Abstract
Harbor facilities are important elements of international transport infrastructure. Maintenance of the existing mooring facilities along with the construction of new ports and harborage areas have revealed a number of challenges at all stages of the life cycle. In the Arctic, adverse climate conditions impose specific constraints on the processes of study, engineering, construction, and exploitation of seaport facilities. In this chapter, the authors provide the examples of design solutions as well as specific features of construction and maintenance of seaport facilities in various conditions, suggest technical and hardware solutions for monitoring and safeguard of cargo harbor facilities in the Arctic, measures to reconstruction, repair, utilization, conservation, and elaboration of computational information models. The chapter considers major objectives of environmental safety control during the performance of cargo handling operations, oil spills prevention and response, training and education of hydraulic engineers to perform activities in the Arctic.
TopIntroduction
Due to the enormous natural and resource potential (minerals and raw materials, fuel and energy, forest and biological resources), the Arctic is a strategic region in the northern hemisphere. In the Arctic, the economic and political interests of the Nordic states, the USA, Canada, Russia, and other countries are closely intertwined.
Seaports are the key elements of the transport infrastructure in the Arctic. In many respects, their development is interlinked with the opportunities for the development of the entire region. Thus, one of the most pressing challenges is the rational organization of construction and management of seaports in the Arctic, particularly, along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and other potential shipping passages.
In recent decades, revolutionary changes have been happening in the field of maritime transport in the Arctic. They may lead to a significant increase in shipping volumes, changes in the existing pattern of cargo transportation, and increase in the intercontinental transit shipping. However, the maintenance of existing berthing facilities and construction of new ports and water areas have revealed many drawbacks. Hydrometeorological and geoecological conditions of the Arctic impose specific restrictions on the exploration, design, construction, and operation of the seaports. This chapter discusses the existing experience of using of port hydraulic structures in the Arctic. The authors consider the establishment of digital BIM-models as the elements of transport infrastructure taking into account their destination. In the spheres of civil and industrial construction, information modeling (BIM) technologies have been developing actively. However, the objects of transport infrastructure are different from linear and areal building ones. Marine berthing facilities have even more differences. Therefore, in this chapter, the authors discuss how BIM-technologies may be employed in the design and operation of marine hydraulic structures.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Building Information Modeling (BIM): A digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility.
Ice Loads: A movement of the ice cover on the structure, which occurs under the influence of current, wind, or rising water level.
Monitoring of Technical Conditions: A complex of design, instrumental, and calculation activities aimed at determining the physical and mechanical condition of a structure.
Northern Sea Route (NSR): The shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
Dotty Berths: A device for mooring and handling of bulk vessels (tankers and gas carriers) at some distance from the shore.
Northwest Passage (NWP): The sea corridor through Canada’s Arctic Archipelago and along the northern coast of North America.
Life Cycle Model of Structure: A period during which there are carried out engineering surveys, design, construction, operation, reconstruction, and utilization of a structure.