• Concrete and Grouts for Underwater Placement
• Low-Density, High-Strength Concrete for Float-In Construction
• Design of Innovative Lock Walls for Barge Impact Loads
• Lock Filling and Emptying System for Extension of 600-ft Locks
• Modular Connections and Seals for Precast Segments
• In-Chamber Longitudinal Culvert Design for Lock Filling and Emptying System
• Thin-Wall Concrete Panels
• Integrated Design and Analysis System for Navigation Structures
• Positioning Techniques for Float-in and Lift-in Construction
• Implementation and Demonstrations
• Lock Floor Slab and Culvert Construction Under Water
• Quantifying Risks and Uncertainties of Innovative Construction Techniques
• Innovations for Lock Gate Operating Controls and Equipment
• Soil-Structure Interaction Studies of Walls with Multiple Rows of Anchors
• Ice Issues for Innovative Navigation Structures

Concrete and Grouts for Underwater Placement

Objective: Characterize concrete mixtures suitable for underwater placements, considering various flow requirements. Develop recommended guidelines for mixture proportions including recommended dosages for antiwashout admixtures (AWA) for various placement requirements. Evaluate new AWAs to determine whether their performance is similar to that of other acceptable products tested at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. Develop a Corps specification for AWA. Propose this specification to the American Society for Testing and Materials for further consideration. Address environmental concerns relating to water quality and the potential harm to aquatic life near or downstream of underwater concrete placements. Characterize the physical properties of controlled low-strength materials. Develop recommended guidelines for incorporating various coal combustion by-products as constituent materials. Transfer this information to Corps agencies and the private industry.

Low-Density, High-Strength Concrete for Float-In Construction

Objective: Review and compile existing design criteria on lightweight concrete. Characterize a suite of lightweight, high-strength concretes suitable for the construction of float-in and lift-in modular units. Unit weights of about 120 lb/cu ft will be typical. Strength specifications are expected to range from 35 to 75 MPa. Develop mixture specification for lightweight concrete with minimum mass, adequate strength, and maximum durability.

Design of Innovative Lock Walls for Barge Impact Loads

Objective: Develop the needed research and analytical models to establish realistic barge-impact forces and multiple objective criteria for return period scenarios in innovative lock wall design. The products will include: development of guidelines to determine the values for barge-impact forces for typical inland waterway tows; development of guidelines to address both rigid and flexible innovative wall designs; recommendations and methodologies to assist with selecting input model values for tow mass, velocity, impact angle, and position along the wall; development of guidelines for multiple criteria decision-making and return period scenarios for usual, unusual, and extreme events including loss of power and control events; and an investigation into the potential use of energy absorption fenders for use in the innovative design process.

Lock Filling and Emptying System for Extension of 600-ft Locks

Objective: Evaluate a lock filling and emptying system for a 1,200-ft lock constructed by extending the lock walls of an existing 600-ft lock. The filling and emptying of the 1,200-ft lock would be accomplished by using the 600-ft lock filling and emptying system. Evaluation would include the filling and emptying times and hawser forces for typical lifts and recommendations of design modifications that would improve the hydraulic performance. Operational and design guidance would be provided to field personnel considering this type of filling and emptying system.

Modular Connections and Seals for Precast Segments

Objective: Develop structural connections and seals between modular precast segments for construction of navigation locks. Intermediate objectives of this effort will include determination of the type and magnitude of construction and service loads acting on the connection and the associated load factors for each load. Dimensional tolerances for positioning elements during lift-in/float-in construction will also be determined. This effort will be coordinated with the research on positioning and placement. The loads and positioning tolerances will provide the basis for the design of the connection and seal.

