Designing Container Blocks with Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes in Container Terminals

This paper discusses a method of determining the optimal design of a block. A horizontal layout of blocks is assumed in which transfer points are located at a side of the block. Each block has several transfer points (TPs) each of which is assigned to a group of adjacent bays and located at the center of the assigned group. The goal is to find the optimal size of a block and the optimal number of TPs while minimizing the total cost consisting of the fixed and operational cost of yard cranes (YCs), the operational cost of internal trucks, and the installation cost of TPs. Constraints on the maximum expected system time of trucks are imposed for the optimization. Formulas for estimating handling operation cycle times of a YC are derived analytically. Numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate optimal block designs for a given set of data.