A Refined Collaborative Scheduling Method for Multi-Equipment at U-Shaped Automated Container Terminals Based on Rail Crane Process Optimization

A U-shaped automated container terminal (ACT) has been proposed for the first time globally and has been adopted to construct the Beibu Gulf Port ACT. In this ACT layout, the double cantilevered rail crane (DCRC) simultaneously provides loading and unloading services for the external container trucks (ECTs) and the automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) entering the yard. The DCRC has a complex scheduling coupling relationship with the AGV and the ECT, and its mathematical model is extremely complex. There is an urgent need to study a practical collaborative scheduling optimization model and algorithm for the DCRC, the AGV, and the ECT. In this paper, we optimize the process flow of DCRCs to study the refined collaborative scheduling model of DCRCs, AGVs and ECTs in U-shaped ACTs. Firstly, we analyze the operation process of the DCRC and divide the 16 loading and unloading conditions of the DCRC into four operation modes for process optimization. Secondly, different variables and parameters are set for the DCRC’s four operating modes, and a refined collaborative dispatching model for the DCRCs with AGVs and ECTs is proposed. Finally, a practical adaptive co-evolutionary genetic algorithm solves the model. Meanwhile, arithmetic examples verify the correctness and practicality of the model and algorithm. The experimental results show that the total running time of the DCRCs is the shortest in the U-shaped ACT when the number of quay cranes (QC) to DCRC and AGV ratios are 1:2 and 1:10, respectively. At the same time, the number of QCs and DCRCs has a more significant impact on the efficiency of the ACT than that of AGVs, and priority should be given to the allocation of QCs and DCRCs. The research results have essential guidance value for U-shaped ACTs under construction and enrich the theory and method of collaborative scheduling of U-shaped ACT equipment.