Hydrodynamic loadings on a floating guard wall at a navigation lock

Abstract

New float-in technology is being applied to construction of floating guard walls in navigation projects such as Olmsted lock and dam on the Ohio River. Guard wall fluid-structure interaction design can be decoupled if the effects of the structural response on the fluid load pattern are negligible. The assumption that the hydrodynamic pressures acting on a floating guard wall can be decoupled from the structural response of the wall is tested. The effects of the flow and pressure distribution in the presence of a typical guard wall were modeled and used as boundary conditions for structural analysis of the guard wall. The deformation of the guard wall was then used to recompute the fluid loads. Because the fluid loading did not change significantly, decoupling is considered to be valid.Key words: hydrodynamic forces, lock guard walls, navigation locks, numerical modeling.