Fenders for pier protection against vessel collision

摘要

A system is disclosed for protecting supporting structures, such as those of a bridge or other such marine supporting structure, from the force of an impact of a vehicle/vessel. Such a system includes a plurality of modular components arranged in series and configured to dissipate the energy of the force through the progressive buckling of one or more of the modular components. Each modular component contains an energy dissipation unit that includes a plurality of adjacent cells. The energy of the force is dissipated in the buckling of the walls of the cells of the energy dissipation units through the formation of one or more plastic hinges and/or volume reduction of the cells.

主权项

1. A method for dissipating an applied force, comprising:
providing a system, comprising:
a plurality of modular components comprising;
a left side plate;a right side plate;a front strut;a rear strut;a front left column joining the left side plate and the front strut;a front right column joining the right side plate and the front strut;a rear left column joining the left side plate and the rear strut;a rear right column joining the right side plate and the rear strut;a plurality of energy dissipation units disposed inside each modular component, each energy dissipation unit comprising a plurality of cells; a first end; and a second end, the modular components arranged in series between the first end and the second end such that the applied force contacts a first modular component of the series; dissipating the applied force by buckling at least one cell wall of the cells of the energy dissipation unit of the first modular component of the series; upon the buckling of at least one cell wall of the cells of the energy dissipation unit of the first modular component, transferring remaining force to a next adjacent modular component in the series until at least one of all of the applied force has been dissipated and no further adjacent modular components remain in the series; wherein the plurality of modular components is configured to attach to a marine structure.