AGV Systems with Multi-Load Carriers: Basic Issues and Potential Benefits
Journal of Manufacturing Systems, cilt.16, sa.3, ss.159-174, 1997 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 16 Sayı: 3
- Basım Tarihi: 1997
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/s0278-6125(97)88885-1
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Manufacturing Systems
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.159-174
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Automated Guided Vehicles, Material Handling Systems, Multiple-Load Carriers, Real-Time Vehicle Controller
- Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
An alternative to increasing automated guided vehicle (AGV) fleet size to improve vehicle availability for material transport requests is to introduce vehicles with multiple load-carrying capacities. Aside from alleviating communication and congestion problems, the use of multiple-load carriers can potentially reduce the deadhead or unproductive time of vehicles. This paper discusses several key issues related to multiple-load AGV systems and demonstrates the potential benefits of using them. Alternative vehicle dispatching strategies for multiple-load AGVs are discussed, stressing that different considerations are involved in dispatching empty and partially loaded vehicles. The effectiveness of single-load and two-load AGV systems is compared using simulation. The results show that, with multiple-load vehicles, the sensitivity of AGV system performance to guidepath layout is decreased, and the job input rate, which the AGV system can effectively handle without becoming a bottleneck for the overall system, is significantly increased. The relative effectiveness of selected control strategies is also investigated.