A port-hinterland hub network design method for reefer containers considering time-varying demands and diverse supporting service requirements
提出一种冷藏集装箱港口腹地枢纽网络设计方法，考虑季节性时变需求和多样化服务需求，通过虚拟节点和链路建模，并用改进粒子群算法求解双目标模型，为相关方提供运营建议。
Developing an efficient and well-organised reefer container transportation network in the port hinterland is essential for facilitating land-sea perishable product transportation. This paper proposes a port-hinterland hub network design method for reefer containers. Considering the diverse supporting service requirements and seasonally time-varying demand of reefer containers, virtual links and nodes were introduced to model a realistic heterogeneous hub deployment issue. This enables hubs to provide various service functions. Additionally, a tailored robustness metric was developed to evaluate network performance under fluctuating demands. The bi-objective network model aims to minimise total costs while maximising network performance. An improved multi-objective particle swarm algorithm is developed to efficiently solve the model. Real case results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively manages network design under time-varying demands. It offers a range of solution schemes with varying levels of time-domain robustness, ensuring stable network performance despite fluctuations in demand. The experiments on the impact of demand seasonality provide operational recommendations for relevant stakeholders.Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-11..Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-13..Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-15..Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-16..Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-9..