Simulation of a Container Terminal through a Discrete Event Approach: Literature Review and Guidelines for Application

This paper discusses how design and project appraisal of container terminals may be carried out through two main approaches: optimization or simulation. Although the approaches based on optimization models allow a more elegant and compact formulation of the problem, simulation models are mainly based on discrete event simulation (DES) models and help to achieve several aims: overcome mathematical limitations of optimization approaches, support and make computer-generated strategies/policies more understandable, and support decision makers in daily decision processes through a “what if” approach. Several applications of DES models have been proposed and simulation results confirm that such an approach is quite effective at simulating container terminal operations. Most of the contributions in the literature develop object-oriented simulation models and pursue a macroscopic approach which gathers elementary handling activities (e.g. using cranes, reach stackers, shuttles) into a few macro-activities (e.g. unloading vessels: crane-dock-reach stacker-shuttle-yard), simulate the movement of an “aggregation” of containers and therefore do not take into account the effects of container types, the incidence of different handling activities that may seem similar but show different time duration and variability/dispersion (e.g. crane unloading a container to dock or to a shuttle) and the differences within the same handling activity (e.g. stacking/loading/unloading time with respect to the tier number). Such contributions primarily focus on modeling architecture, on software implementation issues and on simulating design/real scenarios.

• Record URL:
  • https://aetransport.org/past-etc-papers/conference-papers-pre-2009/conference-papers-2009
• Corporate Authors:

  Association for European Transport (AET)

  1 Vernon Mews, Vernon Street, West Kensington
  London W14 0RL,    
• Authors:
  • Cartenì, Armando
  • de Luca, Stefano
• Conference:
  • European Transport Conference, 2009
  • Location: Leiden Leeuwenhorst Conference Centre , Netherlands
  • Date: 2009-10-5 to 2009-10-7
• Publication Date: 2009

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 21p
• Monograph Title: European Transport Conference, 2009 Proceedings

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Container terminals; Container traffic; Cranes; Decision making; Guidelines; Loading and unloading; Optimization; Port operations; Simulation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Discrete event simulation; Stacking cranes
• Subject Areas: Design; Freight Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Terminals and Facilities; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01344865
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 20 2011 7:24AM