This paper describes the full-scale barge impact experiments recently conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). These experiments were performed by the USAE Waterways Experiment Station to assist in the verification of the current barge impact methodologies being utilized in the design of inland waterway navigation structures. These full-scale experiments utilized four- and fifteen-barge tow configurations. The flotillas were fully ballasted to approximately nine feet of draft and laid out with state-of-the-art instrumentation to record the actual impact force and the behavior of the flotilla during impact. The angles and speeds of the tow at impact during these experiments ranged from 0.5 to 4.1 feet per second, at angles of impact from 5 to 30 degrees. Full-scale experiments were also conducted on a prototype energy-absorbing fendering system designed especially for inland waterway structures. The results from these experiments will be used to further define and develop the barge impact numerical models and assist with design procedures to be used in USACE innovative lock design.
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