bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Risk-Based Maintenance of Lock Gates Based on Multiple Critical Welded Joints
Authors: Van Dang Thuong , Rigo Philippe
Published: February 2023

In many countries, inland waterway transport plays a significant role in the overall transport system. Navigation locks and dams are critical for inland waterways which regulate water and allow vessels to navigate. These infrastructures normally utilize large hydraulic steel structures, which are primarily of welded steel structures. Many of the critical welded joints of navigation lock gates have been in service for decades and are experiencing varying degrees of deterioration, mainly from fatigue. Inspection and maintenance of lock gates are expensive, generally requiring the complete closure of locks. Therefore, innovative strategies for the inspection and maintenance of lock gates are required. Fatigue cracks reflect the inherently poor fatigue performance of welded joints. Due to the cyclic loading nature of lock gates the fatigue of critical details requires assessment methods based on the reliability methods. Risk-based inspection planning are used for marine structures but seldom applied to inland navigation lock gates. This paper presents methods to update the failure probability of welded joints considering crack inspection data by using Dynamic Bayesian Network. Optimal inspection and repair plans can be evaluated by risk analysis, combining failure probabilities and associated expected costs for different events. In this study, a numerical example of the procedure of risk-based maintenance of a lock gate based on multiple critical welded joints is described. This reference case is a lock gate fabricated with five critical welded joints corresponding to different equivalent stress ranges. The conclusion is that risk-based maintenance of lock gates based on the optimization of the total expected cost is recommended.
Study on Design of Ship Lift Auxiliary Lock Water Filling/Emptying System and Operation Mode of Lock Gate
Authors: Zhao Xican , Guo Chao , Wang Lei , Li Zhonghua
Published: February 2023

The docking between ship lift chamber and upstream/downstream is an important link in the whole process of ship lift operation. The wave and flow movement generated by the hub operating downstream can easily lead to the failure of ship lift docking or ship grounding. To deal with the problem of large amplitude and high frequency of water level fluctuations downstream of Baise ship lift, an auxiliary lock is set up at the lower lock head of the ship lift. The extreme lift height of Baise auxiliary lock is 5.64 m with a two-way hydraulic head, and the size of the chamber is large, therefore it is faced with the problems of water filling/emptying efficiency and ship navigation safety. In this paper, a kind of water F/E system combining water filling under the gate and grid energy dissipation type is designed, and a scale of 1:30 Baise auxiliary lock chamber physical model and three-dimensional mathematical model are established. The berthing conditions of ships in the auxiliary lock under different water level variations and lock gate operation modes are analyzed. Besides the hydraulic characteristics of the lock filling/emptying system are measured. The operation mode of lock gate under different water level variations is recommended.
Study on the Operation Safety Evaluation System of Ship Lock Combined with Variation Coefficient Method and Matter-Element Extension Method
Authors: Li Junman , Hu Yaan , Wang Xin , Diao Mingjun , Diao Mingjun
Published: February 2023

Ship lock is the most widely used, the most promising and the most important type of navigation structure in the world at present. It is extremely necessary to evaluate the operation safety of ship lock in service, which has great social and economic benefits. The construction of safety evaluation system is the key step of safety evaluation of ship lock operation. Based on this, this paper systematically studies the evaluation system of ship lock operation safety, including indicator system, weighting method and evaluation model. The main work and conclusions are as follows: Firstly, a multi-indicator hierarchical indicator system including five first-class indicators and forty-seven second-class indicators for the safety evaluation of ship lock operation is established, and four safety evaluation grades of normal, deterioration, early warning and shutdown are divided. Secondly, the process and model of ship lock operation safety evaluation based on extension theory are put forward. Finally, the evaluation result shows that operation safety grade of ship lock belongs to the first grade – normal state, it is consistent with actual situation, indicating that the evaluation system is reliable. At the same time, the method can also be applied to other fields such as dam health evaluation, dam aging evaluation and rock mass quality evaluation, which provides a basis for safety evaluation.
Study on the Mechanism of Water Loss and Capsizing of Multi - point Suspension Ship Lift
Authors: Chen Lin , Hu Yaan , Li Zhonghua , Guo Chao
Published: February 2023

