Handling Resources Scheduling Optimization Of "Ships, Yard, Trains" Container Port

Container multimodal transport is intergrated in different modes of transport with container as transport unit. It is an advanced form transport organizing and the developing direction of freight transport. As an important form of container multimodal transport, container sea-rail transportation integrates the advantages of container transportation, waterway transportation and railway transportation, with characteristics of high efficiency, low cost, safe, reliable, energy-saving and environmental protection. Container sea-rail port is the key point of container sea-rail transport. The operational efficiency of container sea-rail port has important influence on the overall efficiency of container sea-rail transport system. The handling resources scheduling is very complexity in container "ships, yard, trains" mode port because that it is the place for loading and unloading of vessels, trains and trucks at the same time. Therefore, it is important to estimate scheduling models and methods of handling resources in container "ships, yard, trains" mode port.The handling resources of container "ships, yard, trains" mode port as the object was researched in this paper, and the handling resources scheduling optimization of container "ships, yard, trains" mode port was focused. The major research contents of the paper are summarized as follows:(1) System analysis of container sea-rail port. Container sea-rail port is a dynamic, nonlinear and complex system, and influenced by many factors. It analyses the causality feedback loops of container sea-rail intermodal transportation system with 6 relevant factors such as hinterland economy. The SD model of container sea-rail intermodal transportation system was established to forecast the transportation volume in container sea-rail port.(2) Definition of handing resources in container "ships, yard, trains" mode port. The function, layout and handling resources of container sea-rail port are investigated. On this basis, the operation mode of container sea-rail port is divided into 2 kinds. The differences of 2 operation modes are analyzed with transshipment cost, time and operation procedure. The operation mode of port and its handling resources in this paper are defined. It is the foundation for handling resources scheduling optimization.(3) Study on storage resources allocation optimization. The space allocation optimization problem based on mixed storage in container "ships, yard, trains" mode port. The pending containers in the storage yard include containers of vessels, trains and trucks. The two-stage space allocation optimization model is proposed and solved. In the first stage, output and input container volumes are balanced among various blocks. To reduce container overlapping amounts, the relative optimal slots are allocated in the second stage. The algorithm to solve the first stage problem is presented based on simulated annealing algorithm and the second stage problem is solved by heuristic algorithm. The field data from certain container "ships, yard, trains" mode port is used to test the two-stage model and algorithms and the results show that they are effectiveness and efficiencies.(4) Study on yard cranes scheduling optimization. The yard crane scheduling optimization problem in container "ships, yard, trains" mode port is investigated. The multi-objective optimization model is proposed, including the minimization of the total delayed workloads and operation balance. The algorithm to solve the multi-objective optimization model is presented in base of objectives coordination optimization idea. A numerical example shows the validity of the model and algorithm. Comparison of scheduling schemes shows that the total delayed workloads and yard crane operation balance are depending on the optimization objective. On this basis, the multi-objective model of yard cranes scheduling optimization is solved and tested. The result shows that the model and the algorithm are effective for container yard cranes scheduling in container "ships, yard, trains" mode port.(5) Study on container trucks scheduling optimization. The dynamic scheduling model of container trucks in container "ships, yard, trains" mode port is investigated. The pending containers of container trucks include containers of ships and trains. The coordination optimization scheduling model of container trucks and quay cranes, yard cranes, rail-mounted cranes is proposed to minimize the total completion time, including trucks operation time and waiting time. The improved two-level heuristic algorithm was developed to solve the problem. The model is solved to obtain the trucks operation routs of containers transportation, including the loading and unloading containers for ships and trains. In this scheduling scheme, the trucks are shared between the different operation lines. Example analysis shows that the total completion time and trucks load ratio are optimized.According to the study on handling resources scheduling optimization in container "ships, yard, trains" mode port, the paper can not only enrich the theory of container multimodal transportation, and provide the theoretical support for the decision and operation of container sea-rail port. It is significance to improve space utilization, speed up the transshipment and reduce the operating costs in container sea-rail port.