4
1 Introduction
The development of the methodology should be adequate to answer the
following three primary research questions:
Q1. How can the energy consumption of a production system be depicted in a
simulation model that can also be used for optimization scenarios?
Q2. How can an energy efficiency optimization of a production system be executed
without causing any restrictions on production flexibility, without influencing
the quality or the output of the production?
Q3. How can the profitability of the energy optimization methodology be rated
considering the various fields of application?
The structure of this thesis is shown in Figure 1.1. The introduction chapter is
followed by an overview on the technical background in the context of simulation and optimization technologies (chapter 2). Besides the discrete event and the
continuous simulation methods, the hybrid simulation approach will be discussed.
Subsequently, optimization methods in general and the complexity of optimization algorithms will be checked, before the scientifically proven concepts for the
combination of simulation methods and optimization algorithms are elaborated.
Chapter 2 ends with a state-of-the-art-review on optimization software packages. Chapter 3 comprises an elaboration of the scientific basics on energy use in
manufacturing, energy efficiency related topics as well as on energy pricing for
industrial customers and energy saving potentials.
In chapter 4, the state of the art of simulation-based optimization in production is given. Besides a literature review on existing publications, the chapter
contains a definition of the research demand as well as the definition of the
requirements for the methodology of this project. In chapter 5, the development
of the simulation-based methodology for the energy efficiency optimization is
described, including the conception of the methodology, the software selection
for the use in the practical part of this thesis, as well as the modeling approaches, and the drafting of the fictional case studies used for a first validation. This
chapter also includes a section on multi-method supporting simulation software
tools and the software selection for the practical implementation of the methodology. Subsequently, chapter 6 is opened with a presentation of the practical area
of application, followed by the transfer of results from chapter 5 on the use case.
Chapter 6 closes with the validation of the simulation methodology. The thesis
concludes with a summary, the answering of the research questions, a concept
evaluation and an outlook in chapter 7.
1 Introduction
The development of the methodology should be adequate to answer the
following three primary research questions:
Q1. How can the energy consumption of a production system be depicted in a
simulation model that can also be used for optimization scenarios?
Q2. How can an energy efficiency optimization of a production system be executed
without causing any restrictions on production flexibility, without influencing
the quality or the output of the production?
Q3. How can the profitability of the energy optimization methodology be rated
considering the various fields of application?
The structure of this thesis is shown in Figure 1.1. The introduction chapter is
followed by an overview on the technical background in the context of simulation and optimization technologies (chapter 2). Besides the discrete event and the
continuous simulation methods, the hybrid simulation approach will be discussed.
Subsequently, optimization methods in general and the complexity of optimization algorithms will be checked, before the scientifically proven concepts for the
combination of simulation methods and optimization algorithms are elaborated.
Chapter 2 ends with a state-of-the-art-review on optimization software packages. Chapter 3 comprises an elaboration of the scientific basics on energy use in
manufacturing, energy efficiency related topics as well as on energy pricing for
industrial customers and energy saving potentials.
In chapter 4, the state of the art of simulation-based optimization in production is given. Besides a literature review on existing publications, the chapter
contains a definition of the research demand as well as the definition of the
requirements for the methodology of this project. In chapter 5, the development
of the simulation-based methodology for the energy efficiency optimization is
described, including the conception of the methodology, the software selection
for the use in the practical part of this thesis, as well as the modeling approaches, and the drafting of the fictional case studies used for a first validation. This
chapter also includes a section on multi-method supporting simulation software
tools and the software selection for the practical implementation of the methodology. Subsequently, chapter 6 is opened with a presentation of the practical area
of application, followed by the transfer of results from chapter 5 on the use case.
Chapter 6 closes with the validation of the simulation methodology. The thesis
concludes with a summary, the answering of the research questions, a concept
evaluation and an outlook in chapter 7.