The stability of ship lift chamber operation has always been the key factor restricting the development of ship lift, which has not been well solved for a long time. With the development of upsizing of ships, the super-huge fully balanced ship lift with hoisting steel wire rope over 10000–15000 t is the development trend in the future. The mechanism of water loss and capsizing of multi-point ship lift is the most key scientific problem, and the most core technical problem is the layout and operation control of ship lift system. A generalized physical model of ship lift with the model scale of 1:33 was established to study the influence of multiple factors on water loss stability of ship chamber, such as gravity counterweight/torque counterweight ratio, water leakage flow, the position of suspension points among the chamber, quantity of the suspension points, and so on. Secondly, the structural dynamics equations of hoisting system is deduced in detail, considering the water fluctuation in the process of water loss caused by longitudinal capsizing moment influence on balance system, and research on the transient dynamic characteristics of hoisting system of the filtration process, determine the ship chamber conditions of stability for the trim through the Lyapunov stability criterion. The optimization calculation model of ship lift mechanical suspension system layout under the action of multiple constraints was established, and the effective measures will be given to improve the pitch stability. The results can provide technical guidance for the upsizing of ship lifters.
Study on the Unsteady Flow of the Approach Channel’s Entrance
Authors: Wang Xiaodong , Xu Jinchao , Zhu Long , Zhou Donghui , Zhao Jun
Published: February 2023

The entrance of shiplock’s approach channel always exist a mixing shear layer caused by the shear mixing layer, where is the junction of main river flow and the quiescent water of the approach channel. The flow structure of the turbulent mixing area presented as large-scale vortices frequently and periodically. And the fluctuations of the water surface and velocity induced by the separation of vortices may threat the navigation conditions, which should be considered during the engineering designing. The existing studies regard the mixing shear layer as steady flow and only take care of the average shear velocity, which may underestimate the harm of the shear flow. In this work, RNG k-ε model and LES model were adoped to study the hydraulic characteristics of the entrance. The vortex characteristics and the influence on the water level and velocity were analyzed. Results shown that LES model had better precision than RNG k-ε model in the unsteady characteristics. Then further studies about the recirculation flow were performed with LES model, The length and period of the recirculation flow was studied. It found that the vortex was generated at the upstream of shear zone, and then transferred with the recirculate flow until it was collapsed. All the above provide references for hydraulic characteristics of the entrance.
The Approach of Lock Hydraulic System Selection Based on Multiple Factors
Authors: Li Zhonghua , Xuan Guoxiang
Published: February 2023

There are many types of navigation lock filling and emptying systems, how to choose the appropriate hydraulic system is the key issues in the design of navigation lock. At present, there is no unified method and standard for the decision of the navigation lock filling and emptying system. In Chinese design codes, the traditional way to choose the lock hydraulic system types is based on the m coefficient which is related with the lock lift height (H) and leveling time(T). The influence of dimension of lock chamber is ignored in the method, including the length, width and initial water depth etc. which makes it difficult to choose an accurate and reasonable F/E system. In this paper, according to the energy dissipation mechanism of the filling and emptying system, combined with the influences of water head, filling and emptying time, chamber dimension and initial water depth, except the traditional discrimination index m, two dimensionless indexes mL and mC are introduced, which respectively represent the energy that needs to be eliminated in the horizontal, vertical and horizontal unit area of the F/E system. And the lock hydraulic system is classified into 7 categories based on the layout and energy dissipation characteristics of F/E system. The decision indexes of over 100 navigation locks with different characters are counted, then the relationship between the indexes and 7 lock hydraulic system categories is established using gray system theory. Finally, using the filling and emptying system selection method, the filling and emptying system of 13 typical ship locks are calculated and compared with the industry codes. The results show that this method quantifies the filling and emptying system selection process; the filling and emptying system selected by this method has high accuracy and good practical value.
The Finite Element Analysis of Dislocated Lock Heads in Double-Lane Ship Lock
Authors: Niu Zhiguo , Wang Yali
Published: February 2023

In order to investigate the mechanical characteristics of dislocated lock heads, a three-dimensional finite element model of dislocated lock heads in double-lane ship lock was established, then the interaction between two middle piers was researched by the mixed finite element method, the influence of the new layout pattern on stress and deformation of lock heads was studied. The results showed this new pattern had little effect on structural stress, but it had obvious influence on subsidence and foundation reaction force of two middle piers. The anti-slide safety factor of transverse stability in design flood was smaller, this working condition was controllability in design.
The Type and Layout of the Lock Gate and the Scheduling for the Babao Lock on the Estuary with Strong Tidal Bore
Authors: Jin Guoqiang , Li Zhejiang , Shi Yingbiao , Zhai Jiming , Ye Runchen
Published: February 2023

