Ship Impact study

Ship Impact study

Ship impact energy assessment

Robert West have been appointed to design several temporary works structures to allow the central  section of the Thames Tideway tunnel to be constructed.

Part of this study required a specialist ship impact study to be carried out to substantiate the use of a reduced energy impact in the design of the structures which would give significant savings in time and cost.

The initial challenge was to develop a statistical/probabilistic method of analysis which took into account the unique topography and tidal conditions at each location. The method chosen was to develop a specialist MatLab model with the results organised in a database. This approach used traditional statistical/probabilistic methods of analysis but tailored for this specific use.

Robert West purchased data from the Port of London Authority to obtain representative information giving vessel types, position and velocity vectors to provide input into the model. The analysis showed that use of this advanced analysis technique resulted in a reduction of the energy levels by around 38%. This approach substantially reduced the size of the structures. This reduction saved substantial time and cost (materials and plant) and delivered significant additional mitigation of construction environmental impacts.

  • Committed
  • Engaging
  • Professional
  • Confident
  • Adaptable

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