Analysis and Classification of Gas Consumption Reduction Strategies in Transportation Terminal Powerhouses using Hierarchical Analysis and Clustering Techniques

Reducing the consumption of energy carriers is one of the main issues and necessities in the current economic conditions of the country. Natural gas is one of the important carriers that is responsible for most of the thermal energy supply in freight and passenger terminals. In this research, first, a set of solutions to reduce natural gas consumption in terminals have been collected, a significant number of which are related to the powerhouses of terminals. Then in this regard, five criteria of technical ease of implementation of the solution, ease of measuring the reduction of gas consumption through the implementation of the solution, appropriate time to implement the solution, access to specialized technicians to implement the solution and access to parts and tools needed to implement the solution. Evaluation and prioritization of solutions were considered. The weight and importance of each criterion are not equal. Therefore, pair-wise comparisons were made between the two criteria to finally calculate the weight coefficients of the criteria. These strategies were scored based on the above five criteria by a group of experts and were prioritized based on the scores obtained using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. Finally, using the K-Means clustering technique, the solutions were classified and presented in three groups based on the scores of the five criteria evaluated. Some of these solutions are related to technical adjustments, insulation, equipment replacement, compliance with performance standards, installation of new equipment, and basic measures.