The unique tidal bore of Qiantang River is called “the first tidal bore in the world”. The outlet of Hangzhou Babao lock of Beijing-Hangzhou Canal is located in the strong tidal bore area of Qiantang River estuary. This paper focuses on the characteristics of Qiantang River tidal bore, the selection of lock gates under the action of strong tidal bore, and the navigation safety control mechanism of lock. The results show that during the spring tide period, the maximum height of the head of tidal bore at Babao lock of Qiantang River can reach 2.5 m, and the maximum tidal bore pressure on the front of the lock can reach 90–100 kPa. In order to ensure the safe operation of ship lock, the design put forward for the Qiantang river side lock head adopts the miter gates and tidal gate combination plan, namely to put a flat gate on the outside of miter gate, with gate mouth 23 m wide and height of 13 m, to withstand the enormous impact of tidal bore in a large tide by closing the tide gate before the arrival of the tide and opening the tide gate afterward, while only using the miter gate as the lock operation gate the rest of the time during which there are no tidal surges. According to the patterns of tidal bore propagation, the intelligent prediction and early warning mechanism of tidal bore, the operation rules, and the automatic control system of miter gate and tide gate are studied and established to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the lock.
Transverse Mooring Forces Due to Asymmetrical Filling in a Lock with Longitudinal Culverts and Side Ports
Authors: Savary C. , Bertin B. , Lenaerts M. , El Ouamari I. , Bousmar D.
Published: February 2023

In lock design, several geometries are proposed for the levelling system with the aim of insuring a smooth and fast levelling operation. For high and medium lift lock, longitudinal culverts with side ports located in the lock walls are often chosen because this system distribute the flow along the entire length of the lock chamber. Nevertheless, when one of the culvert (valve) is out of order, the flow is asymmetrical what induced significant transverse mooring forces, especially during filling operations.

Field measurement on such a lock (225 m long, 25 m wide and 13.5 m lift) demonstrated transverse water slopes significantly larger than the admissible criteria during asymmetrical filling operation. Further investigations on a physical scale model highlighted the driving effect of the side port jets on the rolling flow. Detailed measurements were performed on the scale model covering: (1) water surface slope; (2) transverse velocity distribution; (3) transverse mooring forces and rolling angle of a vessel located in the lock chamber. It was concluded that the size of the outlets of the side ports has a major impact on the transverse forces. For smaller outlets at a given discharge, the flow velocity increases and more impulse is transferred to the rolling flow, resulting in larger forces on the vessel.
Turbulent Flow Simulation of Bridge Piers and Navigation Safety of Ships in Curved River Sections with Variable Water Level
Authors: Tan Zhirong , Xing Gang , Gao Xing , Cui Xin
Published: February 2023

Some of the bridges across the Yangtze River in the Three Gorges Reservoir area are in the curved section, and the collision prevention of bridges is a hot issue in the current industry. The system of ships sailing across bridges is a complex system in the discipline of transportation engineering. It is affected by ship conditions, channel conditions, meteorology and hydrology, navigation management and human factors. In order to grasp the influence of turbulent flow near the piers of bridges in curved river sections and oblique flow during variable water level periods on ships crossing bridges, it is necessary to carry out numerical simulation analysis. Methods: By establishing a simple physical model of the water area of the bridge pier, the turbulent flow field of the bridge pier was simulated in two dimensions by Fluent software. Then the turbulent flow characteristics of the single pier and the tandem double pier were compared, and the flow velocity on the upstream side of the bridge pier was used as a parameter to carry out numerical simulation. Finally, the flow-induced drift of the ship is quantitatively calculated in combination with the flow velocity. Conclusion: The two-dimensional simulation confirms that the turbulent width of the bridge pier increases with the increase of the flow velocity. The turbulent width of the tandem double pier is larger than that of the single pier, but the vorticity extending downstream is smaller than that of the single pier. The deflection moment and flow-induced drift of the ship crossing the bridge confirm the risk of ship collision. It is necessary to add a multi-function navigation mark to collect water flow parameters in time, and introduce LED visual navigation in the bridge area to improve the reliability of ship navigation in the bridge area of the curved river section.
A Study on Key Technologies for the Joint Scheduling and Control of Multi-level and Multi-line Ship Lock Groups
Authors: Ning Wu , Ye Hantao , Lin Ning , Mo Zhenyu
Published: February 2023

This paper aims at the scattered management system, low service level, multi-level and multi-line ship locks caused by the numerous ship locks in Guangxi and they belong to different owners. For outstanding problems such as lack of scheduling theory and methods, and weak security and intelligent management and control capabilities, the top-level design of the joint scheduling of multi-stage and multi-line ship lock groups in the basin is carried out, and the joint scheduling technology of parallel four-line ship lock groups with different scales and levels under complex navigation restrictions is carried out. Research and development of key technologies for intelligent scheduling platform for line ship lock groups, key technology research on management and control safety in multi-level and multi-line ship lock clusters, and research on joint dispatch model and dispatch theory and methods for busy multi-level ship lock groups, so as to realize joint dispatch and centralized management and control of watershed ship lock groups. The overall navigation efficiency of the basin will be greatly improved, and it will provide a reference for the innovation of the navigation management mode of the ship lock group in the basin.
A Web-Based Regional Economic Simulation Tool for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Programs
Authors: Chang Wen-Huei , Abou-El-Seoud Dena , Knight Kevin
Published: February 2023

