A Container Stacking System for the Mobile Harbor

The purpose of this study is to develop a stacking guidance system (SGS) of containers in the mobile harbor (MH). A mobile harbor is a floating structure especially designed for loading and unloading containers from and to a large container ship. A novel stacking guidance system was proposed for unloading the container in an effective way against possible vibrations of the floating body. The guidance system works as an aid for loading containers with a wider opening for easier stacking of a container into a moving storage cell due to waves. In order to determine the most effective inclination angle of the cell-guide, this study performed the dynamic analysis of the SGS equipped in the MH subject to fluctuations of the sea. The motions of the guidance system and a container loaded were calculated using ADAMS. The simulation results of the contact force between the two rigid bodies showed that a desirable angle of the cell-guide should be around 20 degrees from the vertical. This proposed SGS can considerably reduce the loading and unloading time, and will enhance the performance of the MH.