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This report discusses the major functions, decisions, and strategies of automated storage and retrieval systems (AR/RS). The report surveys the essential features of expert systems and discusses how they can be applied in automated warehousing environments. A blackboard expert system architecture was examined and found to be a flexible and responsive control system for automated warehousing applications. A simple AR/RS expert system was constructed using an expert system software package. A warehousing simulation was performed which compared the expert system’s performance to a typical AR/RS control system. The expert system produced increased efficiency of operation because of the intelligent rules programmed into the system.

Miljöcertifieringssystemet för byggnader, LEED (Leadership in Energy &Environmental Design) lanserades 1998 i USA av USGBC (United States GreenBuilding Council). USGBC är en icke vinstdrivande organisation, vars mål är attbidra till utökat hållbart byggande. Skanskas första byggnad som certifieradesenligt LEED färdigställdes 2001 i den amerikanska delstaten North Carolina. Islutet av februari 2009 offentliggjordes det att Skanska skall införa systemet i sinNordiska organisation.Undersökningen som genomförts handlar om ett av LEED New Constructions sexdelområden, Materials & Resources. Materialhanteringen för ett byggprojekt somSkanska uppfört har analyserats för att avgöra huruvida det skulle kunna erhållapoäng vid en certifiering enligt LEED. Metoden för undersökningen har varitsamtal med materialleverantörer och medarbetare från Skanskas organisation somvarit delaktiga i byggprojektet. Material som använts för undersökningen är LEEDfor New Construction Version 2.2 och projektdokumentation av olika slag. Enligtvår undersökning skulle det byggprojekt som vi analyserat kunnat erhålla tre avtotalt 13 poäng vid en certifiering. / The environmental certification system for buildings, LEED (Leadership inEnergy & Environmental Design) was launched in 1998 by USGBC (UnitedStates Green Building Council). USGBC is a non-profit organization aiming foran expansion of sustainable building practices and education. The first ofSkanska’s buildings to be certified according to LEED standards was finished inNorth Carolina in 2001. By the end of February 2009 Skanska made public thatthe system was to be adopted in their Nordic organization.This study examines one of LEED New Construction’s six subcategories,Materials & Resources. The materials handling of a Skanska construction projecthas been analyzed to determine whether it could receive credits if certifiedaccording to LEED. The method used has been verbal contact with materialsuppliers and Skanska staff involved in the construction project. The theoreticalbasis has mainly been LEED for New Construction Version 2.2 and several kindsof project documentation. It is concluded in this study that the construction projectanalyzed could have received three of a total of 13 credits if certified.

A Material Management Decision Support System is applied to a case study distribution facility. The system is formulated within the framework of an algorithm that consists of two primary steps. The first step utilizes a simulation model to analyze the impact of three management policies that implement material handling equipment in the distribution facility. The simulated results of each policy represent a database of performance measure values. The second step utilizes a decision model to evaluate the set of policy alternatives. In this step, the user is required to rank order and assign relative weights to decision parameters. A value function is computed for each alternative using this information, the simulated performance measures and non-model parameters. Output for the model is in terms of rank ordered numerical worths that designate the final selection alternative based on the decision maker's preferences. / Master of Science

Construction has multiple material handling equipment that cross each others’ paths. These equipments have significant dynamic behavior under various load conditions. A system to model multi-tasking material handling with dynamic behavior capabilities will provide advances in automation. Current computer graphics and CAD technology, combined with advanced engineering concepts provide the capability for a dynamic behavior modeler which is capable of modeling the dynamics of mechanisms involved in the material handling operations in construction realistically. This thesis presents a conceptual dynamic behavior modeler. The conceptual modeler is envisioned for future inclusion into a multi-tasking motion planning system for material handling in construction. The conceptual modeler is intended to perform dynamic simulation of 3-D rigid bodies for computer animation. In addition, the modeler provides a capability to model and predict real-life behavior of physical objects subject to dynamic loading. This thesis also presents a sample animation case involving a mobile crane in a "pick and place task”. Although traditional animation methods have been employed for the sample case, the animation provides an insight to the realistic visualization that would be achieved through dynamic simulation. In order to achieve a real-time animation, no finite element modeler has been utilized. Also, significant work was done to study approximation Strategies in the development of the analytical model of the sample case to improve the efficiency of the animation. The dynamic behavior modeler presented in this thesis will provide a novel approach to model the motion planning process. The modeler will ensure realistic visualization of material handling operations. The modeler will allow engineers to animate the material handling process based on dynamic simulation. Engineers will be able to realistically model critical rigging operations. The technology provided by the dynamic behavior modeler will enable engineers to better plan, model, and control the material handling process. This will further lead to significant improvements in constructability and overall performance of construction projects. / Master of Science

The nature of how an Automatic Storage & Retrieval System stacker crane moves through the aisle, between picking and storing operations, is analyzed through a simulation model. A continuous SLAM model simulates the performance of a single aisle Automatic Storage & Retrieval System stacker crane under various control conditions. Crane speed, acceleration rate, job arrival rate, and discrete or continuous interrupt sensing are the variables examined within the model. The performance level of the system is observed while altering the control. / M.S.

