Industrial & Mechanical

Development of generic simulation model of apple packing lines at packhouse

Lebanon has a long history of apple production since Romans. According to FAO stats 2013, apples are planted on a total area of 13,604 hectares (ha). Lebanon produces around 153,151 tons of apples annually, which constitute 23% of total Lebanese fruits production. However, most of the packaging is done by traditional techniques.

The design of an apple packaging facility (packhouse) is a time-consuming process and the construction of such a facility is extremely expensive. Most packhouses, however, consist of identical operations.

The aim of this project to propose a generic simulation model can be developed in order to assist engineers in decision-making and evaluation during the design or redesign of an apple packhouses. This project is concerned with the development of such a model.

The project will consist of five major phases, namely the problem identification phase, the solution approach identification phase, the solution development phase, the verification and validation phase and the recommendation and conclusion phase. The identification of the whole supply chain, examining ripple effect and designing alternatives are another purposes of this project. Simulation modelling has been identified as an appropriate tool to develop the solution and a roadmap for the development of such a model has been identified. The model developed in this project will be generic and it can be used to evaluate alternative designs and evaluate the effect of certain parameters on almost any packhouse system.

Project Details