%0 Journal Article
%T Preliminary Hybrid Modeling of the Panama Canal: Operations and Salinity Diffusion
%A Luis Rabelo
%A Mario Marin
%A Petros Xanthopoulos
%A Carlos Arellano Lennox
%A Pedro Coiduras
%A Bernardo Campos
%A Luz Andrade
%A Ricardo Collins
%A Erwin Atencio
%A Daryelis Pitty
%J Modelling and Simulation in Engineering
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/806139
%X This paper deals with the initial modeling of water salinity and its diffusion into the lakes during lock operation on the Panama Canal. A hybrid operational model was implemented using the AnyLogic software simulation environment. This was accomplished by generating an operational discrete-event simulation model and a continuous simulation model based on differential equations, which modeled the salinity diffusion in the lakes. This paper presents that unique application and includes the effective integration of lock operations and its impact on the environment. 1. Introduction The Panama Canal currently carries 4 percent of the world¡¯s trade goods, and it is an important competitor in some very important shipping routes. For example, the canal currently handles about 16% of the United States maritime trade, and more than 25% of the containerized trade between north east Asia and the east coast of the United States [1, 2]. Within the Republic of Panama, the Canal is responsible for the growth of the terminal cities of Panama and Colon (these cities and their metropolitan areas have 70% of the population of the Republic of Panama). The navigational channel of the Panama Canal is about 50 miles (80£¿km) long and extends from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific ocean (see Figure 1). The canal includes Gatun Lake, a fresh water lake which has a surface area of 436£¿Km2 (168.4£¿mi2) at 26£¿m (85£¿ft) above mean sea level. A series of locks on the waterway is used to raise and lower ships transiting to and from Gatun Lake to the oceans by moving water into and out of the lake using the force of gravity [3, 4]. In addition, Gatun Lake is utilized to provide fresh water to the terminal cities of Panama and Colon. Figure 1: Schematic of the Panama Canal. Currently the canal is operating at almost 95% of its maximum sustainable capacity which limits its ability to capture the increasing demand that will occur within the next 50 years [5]. Additionally, port operators at both sides of the Canal are betting on larger and more efficient post-Panamax ships (e.g., ¡°ships that do not fit in the canal, such as supertankers and the largest modern container ships¡±) [6]. Therefore, Panama has started the expansion of the Panama canal. This project will double the capacity of the Panama Canal by 2014 by allowing more and larger ships to transit. The Panama Canal expansion through a third set of locks presents new challenges. One challenge is the potential increase in the salinity of Gatun Lake above permissible levels. Using this scenario we designed and propose to implement a
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/mse/2012/806139/