Research On Quay Crane Collaborative Scheduling Among Vessels In Container Terminal

Loading and unloading containers by quay cranes(QCs) is studied in this paper. Based on synchronized loading and unloading technology, and combined with actual scheduling method in terminals, quay crane collaborative scheduling among vessels is proposed. Mathematical models are established to minimize the maximum delay time of all ships. Partheno-genetic algorithms(PGAs) are adopted to solve this problem. The optimal loading and unloading sequence and the ships’ departure time are got by numerical simulation. It is verified that quay crane collaborative scheduling is helpful to improve the operation efficiency of QCs and has a positive meaning to reduce the waste of resources by compared with traditional mode. The main research contents of this paper are introduced as follow:Firstly, the research background and significance are introduced, as well as the layout of container terminal production process, the handing facilities, and the related terms of terminal, which lay the foundation for the follow-up proposed handling method.Secondly, QC scheduling method for single ship is proposed. Mathematical model is established to minimize the operation time of the ship and PGA is designed to solve this problem. Then QC scheduling method based on synchronized loading and unloading for single ship is proposed. It verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method by compared with traditional QC scheduling method.Thirdly, QC collaborative scheduling methods among vessels which static arriving and dynamic arriving are proposed to solve the loading and unloading problem. Mathematical models are established and PGAs are designed to solve the problems. The optimal loading and unloading sequence are got to compare with traditional mode so that it verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods.Finally, QC collaborative scheduling method among vessels is applied to The Second Container Terminal Co. Ltd. of Ningbo Beilun harbor. By the real date calculation, the advantage of the collaborative scheduling method and synchronized loading and unloading operation method in container terminal are proved concerning handing efficiency.