Abstract:

One of the primary impediments in the use of discrete-event simulation to design construction operations is that decision-makers often do not have the means, the knowledge, and/or the time to check the veracity and the validity of simulation models and thus have little confidence in the results. Visualizing simulated operations in 3D can be of substantial help in establishing the credibility of models and in obtaining valuable insight into subtleties of modeled operations that are otherwise no quantifiable and presentable. This paper presents a case study of a simulation model of a microtunnelling construction operation with fairly complex control logic that was verified and validated by visualizing the operation in 3D. The simulation module for the example was developed using AnyLogic simulation softwar.