This paper focuses on the use of discrete event simulation (DES) as a decision support tool for airport land use development. As a study case, Querétaro Airport (Mexico) is used, due to its rapid growth and the different services it offers. The SIMIO® software was used to carry out a macro-level simulation of the airport’s processes, considering generic process times, flight types and demand schedules. The resulting strategic simulation model can be used to diagnose the current growth situation, analyse the airport's growth potential, and evaluate different expansion scenarios using the available land, including the expansion of the terminal building, cargo operations or MRO. The arrival and departure of aircraft (commercial, cargo, maintenance, aviation school and private aviation) at the airport were simulated to detect bottlenecks for different expansion scenarios, that aim to find an optimal balance between the growth options in the different airport grounds. The objective is to compare the potential growth of different layout expansion possibilities. Preliminary results indicate that land use options have a great impact on the growth potential of the airport and some general aviation activities, such as the aviation school, are interfering with the potential growth of other activities at Querétaro Airport.
The Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Challenge simulation platform helps planners and stakeholders understand and manage the complexity of MSP. In the interactive simulation, different data layers covering an entire sea region can be viewed to make an assessment of the current status. Users can create scenarios for future uses of the marine space over a period of several decades. Changes in energy infrastructure, shipping, and the marine environment are then simulated, and the effects are visualized using indicators and heat maps. The platform is built with advanced game technology and uses aspects of role-play to create interactive sessions; it can thus be referred to as serious gaming. To calculate and visualize the effects of planning decisions on the marine ecology, we integrated the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) food web modeling approach into the platform. We demonstrate how EwE was connected to MSP, considering the range of constraints imposed by running scientific software in interactive serious gaming sessions while still providing cascading ecological feedback in response to planning actions. We explored the connection by adapting two published ecological models for use in MSP sessions. We conclude with lessons learned and identify future developments of the simulation platform.
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The authors present the design of the shipping simulation SEL and its integration in the MSP Challenge Simulation Platform. This platform is designed to give policymakers and planners insight into the complexity of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) and can be used for interactive planning support. It uses advanced game technology to link real geo- and marine data with simulations for ecology, energy and shipping. The shipping sector is an important economic sector with influential stakeholders. SEL calculates the (future) impact of MSP decisions on shipping routes. This is dynamically shown in key performance indicators (e.g. route efficiencies) and visualised in heat maps of ship traffic. SEL uses a heuristic-based graph-searching algorithm to find paths from one port to another during each simulated month. The performance of SEL was tested for three sea basins: the firth of Clyde, Scotland (smallest), North Sea (with limited data) and Baltic Sea regions (largest, with most complete data). The behaviour of the model is stable and valid. SEL takes between 4 and 17 seconds to generate the desired monthly output. Experiences in 20 sessions with 302 planners, stakeholders and students indicate that SEL is a valuable addition to MSP Challenge, and thereby to MSP.
Power Quality, ofwel de kwaliteit van spanning en stroom, is momenteel een veelbesproken onderwerp. Door de sterke toename van niet-lineaire en energiebesparende belastingen (denk bijv. aan spaar- en ledverlichting, computervoedingen, frequentieregelaars, solaromvormers, etc.) verslechtert de kwaliteit van de netspanning terwijl diezelfde apparatuur juist gevoeliger worden voor verstoringen. Dit heeft nadelige economische en technische gevolgen voor de levensduur, efficiëntie, betrouwbaarheid en veiligheid van zowel de energie infrastructuur als de aangesloten apparatuur. Het belang van Power Quality blijkt ook uit het recent aantal publicaties en conferenties op dit vakgebied. Desondanks is de technische en wetenschappelijke analyse van Power Quality problemen voornamelijk fenomenologisch van aard. Problemen worden doorgaans beschreven aan de hand van metingen. Oplossingen worden meestal gezocht in het ad hoc plaatsen van commerciële power conditioners die de spanning en stroom beogen te verbeteren. De Power Quality problemen waar MKB-er Kanters al jaren mee worstelt zijn typerend voor de vele Power Quality problemen waar MKB-er HyTEPS, marktleider in Power Quality en Energy Efficiency, dagelijks mee te maken heeft. De installaties kunnen worden doorgemeten, maar het blijft lastig om de veroorzaker(s) van het Power Quality probleem met zekerheid vast te stellen. Het is meestal niet toegestaan om ‘verdachte’ apparaten af te schakelen in dit proces. De optimale plaatsing van de power conditioner(s) blijft daarmee een open vraag. Derhalve ontstaat de dringende behoefte aan computersimulaties om de oorzaak van verstoring te analyseren en de mogelijke oplossingen te valideren. PQsim onderzoekt of middels modellering en simulatie de bron van Power Quality problemen kan worden gealloceerd zodat er efficiënt oplossingen kunnen worden ontwikkeld en toegepast. De kennisassimilatie tussen HyTEPS, Kanters, RUG en de HAN beoogt een solide basis te vormen voor een unieke systematische en regeltechnische benadering van Power Quality problemen. De verworven inzichten dienen voorts als input voor toekomstige SiA-RAAK/TKI projecten.