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is one of the world’s largest public engineering, design, and construction management agencies. The major Civil Works (CW) mission areas include navigation, flood risk management, hydropower, ecosystem restoration, coastal storm damage reduction, hydropower, water supply and recreation. To capture the regional economic benefits of water infrastructure and programs, the USACE Institute for Water Resources (IWR) developed the Regional ECONomic System (RECONS). RECONS estimates short-term and long-term economic activity resulting from federal investments within CW mission areas. Estimates of economic activity are measured as industry output, employment, labor income and value added and are provided for three levels of geography: local, state, and national. This information supports federal investment decisions and stakeholder communication. USACE’s navigation mission alone services 41 states. USACE operates and maintains 25,000 miles of waterways and 236 lock chambers for commerce. Short-term economic activity is attributed to federal spending on infrastructures and operations and maintenance (e.g., spending to replace a lock) while long-term economic activity is supported by infrastructure users (e.g., lock utilization by shippers). RECONS facilitates widespread application of input-output (I-O) analysis through a user-friendly, web-based simulation tool customized for CW mission areas. RECONS enables users to conduct valid and consistent economic impact analyses without the degree of knowledge required by comprehensive I-O models. As a result, over 200 USACE economists have used RECONS to conduct hundreds of analyses each year. This paper describes RECONS’ capabilities and applications, and its implications for federal decision-making regarding investments in inland navigation infrastructure.
AIRIS-PS Project in the Port of Seville and in the Guadalquivir Waterway. Results of the Project Completed
Authors: García Rodrigo , Pulido Angel , Navarro Isabel , Pascual Xavier , Willems Cas , Yanes Alicia
Published: February 2023

The AIRIS-PS project has been a project financed by the European Commission within the funding instrument of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Transport under the priority of River Information Services. The objective of the priority has been to implement the River Information Services in the Port of Seville and in the Guadalquivir harmonized with the practices applied In the European Inland Waterway Network. River Information Services and Systems have been designed to provide support to improve traffic and transport management and enhance operational procedures. RIS contribute in an essential way to the improved competitiveness of waterborne transport in the supply chain. In this sense, the AIRIS-PS project is considered as a key project for the improvement of the accessibility and capacity of the river access to the Port of Seville. River Information Services lead to the increase of transport to the Port of Seville not only allowing the increase of number of ships calling for Seville but also bigger vessels access.
Experimental Study on Flow Characteristics Around a Submerged Half-Buried Pipeline
Authors: Yao Zishun , Shi Lidi , Xie Shoupeng , Li Peng , Guan Dawei
Published: February 2023

This paper describes the flow characteristics around a half-buried pipeline exposed to different current conditions by flume experiment. Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV) technique was used in the experiment to reveal the flow structure. The experiment results indicate that the hydrodynamic parameters, including average kinetic energy, vorticities, Reynolds shear stress, and kinetic turbulence energy, increased with the Renolds numbers. Furthermore, it is found that the vortex at the upstream side of the half-buried pipeline vanishes gradually with increasing Renolds numbers. However, the two vortices at the locations downstream of the half-buried pipeline exist all the time, in which the vortex closed to the downstream of the pipeline becomes unstable, the vortex at the pipeline wake remains unchanged. In the meantime, the turbulence intensity at the upstream side of the half-buried pipe near the bed surface strengthens significantly under Reynolds number conditions, which may accelerate the potential scour process in front of the pipeline.
Aids to Navigation Improvement to Optimize Ship Navigation
Authors: Redondo Raúl , Atienza Raúl , Pecharroman Lourdes , Pires Leandro
Published: February 2023

Aids to navigation are established to assist vessels in the navigation with special importance in narrow channels, rivers, or areas with special dangers to navigation. Whether the design of the aids to navigation (AtoN) system is optimum depends on ship positioning, which is affected by several factors: waterway geometry, metocean conditions, design ship, pilotage, and the AtoN themselves, being a crucial part of the design of a waterway.

Optimizing the type of signals and the distance between them allows, not only for safer navigation, but to expand the limits of the waterway by assisting larger vessels to move safely along the waterway, as well as to minimize dredging costs and dredging area by optimizing simultaneously the design of both: the waterway and the Aids to Navigation. An equilibrium is required between the investment and maintenance costs, and therefore, this combined assessment and optimization allows to finally get both, technically and economically feasible projects without detriments on the safety of the waterway.