The overall objective of this research is the development of a set of guidelines, or constructs, which will assist in the formulation of a simulation language for bulk material transportation systems. The formulation of these guidelines necessitated a thorough analysis of two particular areas; these being the simulation analysis procedure and bulk material transportation systems. For comprehension of the nature of simulation languages, Part II presents each step of the analysis procedure as examined from the language's perspective. Supporting this analysis, Part III presents a detailed review of selected simulation languages which are currently available to the systems analyst. Bulk material transportation systems are presented in Part IV. These systems are discussed in detail from the viewpoint of the mode of transportation, the transportation medium, and the type of bulk materials transported. The functional specifications, or constructs, for a bulk material transportation simulation language are presented in Part V. These specifications are categorized according to the following areas; the system being described, the language form, and computer considerations. Utilizing these constructs a simulation language may be developed for subsequent use by bulk material transportation systems analysts which shall be a more appropriate choice for simulating their systems than any language currently available to them. / M.S.

Since 1960, pallet production has quadrupled, increasing the pallet industry's use of hardwood lumber from 14 percent to almost 50 percent of total hardwood lumber production. Part of this growth can be attributed to the grocery and related products industry, which should continue as a major growth area for pallet usage over the next decade. The general objective of this study is to provide information that can be used to understand the long-term potential and long-term trends in the grocery pallet market which relate to future regional timber demands by the pallet industry. Specific objectives are: (A) Provide information on current use of grocery pallets in the grocery distribution industry; (B) Provide theoretical framework for future analysis of the regional demand for grocery pallets; and (C) Provide information on demand for regional timber resources resulting from grocery pallet production within specified regions. Models are presented representing demand and supply in the grocery and related products and grocery pallet markets. In the grocery pallet model, demand for new grocery pallets is expressed as an 'excess demand' where demand for new grocery pallets equals the difference between aggregate supply of pallets to grocery distribution and available inventory of grocery pallets in the system. Inventory of grocery pallets in grocery distribution is expressed as a function of dollar volume of retail sales, based on application of a stock adjustment model for durable inputs. Consumption of grocery pallets by the grocery distribution industry is shown to be an important part in overall new pallet production even though the pallet used, 48"x40", only constitutes about 11 percent of total new pallet production in 1986. Estimates of national consumption of new grocery pallets in 1986 are broken down into regional estimates of new pallet consumption. Volume of wood raw material used in 1986 for production of grocery pallets is estimated to exceed 838 million board foot of wood raw material, or potentially 18 percent of total hardwood raw material consumed in production of all types of pallets. National trends effecting wood use in grocery distribution are considered. Specific regional trends effecting wood raw material use are not identified. / Ph. D.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1985 C37 / Master of Science

Nachwachsende Rohstoffe stellen in zunehmendem Umfang eine sinnvolle Alternative zu herkömmlichen Konstruktionswerkstoffen im Maschinen- und Anlagenbau dar. Speziell Lagenholzwerkstoffe bieten enormes Potential, den Anforderungen an Nachhaltigkeit und Ressourceneffizienz gerecht zu werden, ohne auf eine entsprechende technische Leistungsfähigkeit verzichten zu müssen. In diesem Zusammenhang wird im Vortrag ein an der Technischen Universität Chemnitz entwickeltes Konzept vorgestellt, Metallwerkstoffe (Stahl und Aluminium) im Maschinenbau durch nachwachsende Rohstoffe zu substituieren. Am Beispiel eines in der Automobilproduktion eingesetzten Fördersystems aus Holzwerkstoff wird dieses Konzept erläutert. Dabei handelt es sich um ein im Karosserierohbau bei Volkswagen verwendetes Skidfördersystem. Anhand einer Anforderungsliste wird im Vortrag schwerpunktmäßig der konstruktive Aufbau des Förderers vorgestellt, wobei vor allem die Unterschiede und Besonderheiten zur herkömmlichen Metallbauweise im Vordergrund stehen. Die Berechnung und Auslegung der Transporteinheit erforderte besondere Rechenmodelle, die für die verwendeten Insertverbindungen hergeleitet wurden und im Vortrag kurz erläutert werden. Speziell das dynamische Anforderungsprofil der Anwendung an die Struktur sowie die Verbindungstechnik ist durch bekannte Berechnungsgrundlagen (Bauwesen, Eurocode 5) nicht abgedeckt. Aus diesem Grund werden dem Maschinenbau entstammende Dauerfestigkeitsbetrachtungen speziell für Verbindungen des Ingenieurholzbaus genutzt. Zum Abschluss des Vortrages wird auf den mittlerweile eineinhalb jährigen, störungsfreien Praxiseinsatz bei der Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg eingegangen und die Vorteile zum herkömmlichen Stahlfördersystem aufgezeigt. / Renewable resources become more and more a useful alternative to conventional construction materials in machine and plant construction. Especially wood veneer composites offer an enormous potential to meet the requirements of sustainability and resource efficiency without having to give up appropriate technical and mechanical capabilities. In this context the University of Technology in Chemnitz has developed a concept to replace metal materials such as steel or aluminum in mechanical engineering by renewable resources. A skid conveyor system made of wood veneer composites in automotive production used by Volkswagen will give a further explanation of this concept. Based on a list of requirements the lecture focuses the structural design. Especially the most notably differences and peculiarities to the conventional metal construction will be shown. The calculation and dimensioning required special calculation models, which have been derived for the used insert joints. Especially the dynamical requirement specifications of the application concerning the structure itself and the joints are not covered by computational models from civil engineering (Eurocode 5). Therefore fatigue strength examinations originated from mechanical engineering were adapted for joints usually used in timber engineering. The speech closes by summarizing the 18 month failure-free operation of totally five conveyor units at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg as well as their advantages compared to the conventional steel conveyor system.