Due to the increasing trade of bulk cargo and the growing attention to efficiency in all steps of a supply chain that continuously becomes more complex, a thorough understanding of dry bulk terminal operations is crucial. While research on dry bulk terminal operations exists, it remains scarcely comprehensive. Existing studies primarily focus either on the storage space allocation problem, often in conjunction with berth allocation or on the simulation of the system, usually built for a specific case study. Furthermore, environmental factors have received limited attention in this context. Incorporating environmental considerations into this topic is crucial for sustainable and efficient terminal operations, especially when dealing with such a vastly spread sector as bulk cargo handling.
This work proposes a generic simulation model for grain terminals featuring a storage space allocation heuristic and the option to include cold ironing operations and unloading operations involving wind-assisted carriers. The generic character of the model is obtained by understanding what processes are common to different terminals and to what minimal level of detail they have to be modelled in order to obtain reliable simulation results. Moreover, the model gains further versatility due to its parametric and period-based character. These two features enable users to effortlessly conduct reliable simulations throughout all stages of design or revamping projects. This includes using information typically available at the start of a project as well as more detailed data that becomes available in later phases. The model includes the possibility to visualise and investigate the energy consumption of the system, crucial information to face present-day challenges such as the adaptation and enlargement of the electrical grid and the capacity estimation for the installation of new green energy production plants. The effectiveness of the model and its generic quality are validated with different study cases from real-world terminals. Additionally, in order to show the genericity of the model and its potential, this study features multiple experiments to investigate different aspects of terminal operational and energetic efficiency, involving the changes in operations caused by the introduction of shore power connections and wind-assisted carriers, a comparison of different unloading technologies, and a validation of the industrial common practices in the field.