A Petri net simulation model for virtual construction of earthmoving operations

a r t i c l e i n f o A common and extended Petri net simulation framework for virtual construction of earthmoving operations is developed to simulate dynamic changes of workflow and information flow in the earthmoving construction process and illustrate the constraint relationship between various operational equipment and construction restrictions. The proposed framework considers factors that influence earthmoving operations including randomness of construction activities, individual preference of equipment scheduling, and constraint relationship between equipment and construction environment. With the given equipment availability and project indirect cost, the framework can predict construction situation, equipment utilization rate, estimated duration and cost to achieve visualized and intelligent scheduling of virtual construction process in earthmoving operations. The simulation process is conducted on the CPNTools platform. The data required by the research were collected on-site in an actual case. The randomness of construction activities in earthmoving operations and main factors influencing construction are simulated. The sensitivity analysis for the model is carried out. The study will provide technical support and a management basis for equipment scheduling of earthmoving operations. Earthmoving operations refer to all the operations related to construction activities. It can be represented as a complex and dynamic discrete event which is affected by workflow, information flow, and other random factors. The final goals for simulations of earthmoving operations are to improve productivity, equipment efficiency and construction safety. The optimal equipment configuration appropriate for construction projects is selected to improve the construction productivity and contractor benefits. This equipment configuration helps to optimize equipment efficiency, productivity, and minimize construction cost under any given condition. Based on the number of available equipment, characteristics and parameters of equipment, construction management principles, main factors and information about related cost, the simulation model of earthmoving operations is capable of predicting operation situations of earthmoving construction , equipment productivity, and the estimated completion time and cost. The model provides a reliable basis for organization and management for earthmoving operations. A considerable amount of simulation methods has been developed to predict performances related to parameters of earthmoving operations so as to achieve the previous stated goals. A queuing theory-based method is designed for construction operation simulation [6]. Halpin and Riggs [7] evaluated different fleet scenarios by Micro CYCLONE. Marzouk and Moselhi [13,14] optimized the earthmoving operations using an object-oriented simulation approach and Genetic Algorithm (GA). Hegazy and Kassab [8], Cheng and Feng [3] and Cheng et al. [4] …