Use Case of the Detailed Design Approach proposed by PIANC InCom WG 141 in the Study of the Accessibility of 135 m vessels on the Upper Scheldt in Wallonia (Belgium)
Page, S.; Mansuy, M.; Eloot, K.; Swartenbroekx, C.; Bousmar, D. (2025). Use Case of the Detailed Design Approach proposed by PIANC InCom WG 141 in the Study of the Accessibility of 135 m vessels on the Upper Scheldt in Wallonia (Belgium), in: SMART RIVERS 2025: Celebrating the World’s Navigable Waterways, 8-12 September 2025: Conference Proceedings. pp. [1]
In: (2025). SMART RIVERS 2025: Celebrating the World’s Navigable Waterways, 8-12 September 2025: Conference Proceedings. PIANC USA: Alexandria, VA. different pagination pp., more
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Document type: Conference paper
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| Authors | | Top |
- Page, S.
- Mansuy, M., more
- Eloot, K., more
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- Swartenbroekx, C.
- Bousmar, D.
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| Abstract |
Service Public de Wallonie, Mobilité et Infrastructures (SPW), the Walloon waterways authority, is currently studying, planning, and making significant investments in its network of waterways. These investments aim to modernize the region's waterway network to improve its efficiency and make it accessible to larger convoys. One of the waterways under study is the Nimy-Blaton-Peronnes canal (NBPC) between Pommeroeul and Maubray, which is currently accessible to vessels measuring 85 m x 11.50 m, with plans to make it accessible to vessels of 110 m x 11.50 m. To support the decision-making process, trajectory studies, both desktop and on a ship maneuvering simulator, are being conducted by a consortium composed of IMDC, Ghent University and Flanders Hydraulics.
The desktop studies have a dual objective. Firstly, they help define the accessibility of the waterway and its structures, based on a defined set of threshold geometrical parameters. Secondly, they help filter the sections for which the use of ship maneuvering simulators is likely to prove that higher accessibility is possible.
In its specifications, SPW emphasized the need to support the work as much as possible with the methodology proposed by the PIANC Working Group WG 141 report (2019) "Design Guidelines for Inland Waterway Dimensions". This document is particularly useful in Belgium, where, unlike neighboring countries, there is no national directive for the design of inland waterways.
This article presents the methodology used in the nautical analysis, both desktop and on simulator, of the accessibility of the Pommeroeul-Maubray stretch of the NBPC in Wallonia for 110 m x 11.50 m vessels. In accordance with the SPW’s wishes, the recommendations of PIANC's WG 141 are used at several stages of the study. This is notably the case for determining the targeted level of safety and ease for the design vessel (unconstrained, moderately constrained, highly constrained), which was defined in consultation with the client using the “Assessment of the necessary ease quality” tool proposed by WG 141. The analysis allowed for the definition of a targeted level of safety and ease for the NPBC based on objective parameters related to the waterway (presence of current or not, nature of the banks, etc.), as well as projected traffic (number of ships per year, presence or absence of recreational navigation) and projected operational objectives (navigation speed, etc.).
Based on these results, the recommendations of WG 141 are used again to define the threshold values of the geometric parameters which are used in the desktop study (waterway width and overwidths, minimum curvature radii, minimum height and width of bridges passages, etc.). The recommendations are also used to determine threshold values that are used to filter the sections for which it is conceivable that a simulator study could prove higher accessibility. This filtering helps optimize simulation time.
The results of the real time ship maneuvering simulations, conducted subsequently by skippers familiar with the Walloon waterway network, provide insight into the relevance of the method proposed by WG 141. |
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