Performance Analysis on Transfer Platforms in Frame Bridge Based Automated Container Terminals

Hongtao Hu,Youfang Huang,Ek Peng Chew,Byung Kwon Lee,Loo Hay Lee

doi:10.1155/2013/593847

Abstract

This paper studies a new automated container terminal (ACT) system which utilizes multistory frame bridges and rail-mounted trolleys to transport containers between the quay and the yard. Beside typical ACT systems use trucks or automated guided vehicles for transporting containers between quay cranes and yard cranes, the new design uses three types of handling machines, namely, ground trolleys (GTs), transfer platforms (TPs), and frame trolleys (FTs). These three types of handling machines collaborate with one another to transport containers. This study decomposes the system into several subsystems. Each subsystem has one TP and several FTs and GTs dedicated to this TP. Then, a Markov chain model is developed to analyze the throughput of TPs. At last, the performance of the new ACT system is estimated. Sensitivity analyzes the numbers, and the processing rates of trolleys are conducted through the numeric experiments.

Highlights

Port operators face challenges in handling large number of containers which growing fast when global trade increases
This paper introduces a new type of Automated Container Terminal (ACT) system and makes an explorative study to identify the challenges for the Frame Bridge based Automated Container Terminal (FB-ACT) system
It is assumed that a transfer platforms (TPs) is dedicated to a block and the system consists of several single TP systems which serve certain numbers of frame trolleys (FTs) and ground trolleys (GTs)

Summary

Introduction

Port operators face challenges in handling large number of containers which growing fast when global trade increases. In many developed countries where labor cost is very high, we are seeing an increasing use of Automated Container Terminal (ACT) by port operators. Port operators can concentrate on controlling the automatic traffic of different machines for loading and unloading operations while the land side operation is almost impossible to be automated Under this yard layout, as the yard cranes need to perform the round-trip travel in a block, the travel time of yard cranes would affect the terminal productivity. On the rails along aside of a dedicated block; FTs travel on the rail of the stories in frame bridges located in the quay side; TPs transfer containers between the two types of trolleys.

Literature Review

Problem Description and Modeling

Throughput Analysis of the Single TP System

Application of the Single TP Model for Analyzing Configurations of an FB-ACT

Conclusions