions. Hence the termination goal (the level of disassembly) is subject to change, and the disassembly plan must be adapted. This paper proposes a mathematically sound disassembly Petri net (DPN) for the modeling and adaptive planning of disassembly processes. The planning algorithm guarantees the optimal remanufacturing value when each node's utility function (benefit of a subassembly or part and cost of a disassembly operation) is fixed. It can be modified to deal with the cases when the disassembly operation success rates vary with the product condition and reliability of resources performing the operations. The proposed methodology and algorithms are demonstrated through the sample disassembly of a telephone.