Economic and Operational Evaluation of Integrated Tug-Barge Systems: Computer Program Documentation and Users Instructions

摘要

In 1975, a computer synthesis model dealing with the operational and economic evaluation of integrated tug-barge systems was developed for the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAD). This computer model compares the cost of building and operating an integrated tug-barge system with corresponding costs for a conventional ship. In order to increase the computer model's versatility and to provide the user with an interactive, user-oriented preliminary design tool for integrated tug-barge systems and their ship equivalents, revisions to the computer model were undertaken by the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering of the University of Michigan. The results of this work are documented in this report. The revised computer model is available on the General Electric computer network system, which is easily accessible by local telephone line from remote terminals in more than 300 cities in the United States. A second version of the computer model is available on the Michigan Terminal System.