Simulation-Based Management Method for Circular Manufacturing Using Response Surfaces

To establish a circular manufacturing system, continuous management of the resource flow and the condition of individual items including products, components, and the materials in the system is indispensable. This study proposes a life cycle simulation (LCS) based management method to support optimal decision-making under conditions that include various uncertainties, such as consumer behavior and market trends. LCS is a simulation method that simulates dynamic material flow in the entire life cycle system and enables the evaluation of environmental and economic efficiencies. Since the simulation model consists of many parameters, exhaustive simulations with all parameter combinations are impossible in a practical timeframe. Therefore, the method extracts parameters that have a significant impact on eco-efficiency through sensitivity analysis using LCS. Then, a response surface of multi-level resolution is created in a multidimensional space composed of the parameters. The response surface is used to quickly identify optimal parameter values under uncertain conditions for effective management. As a case study, the proposed method is applied to the management of a circular manufacturing system for lithium-ion batteries of automotive to verify the effectiveness of the management on eco-efficiency.