Simulation-based Optimization Of Inland Function Zones Arrangement In Coastal Ro-Pax Terminals

Passenger and cargo ro-ro transport,which possesses the advantages of express,convenience,sharing by passenger and cargo,and high cost performance,is a major part of water carriage.Ro-ro transport plays an important role in the economic development in the areas of the Bohai sea,the South China Sea,the East China Sea and the Yangtze River,so that ro-ro transport gets the attention and support from national policy.With the optimization of economic structure and transformation and upgrading of port development in China,ro-ro transport industry is developing towards high speed,large scale and touristification.Meantime,as the development of diversification and personalization in water transportation service’s demands and the implementation of green and safe development concept,the requirement of layout refinement being included in planning and design stage are increasing.It is necessary to study the inland function zone arrangement and the determination of the main function zones’ scale.Therefore,aimed at higher efficiency,safety level and environmental friendly level,this paper carries out a research concerning about the modeling theory and method of inland function zone arrangement in coastal ro-pax terminal,considering function zone layout mode and traffic organization mode.Firstly,this paper gives an introduction to categories of inland function zones and the processes of terminal operations in coastal Ro-Pax terminal,and sums up the layout features of domestic and foreign coastal Ro-Pax terminal to better understand the in/out process of passengers and vehicles.Then a method which include both simulation model and evaluation system is proposed.The micro simulation model of coastal Ro-Pax terminal operation system is built based on Multi-Agent Simulation(MSA)technology,while the evaluation system of inland function zone arrangement in coastal ro-pax terminal is put forward according to the principle of green and safe development based on entropy weight theory.At the end,a case study is given.A basic scheme is designed according to layout characteristics of domestic coastal Ro-Pax terminal.The basic layout scheme is analyzed by the simulation optimization model,and the set of improved layout schemes is designed in contrast to the basic scheme.The improved schemes are analyzed from the aspects of land use efficiency,operation efficiency,safety level and environmental friendly level.The recommended scheme is given and the results show that the merger of vehicle waiting areas,queuing organization of the passengers and the set-up of service hall have significant effect on improving operation efficiency,safety and environmental friendly level.This paper could provide important reference to the safety management and green development of coastal Ro-Pax terminal,as well as technical support for the planning and design of coastal Ro-Pax terminal.