River Barge Research Articles

Blastobotrys nigripullensis, a new yeast species isolated from a fungal outbreak on an ancient Roman shipwreck in the Netherlands.

A new species of the yeast genus Blastobotrys was discovered on ancient ship timbers in the Netherlands. The species had developed on the wood of a river barge dating to the Roman period. The growth occurred after the preservative polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000) was washed out of some of the timbers due to an undetected leak in the storage unit. Mycological analysis of various timber samples revealed the presence of Microascus melanosporus (predominant), Microascus paisii, a member of the Acremonium chrysogenum-clade, and a new Blastrobotrys species. The new species produced sporothrix-like conidiophores with clavate blastoconidia (3-7 × 1-3.5μm) and was found to be osmotolerant, capable of growth on low water activity media like malt yeast 50% glucose agar (MY50G). In this article we formally describe and introduce Blastrobotrys nigripullensis (CBS 17879T) based on its morphology, physiology and phylogenetic placement.

On the river barge of 3000 T preliminary seakeeping approach

This study concerns the preliminary seakeeping analysis of a river barge of 3000 T with length of 90 m and two main loading conditions: full cargo and ballast. As environmental conditions the maximum wave heigh is 2 m, with whole range wave-barge heading angle, specific for all the river navigation zone. The maximum speed of the river barge is 15 km/h. The numerical analysis involves a linear seakeeping code by strip-theory method and short-term irregular waves approach, representing a preliminary simplified evalua-tion of the navigation capabilities of the river barge.

Resilient route selection of oversized cargo transport: the case of South Korea–Kazakhstan

PurposeResilient route selection for oversized cargoes, one of the general bulk cargoes, has not been adequately optimized in terms of using the Arctic route. This study solves the problem of selecting the optimal shipping routes for oversized cargoes from Busan (South Korea) to Balkhash (Kazakhstan).Design/methodology/approachThe study used the consistent fuzzy preference relation (CFPR) method, which is used to solve multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) and uncertainty problems, to tackle the route selection. This method involves three procedures: first, the critical factors and alternative routes were obtained by the previous literature and an in-depth interview of experts of oversized cargo-handling with more than 20 years of working experience; second, the weightings for each critical factor were identified using the CFPR calculation process and third, alternative routes were evaluated using weighted critical factors.FindingsThe Northern Sea Route (NSR) combined with the inland waterways of Russia and Kazakhstan was first suggested for bulk carriers that handle oversized cargoes. The NSR could be a suitable route from Busan to Cape Kamenny of the Russian transshipment seaport, where oversized cargoes will be transferred to the river barge at Cape Kamenny, covering 4,913 km from the latter to Balkhash of Kazakhstan via the Ob/Irtysh River.Practical implicationsThis study equips stakeholders in route selection for cargoes with strategies and methods to improve transportation efficiently and enhance shipping routes between Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In addition to oversized cargoes, coal and timber from Russia can be transported to Asia using inland waterways and the NSR, which can also be used to transport plant equipment for petroleum refineries among Asian countries.Originality/valueThis is the first study to evaluate the suitability of the Artic route for oversized cargoes from South Korea to Kazakhstan. It provides a comprehensive evaluation framework of multimodal shipping routes and offers references for decision-makers when dealing with similar problems.

Comparative study for naval repairs using longitudinal slipway or airbags

Ship repair has gained prominence as a service offered at the shipyards following a crisis in the shipbuilding industry, which has seen a fall in demand for new constructions, causing many companies in the sector to stall, especially shipyards. For a repair yard to be economically viable, in times of crisis, cost reduction is essential to make a sustainable business, so this comparative study aims to check the technical and economic feasibility of this change in the type of dry-docking. The present work deals with a comparative study between the use of the longitudinal slipway and the airbags for dry-docking and repair of river barges. The study sought to identify data from the vessels used for this project, to verify the average displacement of these vessels to analyze the airbags' carrying capacity, as well as the size of the winch to perform the dry-docking service. Since most repair yards use leased areas, the flexibility achieved with the use of airbags, as well as the reduced need for investments in the area, are benefits provided by using them. This work presented satisfactory results for the use of river barge docking airbags as a competitive alternative in repair services.

