INVESTIGATION OF PORT CAPACITY BY COMPUTER SIMULATION MODEL

Riya jayasankar08MS06F

OVERVIEWIntroductionStatistical analysisPort terminal simulation modelCurrent systemProposed systemThe structure of the modelSimulation resultsCase studyConclusion

INTRODUCTIONA port simulation model is a facility used by port management for determining the effects of changes in throughput, and various operational, technological and investment options and, thus, to assist in decision making process

Statistical analysisThe most important elements in a port system ship manoeuvring berthingde-berthing (or berth utilisation) crane allocation/ship (or service time) and stacking area's activityThe operational failure to any of the above elements will have a direct impact on ships and their behaviour in port including ships' queuing.

Port terminal simulation modelCommonly used simulation softwares areSimview version 2.31Simview(1995)GPSS/HSimprocessSimfactory version 6.1Taylor II

The structure of the model

The procedures for assigning vessels, berths, gantry cranes, RTG cranes and straddle carriers/forklifts combined with rail/road transport and stacking area are the main frame of the model for simulation

Base-plan for simulation model.

Simulation results

In the current system, after unloading process, all unloaded containers are stacked on the designated slots in terminal in the proposed model, large portion of containers are taken to DCs by rail shortly after unloading.

Saving derived from the proposed system

(a) the presence of distribution centres in the chain of transport improves the method of terminal operations (b) creates more space for container stacking(c) reduces congestion within terminal(d) reduces ship's time at port(e) increases berth availability

Case study

To obtain meaningful measurements a set of real-time data regarding arrival/departure of ships from arriving to a container terminal was studied in Melbourne as a case study

Table 1 illustrates some of the statistical data derived from 1999 real-time operations.

Table 2. Illustrates statistics of the real-time operation used for modelling purposes

ResultsThe presence of every extra ship at berth influences the level of congestion of that terminal.

The level of terminal occupancy for two different methods of operations is

The dwell time element plays a major role in terminal capacity calculations any reduction in container's dwell time will lead to increase in space for container stacking and lesser terminal congestion.

Simulation results for comparison purposes

Simulated elementsValue(current)Value(proposed)Ships time at berth(h)20,33018,765Stacking area occupancy(,%)43.962525.1275Berth occupancy(,%)46.666635.7000

The proposed method of ship-to-rail direct loading combined with distribution centre also provides the following saving: Ship's time at berth reduced by 8% leading to approximately $2.7m saving per annum.Container terminals' expansion will be decreasedinventory cost reduced by 46% ($20m/annum)improve the environment by using trains rather than truck leading to saving in the usage of energy

CONCLUSIONThe use of computer simulation has become a standard approach for evaluating design of complex cargo handling facilities. It enabled us to investigate the positive impact of ship-to-rail direct loading on the capacity of a container terminal using the real-time statistics

REFERENCESE.G.Frankel(1987).terminal capacity,port planning and developmentPIANC(1992). Overview of simulation techniques.www.sciencedirect.com

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