AN ANALYSIS OF CONVEYOR SYSTEMS,
Abstract
Equations for the following performance measures for conveyor systems with no storage and no feedback are developed: expected number of busy channels, probability that the j(th) channel is busy, and the expected time for an item in the system when delays are included between service channels. An extension to the case where there is no storage in all but the last channel and infinite storage in the last channel is made. It is also shown that time delays between service channels do not affect the steady-state probabilities associated with the conveyor system. Tables of the performance measures are included for the queueing situations M/G/m and D/M/m applied to conveyor systems. Also tabulated are the probabilities that j channels are busy and that j channels are busy at the time of an arrival of an item for the M/G/m and D/M/m situations. It is proved that the D/M/m situation is superior to the M/G/m situation with regard to the performance measures. Recirculation ow items is then considered and an equation for the expected number of busy channels is developed. A simulation program is used to obtain the probabilities associated with the conveyor system when recirculation is permitted. It is observed that the value of the feedback delay does not affect the steady-state probabilities. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0608996
Entities
People
- A. Alan B. Pritsker
Organizations
- RAND Corporation