The use of fast time manoeuvring models and Real Time Simulations allows to check and verify the optimization and improvements in the waterway and in the aids to navigation system. Real Time Simulators and manoeuvring sessions are the perfect place for all stakeholders (Port Authorities, Pilots, Harbour Masters, waterway designers, shipowners, …) to interact, discuss, evaluate, and agree on the best option for the improvement of navigation conditions while preserving the safety of the operations, as it allows to verify the effectiveness of the improvements before implementing them in the reality.
Container Barge Design to Optimize Hinterland Transport in Europe
Authors: Borca Bianca , Putz Lisa-Maria , Bieringer Bernhard
Published: February 2023

The aim of this paper is to develop and evaluate new design options for barges for the economically viable transport of 45’ standard high-cube containers. Special attention was given to the potential performance of the new designs for navigation during low water periods on the Danube. To reach this aim, a four-step approach was conducted: first, a literature review was conducted, second, a scenario was selected leading to defined waterways and goods, third, the results were visualized, and fourth, the design options were evaluated. The research resulted in six design options for barges optimized for accommodating 45’ standard high-cube containers. The barges should serve the Danube stretch between Enns/Austria and Giurgiu/Romania. A major conclusion is that which of the six barge designs fits best depends on the business case, since each of the options have several advantages and disadvantages which have to be investigated such as a different loading capacity. A barge being able to carry between 24 and 90’ standard high cube containers.
CEERIS (Central and Eastern European Reporting Information System) – SMART Electronic Reporting Platform for IWT
Authors: Steindl-Haselbauer Katrin , Kaufmann Mario , Zwicklhuber Thomas
Published: February 2023

In order to increase the competitivity of Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) in Europe the concept of RIS enabled Corridor Management has been developed and was now implemented within the European flagship project RIS COMEX (https://www.riscomex.eu/.) in the 2 integrated platforms EuRIS (fairway information services, traffic information services, services for logistics) and CEERIS (retrieving of reporting requirements, electronic reporting services for skippers, receiving authority services). The novel centralized architecture enables CEERIS users of to fulfil all reporting obligations configured along their route with a central access point for one or more voyages by a single data entry, using his EuRIS data including access and reporting rights for claimed vessels. Thereby, the user does not have to take care about the complexity of reporting procedures and the further delivery of reports to the respective receiving authorities. The smart distribution of reports is managed by the system in the background proving all competent authorities with data based on the respective legal basis and configured means. Thus, reports can be received either through an authority dashboard at a central access point or email as XML (Extensible Markup Language.), PDF or as a graphical template. Data delivery and notifications using webhook is supported as well as the delivery of XML messages via API (Application Programming Interface.). The reporting platforms addresses authorities dealing with traffic management, customs, border police, statistics and ports in addition to the national RIS authorities. A smart user and identity management secures access authorization according to the consent agreement of reporting parties – consequently data can also be accessed and used by authorized third parties such as shippers, fleet managers and other logistics partners for the optimization of their services.
Development of S-401, Status of the New Standard for IECDIS
Authors: Morlion Gert
Published: February 2023

Although ENCs (maritime) and IENCs (inland) are based on the same model, many differences have arisen over the years. An important issue with both chart systems is the lack of interoperability. In mixed zones as sea ports or estuary zones, the ECDIS viewer can’t be used to visualize both chart types. This means that a vessel should be equipped with two different viewers.

IHO started with the development of a universal hydrographic framework that would be the base for all the ‘S-products’ which are in development. The framework makes it possible to interact between these different products in such a way that the visualisation of features and attributes is handled automatically. E.g. Notices to Marines (S-124) or Aids to Navigation Information (S-201) will be displayed correctly on the S-100 viewer). In other words, the S-100 framework will handle the interoperability between the different products without any interaction of the skipper.

The Inland ENC Harmonization Group (IEHG) decided to develop their own S-401 product. This new standard had to be in line with the maritime S-101 to make the use of inland and maritime charts possible on the same viewer onboard. The development of this new standard in replacement of the S-57, is mainly done within the European RIS COMEX project.

