96 GUIDE SPEC!

FiCA TiONS AND COMMENTARY FOR VESSEL COLLISION DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

7.3 PHYSICAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS C7.3

Physical protection systems are protective structures The Guide Specification requirements were
provided on a bridge to fully or partially absorb the developed to provide bridge protection from a head-on
design impact loads. The protective structures may be impact of an aberrant ship or barge vessel. Eccentric
located directly on the bridge (such as a bridge pier impacts in which a significant part of the vessel's impact
fender), or independent of the bridge (such as a dolphin). energy is absorbed by the vessel rolling, yawing, and
The geometric configuration of the protective structure swaying in the water is not specified since the eccentric
can be developed to deflect or redirect the aberrant vessel loads will be less than those associated with a head-on
away from the bridge. The protective structure geometry collision at relatively high speeds.
should be developed to prevent the rake (overhang) of The current practice in the design of protective struc-
the design vessel's bow from striking and causing tures is almost invariably based on energy consid-
damage to any exposed portion of the bridge above the erations. It is assumed that the loss of kinetic energy of
protective structure with the protective structure in its the vessel is transformed into an equal amount of energy
deflected or collapsed position. absorbed by the protective structure. Regardless of the
Protective structures shall be designed in accordance of the protective structure, the work done by the
with accepted engineering practice using either energy structure will be in accordance with Eq. I. The kinetic
or force-acceleration (F ma) methods. Protective impact energy is dissipated by the work done by bending,
structures designed using energy methods shall be in and displacement of the members of the
accordance with:
Design of protective structures is usually an iterative
KE fF(x)dx (7.3-1) process in which a trial configuration of a protective
structure is initially developed. For the trial structure a
where: force vs. deflection, F(x) vs. x, diagram is developed via
or physical testing and modeling. The area under
KE = kinetic energy of design vessel (kip-ft), and the F(x) vs. x diagram is the energy capacity of the pro-
The forces and energy capacity of the
F(x)= protective structure force, F (kips), as a function structure is then compared with the design
of deflection, x (ft). vessel impact force and energy to see if the vessel loads
have been safely withstood.
Protective structures shall be designed in accordance If the protective structure's force resistance is higher
with one of the following sets of alternative criteria: than the vessel impact force, then the vessel's bow will
crush and the impact energy will be primarily absorbed
• The total design impact energy, shall be
by the crushing of the vessel's bow. If the vessel impact
absorbed by the design vessel. The impact energy
force is higher than the protective structure's resistance,
shall be absorbed by the elastic and plastic defor-
then the impact energy will be primarily absorbed by the
mation (crushing) of the vessel's bow. The bridge or
deflection and crushing of the protection system.
protective structure shall be designed to withstand
For the case where both crushing of the bow and
the design impact loads without significant damage
deformation of the protective structure are to be included
or collapse.
in the design, the designer must determine the portion of
• The total design impact energy, KE, shall be the impact energy to be apportioned to the vessel. The
absorbed by a protective system. The impact energy percentage of the energy absorbed by the vessel in such
shall be absorbed by the elastic and plastic an analysis is very complex, and judgment must be
defi:mnation of the protection system structure exercised based on theoretical analysis, physical model
without causing significant damage or collapse of studies, and experience.
the bridge. The vessel absorbs no energy, and no As an example, for the protective dolphins for the
significant vessel damage occurs. Sunshine Skyway Bridge discussed in Article C7.3.3, 20
percent of the total impact energy was absorbed by
'" The design impact energy is absorbed both by the crushing approximately 4 ft of the vessel's bow during
vessel and the protective system. The impact energy the initial 0.3 seconds of the dolphin collision. This was
is absorbed by the elastic and plastic deformation of estimated based on the conservation of linear momentum
both the and the protective structure without given the mass of the ship and dolphin, the initial speed
causing significant damage or collapse of the bridge. of the ship, and the crushing strength of the ship bow.
The analysis and design of bridge protection struc- The remaining 80 percent of the impact energy had to be
tures requires the use of engineering judgment to arrive absorbed by the deformation of the dolphin structure.
at a reasonable solution. In the following sections, the
various types of protective structures commonly used for
bridges will be briefly discussed.