A Simulation Study on the Design of a Novel Automated Container Terminal

In this paper, we design, analyze, and evaluate a novel automated container terminal (ACT), namely, the rail-shuttle-based ACT. To analyze the performance, one detailed simulation system is built based on parametric design ideas. Two different microscopic rail-shuttle-based ACT simulation models, in which either straddle carriers (SCs) or automated guided vehicles with lifting devices (lift-AGVs) are employed, are formulated. Simulation experiments are carried out to obtain a reasonable equipment configuration for the proposed ACT. The results indicate that the performance of conventional ACTs can be improved if equipped with rail shuttles, and the performance of the rail-shuttle-based ACT with SCs exceeds that with lift-AGVs.