During this presentation, the status of all elements will be given together with the decisions the IEHG had to take.
Exploration of Digitalization System and Technical Solutions for Inland Waterway
Authors: Huang Jun , Yao Haiyuan , Chen Zhengyong
Published: February 2023

The inland waterway is a crucial channel for external liaison in inland areas and is an essential carrier for inter-regional bulk commodities transportation. In general, the current mode of development and construction of inland waterway is still relatively traditional, and the level of waterway management cannot adapt to the requirements of information and digitization. To effectively improve the level and efficiency of inland waterway management, this paper is dedicated to using GIS, remote sensing, and other technologies to innovate the means of inland waterway management and explore the basic scheme suitable for the development of digital waterway in China. Firstly, it reviews the situation of digital waterway development and construction in China and abroad, and outlines the results achieved by existing research. Secondly, from the perspective of serving the information management of inland waterway, the basic structure of the digitalization system is proposed, including the object, scope, and specific contents of digitalization. At the same time, it outlines the main framework of the digital indicators for constructing a port big data center. Thirdly, it analyzes the development ideas to provide a basis for future planning, construction, and management of digital waterways. Finally, this paper puts forward relevant suggestions on data collection and standardization, technical solutions, and work implementation from the perspective of the entire life cycle development of inland waterway planning, construction, management, and maintenance. This paper can help the technical selection for the planning and construction of inland digital waterway and the development of port and shipping big data center.
Flow Analysis for Navigation Safety by Using iRIC Model Nays2DH
Authors: Niroshinie M. A. C. , Ono Nobuyuki , Shimizu Yasuyuki , Egami Kazuya
Published: February 2023

For safer navigation, it is important to reduce the shallow water effects and reduce the possibility of sedimentation. The shallow water effect is a vital factor in confluence areas where the depth of the navigation routes is subject to frequent changes during high flow and low flow times. This study summarizes the flow analysis during the process of improving the navigation channel around a confluence area by excavating shallow areas up to two possible bed elevation levels (3.3 OPm and 2.8 OPm). The analysis results, demonstrated that the depth has increased and the velocity has decreased in the excavated areas showing an improvement. Velocity has reduced from 1.1 m/s in the existing condition to 1.0 m/s for 3.3 OPm at excavation level and 0.8 m/s for 2.8 OPm at excavation level. Water depth is improved for 2.8 OPm at excavation level more than 3.3 OPm level. However, for both excavation levels water depth has been improved than the existing condition. Overall, the shallow water effect would be lessened after at least some of the proposed excavation plans.
Marine Electrification is the Future: A Tugboat Case Study
Authors: Hayton Mark
Published: February 2023

Increased emissions regulations, global volatility of petroleum supply chains, and a significant push to source energy from renewable and sustainable sources encourages companies and governments to move away from petroleum-based products. Research was conducted on the efficiencies and optimal operating parameters of internal combustion engines and electric motors, exposing situations where each would be best utilized given current energy infrastructure. To support the claim of partially electrified solutions for inland waterway vessels, an in-depth analysis was conducted for an inland waterway tugboat with a rated engine of 1800 kW. The unique operating parameters for tugboats make them prime candidates for plug-in-hybrid propulsion solutions. In this case, the 1800 kW rated tugboat operates at 360 kW or less 87% of the time. This means that most of the operating profile requires a very large engine to be running at low loads, wasting fuel. Proposing electric propulsion for operating modes that require 360 kW or less yields a 62% decrease in fuel consumption. Plug-in hybrid propulsion solutions allow for vessels to plug-in to charging stations after the completion of each voyage. Renewable sources like wind and solar, among others, directly feed the grid, permitting more flexibility in the move for sustainability. New developments in battery technology, require regulatory oversight to maintain safety compliance, specifically regarding the standardization of charging plugs and fire suppression systems for lithium-ion batteries. Implementing charging stations at frequented mooring locations will open the door for sustainable technology, like electrified propulsion solutions, to permeate the inland waterway infrastructure.
River Shoreline Project Management Based on BIM Technology: A Case Study of the Environmental Improvement Project of the Green Water Wetland in the Nanjing Reach of the Yangtze River
Authors: Huang Tianzeng , Xu Haifeng , Wang Yanbo , Chen Huai , Zhang Lei , Fan Hongxia
Published: February 2023

The Building information modeling (BIM) is one of the most promising developments in the architecture, engineering, and construction fields. It carries out the data management during the whole period from site analysis to later operation, and provides technical support and collaborative work platform for a built asset project. Based on the environmental improvement project of the Green-Water Wetland in the Nanjing reach of the Yangtze River, the BIM technology provides a fast and efficient communication platform for all partners involved in the construction period, and has been successfully and efficiently applied in the site design, model analysis, building design, and landscape design. Green-Water Wetland is located on the shoreline of the Nanjing reach of the Yangtze River. The main task of this project is to return the fishpond to the wetland, restore the forest, and improve the landscape of the whole wetland. The specific applications of BIM technology are as follows: (1) It provides a fast and efficient communication platform for all partners involved in the construction period, and couples with the application of GIS and other digital technologies; (2) The Revit and Civil3D software were carried out to realize 3D design of the real scene, and visually display the advantages and disadvantages of each scheme; (3) The preprocessing efficiency of data was greatly improved which lays the foundation for subsequent digital analog analysis; (4) The Mars software was used to render the design scheme in real time, intuitively express the design intention, and avoid repeated design.
River Project, An Innovative Way to Reduce Pollution on Riverboats
Authors: Aitouche Abdel , Mobasheri Raouf , Li Xiang , Peng Jun , Barnett Chris , Bernheiden Uwe , Dooley Peter , Bieker Klaus , Hajjaji Ahmed El , Pote Robin
Published: February 2023

