Optimized Turning Basin Design for Inland Waterways

Abstract

Concept design guidelines for ship turning basins are often not met in practice due to environmental, economic, or geotechnical restrictions. In these cases, a detailed design procedure is followed to develop an optimized turning basin geometry within the environmental constraints. Then, real-time ship maneuvering simulations are used to evaluate the maneuvers in the proposed geometry. However, such a detailed design procedure is costly, especially if a large number of simulations are required. To restrict the number of simulations, the waterway authority [Voies navigables de France (VNF)] ordered a study to find a generic and optimal design for a turning basin which could be suitable for the upgrade in the northern part of their inland waterway network. Therefore, the turning maneuvers for two typical inland navigation vessels were simulated in real time under different hydrometeorological conditions. This study was conducted in three stages. First, maneuvers in traditional circular and trapezoidal turning basins of different sizes were executed and analyzed. Second, optimized turning basin geometries were developed. Finally, the turning maneuvers in those optimized geometries were analyzed. Based on the results of this analysis, a stepwise approach was proposed to select an optimized turning basin geometry that was based on the conditions present on site. This stepwise approach for the design of turning basins could reduce the real-time simulations that are required when upgrading a waterway network.