Capturing socio-technical systems with agent-based modelling

Capturing socio-technical systems with agent-based modelling

Van Dam, K.H.

Weijnen, M.P.C. (promotor)
Lukszo, Z. (promotor)

Technology, Policy and Management

Energy and Industry

2009-10-30

What is a suitable modelling approach for socio-technical systems? The answer to this question is of great importance to decision makers in large scale interconnected network systems. The behaviour of these systems is determined by many actors, situated in a dynamic, multi-actor, multi-objective and multi-level jungle. Models to support such an actor should be able to capture both the physical and social reality of the system, their interactions with one another and the external dynamic environment. Moreover, they must allow users to experiment with changes in both the physical and the social network configuration. To deal with these challenges a generic agent-based modelling framework for socio-technical systems is developed in this thesis. The cornerstone of the framework is a shared language formalised in an ontology, which forms the interface needed to bring different elements of the system (both social and physical) together, to interconnect different models and ensure interoperability. The re-usability of building blocks helps modellers build new models more efficiently. The models developed with the new framework are shown to offer valuable decision support in case studies of an oil refinery supply chain and an intermodal freight hub.

agent-based modelling
socio-technical systems
ontology
benchmarking
oil-refinery supply chain
intermodal freight transport

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:1b36bc02-c7fe-4773-9ab2-3daa3b891754

Next Generation Infrastructures Foundation

9789079787128

Institutional Repository

doctoral thesis

(c) 2009 Van Dam, K.H.