Considering the EU environmental standards for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), reducing pollutant emissions from inland waterway vessels is becoming increasingly important. The RIVER research project aims to find solutions to achieve nitrogen-free combustion in waterways transportation systems while also emitting zero CO2 emission. RIVER addresses these issues using Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology and Oxy-fuel combustion (OFC). The project is co-financed by the European Union, as part of the Interreg North-West Europe program. There are ten partners involved in this project (FR, UK, GE, NL, LU). In OFC technology, pure oxygen is used instead of air. Due to the absence of N2 in the intake charge, NOx emissions will be eliminated. Consequently, the only products of combustion are CO2 and water vapor. To have a stable combustion process and avoid overheating problems caused by using pure oxygen, some part of the exhaust CO2 will be recirculated to the engine to create an oxygen-CO2 mixture for being fed into the engine. A detailed CFD simulation carried out in this project has revealed that 21% oxygen and 79% carbon dioxide is the ideal mixture for the engine to run at maximum efficiency. The remaining CO2 from the exhaust is collected. It is then condensed, compressed, and stored in a tank to be valorized later. It will be transformed into cosmetics, skincare products, and formic acid. These types of acids are used by the medical sector as an anti-rheumatic product. River's final demonstration will take place in Crewe, UK in July 2022.
Study on the Economic Speed of the Grand Canal in North Jiangsu
Authors: Xie W. , Xu S. D. , Zhang N. N. , Yue X. , Liu J. , Lu S. H.
Published: February 2023

The energy conservation and emission reduction have been the development trend of various industries. However, the carbon emissions of the shipping industry are increasing year by year. Optimizing ship energy consumption is an important task to develop environment-friendly shipping and reduce the operating cost of shipping companies. Speed is one of the most critical factors affecting ship energy consumption. Many studies confirm that it is an efficient way to save ship energy consumption by obtaining appropriate speed and reducing ship energy consumption. Compared with rivers and oceans, inland canals have the characteristics of shallow water depth, narrow width and low water velocity. This paper analyzed the low-energy operation scheme of canal ships with the research object of the canal ships in North Jiangsu. The main factors affecting the energy consumption and the ship resistance were analyzed. Accordingly, the mathematical model of ship energy consumption, ship speed and environmental factors was established. The optimized economic ship speed was then calculated by calling the optimization algorithm guided by the lowest ship energy consumption. It is verified by an example of ships in the North Jiangsu Grand Canal. Applying the optimized economic speed to actual ship navigation can effectively reduce the ship fuel consumption, which is of great significance to achieve the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction.
Ship Maneuvering Using a Ship Simulator in Search and Rescue Operation
Authors: Kresojevic Milan , Ristic Vakanjac Vesna
Published: February 2023

In order to successfully steer a ship, a man, ship’s watch officer, or commander of the ship must be physically ready and must know the maneuvering characteristics of the ship he steers, as well as the forces acting on him. For that, it is necessary for him to know the specifics of the ship because each ship has its own "mood", its specific properties that depend on the type, and size of the ship. Therefore, maneuvering properties differ even in ships of the same type and therefore it is important to know the specifics of a particular ship. Also, the same ship will behave differently in different situations. When the ship finds itself in situations that require urgent reaction during the voyage, then the experience and skills of the ship's captain come to the fore. Then it is important that the captain, based on his experience, chooses the right maneuver, but also that he always has at least one reserve maneuver in his head. That decision in certain situations must be made in a very short period of time, and the future of the ship and human lives often depends on it, as well as the resources on board. Every skill is acquired through practice, and it is logical that the commander will react faster and more correctly in every new situation. Precisely because of this, the most intensive training is necessary for the formation of quality ship commanders. For that reason, the training of future ship commanders on ship simulators gives excellent results. On ship simulators, they can gain a lot of experience and go through countless scenarios. In this paper, the use-value of ship simulators from the aspect of the training was verified through the Search and Rescue (SAR) exercise realized on the ship simulator Wärtsilä Navigation Simulator NTPRO 5000. It has been shown that the simulator can successfully check and recognize the optimal SAR pattern, maneuvering characteristics of the ship, as well as practice, maneuvering the ship and resolving specific situations that ship commanders may encounter in real situations. Training on ship simulators cannot completely replace training in real situations, but it can be used to get acquainted with the maneuvering characteristics of the ship, train in working with navigation devices, and be a good starting point in preparing people who are trained to perform tasks in real situations. The use of hydrological data of relationships between different types of data using an autoregressive model (AR model) can contribute to the creation of more realistic scenarios on ship simulators. It is also possible to apply data in the modeling of the environment and connect them with the current hydrological situation of the waterway. In the exercise evaluation process, we can see if the ship's captain used the hydrological data in the right way.
Adaptive Regulation of Cascade Reservoirs System Under Non-stationary Runoff
Authors: Zhang Yu , Wang Xiaodong , Min Zhixiang , Wu Shiqiang , Wu Xiufeng , Dai Jiangyu , Wang Fangfang , Gao Ang
Published: February 2023