Experimental Method for the Measurements and Numerical Investigations of Force Generated on the Rotating Cylinder under Water Flow.

The paper presents the experimental test setup and measurement method of hydrodynamic force generated on the rotating cylinder (rotor) under uniform flow including the free surface effect. The experimental test setup was a unique construction installed in the flume tank equipped with advanced flow generating and measuring systems. The test setup consisted of a bearing mounted platform with rotor drive and sensors measuring the hydrodynamic force. The low length to diameter ratio cylinders were selected as models of bow rotor rudders of a shallow draft river barge. The rotor dynamics was tested for the rotational speeds up to 550 rpm and water current velocity up to 0.85 m/s. The low aspect ratio of the cylinder and free surface effect had significant impacts on the phenomena influencing the generated hydrodynamic force. The effects of the rotor length to diameter ratio, rotational velocity to flow velocity ratio, and the Reynolds number on the lift force were analyzed. The validation of the computational model against experimental results is presented. The results show a similar trend of results for the simulation and experiment.

Floating facilities providing social services – a Floating Salvation Army Refuge in Paris and “School Ship” in Vienna

The article presents two floating architectural structures developed in response to the needs of local communities. The first one – a river barge “Louise-Catherine” – was adapted in 1929 according to the design of Le Corbusier, one of the most influential architects of the first half of the 20th century, for the purposes of Salvation Army shelter docked on the Seine in Paris and it continued its operation as such until 1994. The second one – Bertha von Suttner state junior high school – was developed in a shipyard to serve as a school, which purpose it has been fulfilling since 1994 while moored on the Danube River in Vienna. The author’s intention was to describe both structures while highlighting common features as well as differences, and to analyse them in view of certain selected aspects. The background for the projects’ development was described account taken of different reasons and circumstances. Issues under analysis include decision making processes in terms of architectural programme, functions and spatial developments. The analysis also includes technical aspects such as structural developments, material and infrastructure – in terms of the floating Viennese school – account taken on safety of using a barge as a school establishment. A separate part of the article is dedicated to the issue of social reception, and incase of the former Salvation Army shelter – actions aimed at the protection of a historic structure.

Transportation costs: Mississippi River barge rates

Accurately forecasting commodity prices and transportation costs can be a major benefit to market participants. This is especially true with U.S. agricultural export commodities, such as corn and soybeans, that are characterized by small margins but large volume. Traditionally, market participants have relied on naïve methods for predicting barge rates, which represent the cost to transport the agriculture commodity along the Mississippi River system. A testable hypothesis is whether a spatial autoregressive model attempting to predict these barge rates will outperform a naïve model. Results support the hypothesis that improved one-, two-, and five-week-ahead forecasts can be generated using this spatial model. The benefits of increased accuracy in barge rate forecasts are quantified in a simple trading scenario. Market participants can save 17%–29% on barge rate transportation costs depending on the river segment. Increased knowledge and the ability to more accurately predict barge rates is a benefit to all market participants and has a large affect on the prices of the agricultural commodities both domestically and abroad.

Environmental protection using structural analysis of ships

Naval accidents are one of the most common causes of water and coast around pollution and also for the deterioration of the associated ecosystems. In order to reduce the risk of spills of hazardous substances in water one of the methods is to study the behavior of naval structures in the event of collisions.This paper aims to propose a methodology for collision analyze, the case study being a river barge structure with side impact generated by another barge. The structural analysis used the finite element method with an explicit solver and the dynamic load of the side impact collision was applied in form of initial kinetic energy of the striking ship. Standard ship design Rules are compared with an original approach to reveal the advantages and disadvantages of each method.The influence of variation of the different parameters on the obtained results is analyzed, in order to outline an efficient and as accurate as possible methodology, considering the necessary computational effort.

