Validation of a microsimulation of the Port of Dover

Abstract

Modelling and simulating the traffic of heavily used but secure environments such as seaports and airports are of increasing importance. Errors made when simulating these environments can have long standing economic, social and environmental implications. This article discusses issues and problems that may arise when designing a simulation strategy. Data for the Port is presented, methods for lightweight vehicle assessment that can be used to calibrate and validate simulations are also discussed along with a diagnosis of overcalibration issues. We show that decisions about where the intelligence lies in a system has important repercussions for the reliability of system statistics. Finally, conclusions are drawn about how microsimulations can be moved forward as a robust planning tool for the 21st century.

Masterplanning at the Port of Dover: The Use of Discrete-Event Simulation in Managing Road Traffic

“…Road traffic at the Port of Dover has previously been the subject of various simulation studies. Roadknight and colleagues report findings of two studies involving application of the microscopic traffic flow simulation software Vissim [27,28]. A key advantage of traffic flow simulators is the high level of detail that can be ascribed to individual driver behavior and choices.…”

“…A key advantage of traffic flow simulators is the high level of detail that can be ascribed to individual driver behavior and choices. For example, using Vissim, Roadknight et al were able to simulate how traffic divides over a set of parallel weigh-bridges by defining simple rules of thumb for driver behavior rather than assigning weigh-bridge choice probabilistically [27]. However, as the authors point out, difficulties can arise when simulating large systems made up of many interdependent entities due to high data requirements and the likelihood that small errors in model design can result in highly inaccurate outputs.…”

Extending a Microsimulation of the Port of Dover

“…Microsimulations of the Port of Dover exist [1,3] and have been used better understand the flow around the Port as well as the impact of increased future load. It has been shown that care must be taken when designing these simulations to ensure the correct balance of agent intelligence, solution transparency and statistical representation.…”

“…Y An existing simulations of the Port of Dover exist and have been evaluated and discussed at length [3].…”

Towards governance on noise between municipality and terminal operator by the use of simulation modelling

“…To cope with the complexity of the terminal operations (micro-) simulation models are used to evaluate the performances (see, for instance [42][43][44]). The microsimulation models break down to the smallest sensible connected components [45] and can be applied to any scenario involving complex vehicle interactions. They have been used to modal roads, rail, air and sea ports (see for instance [46][47][48]).…”