Under the influence of climate change and human activities, the spatial and temporal distribution of river runoff has changed. The statistical characteristics of runoff such as mean, variance and extreme values have changed significantly. Hydrological stationarity has been broken, deepening the uncertainty of water resources and their utilization. Hydrological stationarity is a fundamental assumption of traditional water resources planning and management. The occurrence of non-stationarity will undoubtedly have an impact on the operation and overall benefits of reservoirs, and may even threaten the safety of reservoirs and water resources. There is uncertainty as to whether reservoirs can operate safely and still achieve their design benefits under the new runoff conditions. Therefore, it is important to carry out adaptive regulation of reservoirs in response to non-stationary runoff. Based on the multi-objective theory of large system, a multi-objective joint scheduling model of the terrace reservoir group is constructed for adaptive regulation simulation. A set of combination schemes based on optimal scheduling, flood resource utilization, water saving is constructed. The adaptive regulation is validated using a real-world example of the Xiluodu cascade and Three Gorges cascade reservoirs system in Yangtze River, China. The adaptive regulation processes are analyzed by simulation and the adaptive regulation effects are evaluated. The results show that the non-stationary runoff in upper Yangtze River has had an impact on the comprehensive benefits of large hydropower projects. The use of non-engineering measures to improve flood resource utilization, adjust upstream water use behavior and optimize reservoir scheduling are effective means to reduce the negative impact of non-stationary runoff on cascade reservoirs system.
Advances in Ecological and Environmental Effects of Mountain River Sediment
Authors: Yuan Longhu , Lu Yongjun , Liu Jing , Liu Huaixiang , Lu Yan , Zhou Xiongdong
Published: February 2023

Sediment is one of the main factors affecting the ecological environment of rivers, and its eco-environmental effect plays an important role in maintaining the balance of water environment and aquatic biodiversity. Sediment in mountain rivers has obvious characteristics such as wide gradation, which has unique impacts on the ecological environment. In addition, the increasingly intense human activities in mountain rivers, such as the construction and operation of large-scale cascade reservoirs, lead to further complicated changes in the ecological and environmental effects of sediment. In this paper, the environmental effects of mountain river sediment in adsorption, desorption and transport and the ecological effects on aquatic microorganisms, animals, plants and the entire food web were systematically reviewed. The problems existing in relevant researches were discussed, and the research prospects were presented, in order to provide guidance for the protection of mountain rivers.
Application of Environmentally Active Concrete (EAC) for River Structure
Authors: Yoshizuka Naozumi , Iiboshi Tomihiro , Nishimura Hirokazu , Kawashima Daisuke
Published: February 2023

An increase in floods due to climate change has concern for causing enormous erosion damage. Concrete is demanded to play an even more important role in the development of river structures for disaster prevention and mitigation. In Japan, river structures using concrete have been actively developed to protect river banks and riverbeds from floods. Under these circumstances, in the River Act partial amendment in 1997, in addition to the previous concept of flood control and water utilization, the concept of the environment (improvement and conservation of river environment) was incorporated. Therefore, various efforts have been made, such as developing products and methods that utilize natural materials other than concrete and researching new environmentally friendly materials. The authors have developed “Environmentally Active Concrete (hereinafter referred to as EAC)” with environmental functions by mixing arginine, one of the amino acids, into the concrete and have put it into practical use. Demonstration experiments have confirmed the environmental performance of EAC in rivers. In river structures where EAC has been applied, the effects of promoting the growth of attached algae and habitat conservation for various organisms such as sweetfish, Japanese eel and Japanese giant salamander have also been confirmed. Utilizing EAC will make it possible to achieve river structures with both disaster prevention and environmental conservation functions.