On a river barge type Europe B2 1740T operation limits evaluation in irregular waves

The barge type Europe B2 1740T is designed for operation on river routes. According to the cargo loading cases, on Danube River the significant wave height limits for operation in safety conditions have to be evaluated using the dynamic criteria in irregular waves. The study covers three main loading cases, using an eigen program package DYN-OSC for dynamic analysis. A full range of wave heading angles and three speeds are considered. The dynamic criteria are formulated for heave, roll and pitch motions plus accelerations, and results the barge reference operation limits.

Strength assessment in oblique design waves for a Europe B2 1740T river barge type

The operation limits of a Europe B2 1740T barge have to be evaluated by several safety criteria. A practical approach is based on the global strength criteria evaluation by equivalent beam barge model and equivalent rules waves, with several heading angle cases. There are considered the Danube river navigation conditions and eventually a costal route, too. The barge is considered with three loading cases and the numerical analyses are done by P_QSW eigen program. The numerical results, hull beam sectional efforts, are evaluated by shipbuilding rules global strength criteria and the allowed operation conditions are obtained.

Modeling multimodal freight transportation scenarios in Northern Canada under climate change impacts

In Canada's Northwest Territories, goods are delivered to remote communities and natural resource extraction sites by inland barge, trucks, and for some goods, air. Combinations of all-weather and winter roads are used in the winter months, while river barge transport and all-weather roads are used in the summer. However, Northern Canada is disproportionately impacted by climate change, which results in greater variability in water level conditions on the Mackenzie River from year to year. This in turn critically affects tug-and-barge operations on the river. This paper investigates Mackenzie River Corridor freight delivery performance – with a focus on the river route – considering how variations in river water conditions can impact network operations and operational costs. We investigate the impacts of water level variation on shippers' route choice decisions, waterway supply capacity and the resulting overall performance of the freight transport system. Model outcomes provide insights into how the multimodal transportation network may be utilized and perform (quantified by delays and generalized costs) under different water level scenarios. The overarching purpose of the analysis is to provide guidance for infrastructure investment decision-making and business case development, to maintain an effective freight transportation network in the face of on-going climate change impacts.

A 5th-Century-AD Sewn-Plank River Barge at St Maria in Padovetere (Comacchio-FE), Italy: an interim report

This article reports on the remains of a 5th-century-AD river barge excavated in 2014 and 2015. Most of the flat bottom and one side are preserved. The barge is at least 20 m in length and 2.9 m across the floor, and is constructed using sewn planks, iron nails and mortise-and-tenon fasteners. Both flush-laid and lapstrake planks are recorded. Archaeological, historical, iconographic and ethnographic evidence is used to propose explanations for features, such as the use of lapstrakes, a possible steering system and platform, and the likely position of a pump, while setting the barge in the context of the North Adriatic shipbuilding tradition.

A Preliminary report of recording the Stella 1 Roman River Barge, Italy

The remains of a Roman barge were found in 1981 in the River Stella, Udine, Italy. Its cargo consisted mainly of roof tiles. It was excavated in 1998 and 1999, and detailed recording of the hull, and a second wooden structure, was achieved in 2011. A spread of material upstream of the wreck has been investigated 2012–2015. The barge was originally dated to the first quarter of the 1st century AD by the in situ cargo. This article describes the bottom-based sewn-plank hull construction and examines it in the light of local boatbuilding traditions. The second wooden structure is also described, along with recent finds and new dating evidence from the dispersed material. The Stella 1 excavation was part of the Anaxum Project, a wider study of the Stella River's cultural landscape through time.

Supply chain integration, landside operations and port accessibility in metropolitan Chicago

Seaports have traditionally been the focus of maritime logistics supply chains. Changing production patterns demanding greater end to end visibility by customers and accessibility to key inland population centers assume greater importance in the organization and design of transport resources and cargo flows. While synchronization of all aspects of the supply chain has become an operational necessity for firms, it is often held hostage to the efficiency of hinterland networks who must respond to a large group of stakeholders with sporadic coordination. This is particularly true when looking at the central US city and region of Chicago, a critical intermodal exchange point for truck, air and river barge traffic domestic and global, as well as a major central distribution location. This paper analyzes supply chain integration (SCI) efforts in the metropolitan Chicago region and considers efforts by public and private actors to collaborate for region-wide SCI improvements. Pareto analysis suggests that concentrated freight corridors exist, influencing freight planning for regional transportation networks more directly than diffused regional freight movements. If the corridor service becomes less responsive or congested the corridor will move to different end nodes within the broad region. Regional planning must thus address national, regional, and local moves. Private/public sector infrastructure firms should address functional cooperation on SCI by focusing on corridors as well as local improvements.

