Research On Yard Gate System On Container Terminals Based On Simulation Optimization Method

The gate system on container terminals is the operation channel for trucks to carry containers to move into or out of the container yard and is the important role in the operations of container yard. Actually, the performance of the gate system plays an important role in enhancement of service quality of ports. An optimal planning and scheduling on the gate system of the container terminal will not only cut down construction cost but also reduce the service time for customers. Mark out the gate's layout logically and schedule gate's resources reasonably, interconnect gate management with yard information organically and real-timely, take good use of port resources, all these are the powerful method to improve the ability of port operations.At the beginning of the paper, the theory of simulation of discrete-event system and the principle of simulation optimization method are researched thoroughly. On this basic, the paper analyses the applicability and feasibility of applied these theories in problems of the gate system of container yard.Secondly, the paper discusses the operation flow of the gate system on container terminal, considering the uncertain and stochastic activities in the system; the discrete-event system simulation model based on queue theory is built, and simulates operations of the actual system with visual simulation software Arena. Moreover, validate the simulation model so that the model can be considered to be accurately representing the real system.Thirdly, the formulation of mathematical programming model is established including the planning objectives and constraints according to the analysis on the operation requirement of the gate system. The optimal objective is to minimize the total cost of construction and ensure the desired operation efficiency. To solve the optimal planning problem, the requirement for optimization algorithm suit for the simulation model is discussed and the approach of simulation optimization is presented, and an actual case is analyzed to illustrate the validity and effectiveness.At last, according to the disproportion of the amount of arriving trucks, gate system's online real-time scheduling operation is discusses. The formulation of mathematical programming model is established to optimize the number of gate lanes in every scheduling interval in one day, including the scheduling objectives and constraints according to the...