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A Closed Queueing Networks Approach for an Optimal Heterogeneous Fleet Size of an Inter-Facility Bulk Material Transfer System

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submitted on 2024-03-27, 06:27 and posted on 2024-03-27, 06:27 authored by Mohamed Amjath, Laoucine Kerbache, James MacGregor Smith

Background: This study addresses optimising fleet size in a system with a heterogeneous truck fleet, aiming to minimise transportation costs in interfacility material transfer operations. Methods: The material transfer process is modelled using a closed queueing network (CQN) that considers heterogeneous nodes and customised service times tailored to the unique characteristics of various truck types and their transported materials. The optimisation problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP), falling into the NP-Hard, making exact solution computation challenging. A numerical approximation method, a modified sequential quadratic programming (SQP) method coupled with a mean value analysis (MVA) algorithm, is employed to overcome this challenge. Validation is conducted using a discrete event simulation (DES) model. Results: The proposed analytical model tested within a steel manufacturing plant’s material transfer process. The results showed that the analytical model achieved comparable optimisation of the heterogeneous truck fleet size with significantly reduced response times compared to the simulation method. Furthermore, evaluating performance metrics, encompassing response time, utilisation rate, and cycle time, revealed minimal discrepancies between the analytical and the simulation results, approximately ±8%, ±8%, and ±7%, respectively. Conclusions: These findings affirm the presented analytical approach’s robustness in optimising interfacility material transfer operations with heterogeneous truck fleets, demonstrating real-world applications.

Other Information

Published in: Logistics
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/logistics8010026

Funding

Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

MDPI

Publication Year

  • 2024

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • Hamad Bin Khalifa University
  • College of Science and Engineering - HBKU

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