In-Chamber Longitudinal Culvert Design for Lock Filling and Emptying System

Objective: Provide design information necessary to develop an in-chamber longitudinal culvert filling and emptying system (ILCS) for low and medium lift locks. Initial performance data are available from the McAlpine Lock model study. Further analysis of these data would provide the basis for developing the design guidance. A physical lock model and/or a numerical model would be used to perform a more rigorous evaluation of the ILCS to cover the range of design conditions, which includes the range of chamber dimensions used for Corps of Engineers locks. Lock filling times, valve operations, and performance of ILCS will be addressed. Design guidance will be developed for use by Corps Districts and private industry to develop the filling and emptying system for the innovative locks.

Thin-Wall Concrete Panels

Objective: Develop an understanding of the important material properties, construction details, and serviceability parameters for the use of thin-wall panels in hydraulic structures, whether as primary elements or as stay-in-place formwork. Innovative use of new and/or modified materials will improve cost-effectiveness and reduce maintenance requirements.

Integrated Design and Analysis System for Navigation Structures

Objective: Develop new and improved methods of analysis and design for proposed innovative navigation structures--from the time of fabrication through their service life. The resulting method will be developed for ease of implementation in the design office (by employing computer-aided engineering tools) and will provide a higher level of analysis for steel, reinforced concrete, and prestressed concrete structures than is currently used, as well as a more standard approach. Advanced analysis methods will allow for the development of longer and thinner shell structures with an increase in structure reliability.

Positioning Techniques for Float-in and Lift-in Construction

Objective: Identify and evaluate current methods and techniques for positioning and stabilizing equipment and modules associated with in-the-wet construction of navigation structures using large precast concrete sections. Accurate and stable positioning is essential to successful installation of large precast concrete modules, and achieves considerable cost savings.

Implementation and Demonstrations

Objective: Demonstrate that the newly developed innovative design and construction techniques result in hydraulic structures that are constructible, operational, maintainable, and cost effective over the design life.

Lock Floor Slab and Culvert Construction Under Water

Objective: Identification of possible construction scenarios must first be determined and should take into consideration the various foundations that may be encountered. Using the scenarios established, investigations should be made to determine what current capabilities exist for underwater construction and what capabilities need to be developed to implement these scenarios. Existing capabilities should be identified along with the performance of research capabilities that need to be developed. Documentation of existing and new capabilities should be accumulated to be developed into a guidance document that provides design information outlining the requirements for underwater construction of floor slabs and culverts and the minimum requirements associated with this type of construction.

Quantifying Risks and Uncertainties of Innovative Construction Techniques

Objective: Examine and document the potential risks and uncertainties associated with state-of-the-art innovative construction techniques. The goal of this research is to establish consistent procedures for determining acceptable risks for use in both the innovative research and design of navigation structures. Benefits will be derived in potential cost savings as a result of identifying and eliminating risks from the innovative construction process.

Innovations for Lock Gate Operating Controls and Equipment

Objective: Develop technology to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of navigation lock gate controls and equipment. Several Corps Districts are exploring the possibilities of using remote controls on their navigation projects to reduce operations and maintenance costs. It could become a trend if the operating budget continues to shrink. This research will provide additional knowledge, needed guidelines, and standardized systems for automated lock gate operating controls and equipment to the field.

Soil-Structure Interaction Studies of Walls with Multiple Rows of Anchors

Objective: Develop engineering procedures for the design and analysis of flexible retaining walls with multiple rows of anchors and for typical anchorage systems using SSI (soil-structure interaction) principles. The improved analysis techniques developed during this research effort will provide a safer and more economical design for flexible anchored retaining walls for hydraulic structures used in civil works design.

Ice Issues for Innovative Navigation Structures

Objective: Identify and investigate ice management issues associated with innovative lock designs. This investigation includes assessing the ice- and debris-flushing capability of proposed filling and emptying systems, the design and location of culvert intakes and outlets with respect to ice and debris, and innovative guardwall and guidewall designs with regard to ice forces as well as the passage of ice and debris. This research also focuses on determining the optimal configuration and airflow requirements for bubbler systems for ice and debris control, incorporating heated components and low-adhesion materials in innovative designs, and addressing possible ice problems during construction and the effects of icing on connections and joints.