A comprehensive study on new conceptual container handling system

With global transshipment trade increasing, new design solutions are required to keep the desired performance of the terminal. In this scope, this study introduces a new terminal solution, the Single GRID module (SGM). In order to scale the SGM we propose and compare two solutions: the Hybrid GRID (H-GRID) and the Extended GRID (E-GRID). Both implementations and the SGM use extensively simulation as a means to evaluate system performance. With H-GRID, we develop an integrated and modular concept. In this case, despite the routing is simplified to that of the SGM, the storage allocation problem becomes challenging. We propose an innovative index-based policy for allocation that is easily scalable to large systems and proves to be better than traditional rules. E-GRID scales up the SGM design by proposing a routing strategy to control the container flow within the yard and avoiding conflicts between Transfer Units (TU) travelling in opposite directions.