Design and Optimization of a Conceptual Automated Yard using Overhead Grid Rail System

Disclaimer The Contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation Centers Program, and California Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government and California Department of Transportation assume no liability for the contents or use thereof. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the State of California or Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Abstract Booming world trade, scarcity of land for yard expansion in many ports, and deployment of new massive megaships have magnified the need for finding better ways of performing container terminal operations. High-density, automated container terminals are currently considered as a candidate to improve the performance of container terminals. The overhead Grid Rail (GR) system is such a candidate, offering the advantages of high storage density, fast loading/unloading, flexibility and reliability and no interference between manual and automated operations. Moreover, contrary to other automated container concepts, the simplicity of GR operations makes the development of optimal or nearly optimal dispatching algorithms possible. The purpose of this study is to design and optimize an automated container yard that is equipped with a GR system (consisting of a number of GR units) for storage and retrieval of containers in the yard. Algorithms will be developed for the optimal choice of the GR system parameters (number of GR units and number of shuttles) as well as for optimal dispatching schedules.