A PETRI-NET MODEL FOR THE OPERATIONAL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF SEGMENTED FLOW TOPOLOGY (SFT) AGV SYSTEMS

Designing flexible manufacturing sq stems in general, and flexible mat erial handling system in particular, is a complex problem, typically a pproached through several stages. Here the focus is on the conceptual design stage during which valid approximation-based methods are needed . The segmented flow topology (SFT) AGV systems were developed to faci litate control of complex automated material handling systems. This pa per introduces a decomposition method, directly derived from timed Pet ri nets (TPN) theories, to calculate the expected utilization of AGVs (as servers of SFT systems) and to derive simple operational decision rules leading to maximum system productivity at steady state, for a gi ven deterministic routeing of discrete material through the manufactur ing system.