Evaluating the feasibility of an intermodal transportation facility in Chattanooga

This research develops a mathematical model based on linear programming techniques to evaluate the feasibility of developing an intermodal transportation facility in Chattanooga. Transportation resources in and around Chattanooga were studied, and the opportunities available for developing business by a transportation facility are analyzed. Large quantities of goods are shipped in and out of Chattanooga by trucks in either trailers or containers. In order to transfer goods in container or trailer from one mode of transportation to another, specific handling equipment is needed. Mobile cranes present in some transportation terminals in Chattanooga can transfer goods in small units only, but transferring cargo in whole a unit such as a container or a trailer from one mode to another requires heavy handling equipment such as a gantry crane. An intermodal facility is one which handles transfer of goods from one mode to the other. Another problem in the region is the lack of a facility to store bulk quantities of goods and to do debulking into smaller units which could then be distributed to different places is not present in Chattanooga. This research is intended to evaluate the feasibility of developing such facilities. Different levels of requirements for such a facility such as a ramp, triple crown, bulk transfer, container storage depot, distribution center, handling facility and depot, and bulk to packaging are discussed. Data collected from various sources for river shipments and rail shipments are also presented and analyzed. Also an intermodal facility in Hunstville, a river terminal in Chattanooga, Shaw industries in Dalton, Department of Transportation of Georgia, UTK Transportation center, and Norfolk Southern rail yard in Chattanooga were visited and the information gathered from these places are also presented. These data and information help to understand the resources available regarding transportation, various steps involved in development of an intermodal facility, operation of a intermodal facility, and also the necessity of a facility. The siting requirements for designing a facility and also a potential site are also discussed. A layout for the facility with respect to Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant site is designed and the infrastructures in the layout are analyzed including the capacities of the facility, construction and operating costs, and equipment costs. To obtain an evaluation of the feasibility of a facility and to understand the functions of the different elements in the facility, a linear programming model which characterizes the operations and activities of the facility is developed. The objective of the model is to optimize the flow in the facility and to maximize the profit to the facility. The different constraints involved in the model and the constraint equations are presented. Also in order to utilize the LP model, and to understand the behavior of the model for different situations, seven different cases were run for the LP model. The results obtained from these cases were analyzed and certain conclusions were reached. Recommendations were made for further work using the LP model.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author dc:creator

• Auruvankulam-Palani, Murugan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kazemersky, Phil
• College of Arts and Sciences

• Transportation engineering--Tennessee--Chattanooga

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Identifier

LB2369.2 .A87 1997

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2059