An efficient heuristic procedure for partitioning graphs

BW Kernighan, S Lin - The Bell system technical journal, 1970 - ieeexplore.ieee.org
The Bell system technical journal, 1970ieeexplore.ieee.org
We consider the problem of partitioning the nodes of a graph with costs on its edges into
subsets of given sizes so as to minimize the sum of the costs on all edges cut. This problem
arises in several physical situations—for example, in assigning the components of electronic
circuits to circuit boards to minimize the number of connections between boards. This paper
presents a heuristic method for partitioning arbitrary graphs which is both effective in finding
optimal partitions, and fast enough to be practical in solving large problems.
We consider the problem of partitioning the nodes of a graph with costs on its edges into subsets of given sizes so as to minimize the sum of the costs on all edges cut. This problem arises in several physical situations — for example, in assigning the components of electronic circuits to circuit boards to minimize the number of connections between boards. This paper presents a heuristic method for partitioning arbitrary graphs which is both effective in finding optimal partitions, and fast enough to be practical in solving large problems.
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