A simplified analytical method to estimate the resistance of plane lock gates impacted by river barges

This paper presents a simplified analytical method to evaluate the resistance of a single plating lock gate impacted by a river barge. The approach is based on the assumption that the gate behavior may be divided into two successive phases. At the beginning of the collision, local crushing of some structural elements occurs concomitantly with small overall elastic motion of the entire gate. Then, when the penetration of the barge into the gate becomes important, a global plastic mechanism develops over the entire structure. In addition to the membrane and bending deformations occurring classically in such collisions, the particular flat shape of the striking barge bow leads to shear deformations near the gate edges. For all these deformation modes, closed-form expressions of the gate resistance are derived for both local and global deformation phases by applying the upper-bound method. These analytical developments are then validated through comparisons with numerical solutions obtained from non-linear finite-element simulations.

An Amphora on a River Barge: a revised dating of Druten 1, Netherlands

An Amphora on a River Barge: a revised dating of Druten 1, Netherlands

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) policy innovation in petrochemicals river barge transportation

The aim of this paper was to emphasise the need for a volatile organic compounds VOC policy review in the field of river barge transportation of petrochemicals. Review of the VOC policy shows that barges neither fall under an integrated pollution prevention and control permit nor any other regulation or incentive related environmental policy. Current situation and trend in this area is presented through a case study of the Danube River, Serbia. The case study shows that evaporative losses have increased c ca 22 times in period 2006–2010 and, that vapour collection system can reduce VOC emissions by up to 3 times. A proposal for improved VOC policy has been developed in detail based on the following elements: a) The appropriate Best Available Techniques reference document (BREF) should include the transport sector; b) Mandatory reporting of VOC emitted during barge transport of crude oil and crude oil derivates should be introduced, and c) A pollution charge should be introduced on all barges without vapour collection system installed “onboard”. Three potential scenarios for the VOC charge are presented, which vary according to the charge introducing dynamics. The differences between scenarios are in initial levels of charge, but the final charge is same for all three and it is proposed to be 220 € per capacity ton.

Chapitre 9. Le chaland Arles-Rhône 3 dans la batellerie gallo-romaine : étude typologique et interprétation historique

Chapitre 9. Le chaland Arles-Rhône 3 dans la batellerie gallo-romaine : étude typologique et interprétation historique

Volker Böder (1965–2012) in memoriam

Our dear colleague and friend Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volker Boder, professor of geodesy and hydrography at HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU), Germany, was killed tragically on 1st September 2012. During a hydrographic survey on the River Rhine in Basel, Switzerland, Volker’s surveying vessel collided with a river barge on 31st August, capsized, and the crew of four went overboard. Two of his staff members were rescued with minor injuries. Volker suffered major injuries and sadly died in hospital. The captain of the vessel did not survive the accident. Volker Boder, torn from life aged only 47 years, leaves behind his wife and 2 children. Volker Boder, born on 20th June 1965, grew up in Lower Saxony, Germany. He completed a three-year apprenticeship in surveying before studying geodesy at the University of

The Mississippi River System Shallow Draft Barge Market – Perfectly Competitive or Oligopolistic?

Most transportation textbooks and articles on inland waterway navigation assume a perfectly competitive Mississippi River system barge industry. One study found the 1972 and 1977 grain barge industry to be oligopolistic. A second study of the U.S. barge industry found "intra industry competition for the barge industry on a day-to-day basis with easy entry and exit." Using the concentration ratio and the Herfindahl Index, this study found the Mississippi River barge industry to be oligopolistic. These results suggest that Mississippi River navigation infrastructure studies should not use long run marginal barge costs as a proxy for barge rates.