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Development of a partial air cushion support catamaran for freight transportation on inland waterways

Deliverables

Potentially profitable routes for PACSCAT River Freighter were identified on the Danube over its whole length between the Black Sea and Passau on the German border; and on the lower part of the Rhine between the Europort and Duisburg. A substantial amount of data on these routes has been generated, including potential logistics markets and specific service opportunities.
Based on required specifications, design for two types of PACSCAT River Freighters were prepared with accompanying general arrangement drawings. The 135m long designs for the Danube were designed to carry 45 trucks in a RoRo configuration. A similar rigged vessel was designed to carry 240 TEU for operation on the lower Rhine? Both could transport deadweight of about 2000t at up to 38km/hr (20kts) in shallow water only 1.5m deep.
A variable geometry research model was initially constructed and tested in a shallow water-towing tank. This provided research information and enabled the influence of the main features of PACSCAT to be identified. Theses features were then transcribed into a computer program which was able to predict the performance of specific design of PACSCAT vessels, including the generation of wake wash profiles. The finalised design of a River Freighter was subsequently confirmed by further tank tests on a large (8m) long model. This was also operated with propulsors and in a freely manoeuvring mode.

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