Design Concept and Analysis for a Navigation Dam Gate Guard

Accidents on navigable waterways in the United States can cause barge tows to break up and, subsequently, individual barges to be carried downstream by the current. As a breakaway barge approaches a navigation structure, its path is essentially determined by the flow patterns around the lock and dam. A primary concern is that a barge will travel to the dam, pass between spillway gate piers, and either strike a gate or become jammed. Either way, the result can be the loss of gate control and perhaps the loss of a navigable pool. Hite (2008) reports on recent closures of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigation projects attributed to tow/barge accidents. These accidents have been costly to the towing industry due to closures and to the government due to expensive structural repairs. Examples of accidents that have occurred in the last decade include events on the Ohio River at Belleville Locks and Dam and at Montgomery Lock and Dam both in January 2005, Smithland Locks and Dam in April 2005, Lock and Dam No. 2 on the Red River in December 2004, and Cheatham Lock and Dam on the Cumberland River in March 2002. Removing the barges from the gates can be a difficult, time-consuming, and expensive operation (Hite et al. 2006). Designers and operators of locks and dams need a means of arresting breakaway barges and avoiding their impact on critical structural and mechanical components. A device to protect spillway gates from breakaway barges would be an asset to Corps of Engineers navigation projects.

• Record URL:
  http://libweb.wes.army.mil/uhtbin/hyperion/CHL-CHETN-IX-26.pdf
• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

  Engineer Research and Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road
  Vicksburg, MI  United States  39180
• Authors:
  • Hammack, E Allen
  • Stockstill, Richard L
  • Vaughan, Jane
• Publication Date: 2011-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 12p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Dams; Design; Gates; Marine safety; Obstructions (Navigation); Towed barges; Water transportation crashes
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01337311
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-26
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 19 2011 7:17AM