Optimized barge bow form and methods of use thereof

A barge for the commercial shipping of cargo along an inland waterway having:

• a bow,
• a stern,
• elongated sidewalls extending between said bow and stern,
• a bottom interconnecting said bow, stern, and sidewalls,
• a longitudinal centerline plane therealong, and
• a capacity therein;
• said bow having a profile within said centerline plane defined by a fullness with a corresponding radius, said fullness defined by a block coefficient, said fullness and radius optimized for economic performance of said barge along said waterway, said block coefficient ranging from 0.96 to 0.988 and said corresponding radius ranging from 10' to 22', said fullness and radius optimized, by evaluating:
• said barge capacity,
• barge speed attained along said waterway,
• propulsion horsepower required to overcome barge resistance to traverse said waterway,
• barge running time required to traverse said waterway,
• fuel costs required to overcome barge resistance to traverse said waterway, and
• propulsion maintenance and repair costs required to traverse said waterway.

A barge for the commercial shipping of cargo along an inland waterway having:

• a bow,
• a stern,
• elongated sidewalls between said bow and stern,
• a bottom interconnecting said bow, stern, and sidewalls, and
• a longitudinal centerline plane therealong;
• said bow having a profile within said centerline plane defined by a fullness with a corresponding radius, said fullness defined by a block coefficient, said fullness and radius optimized to provide a capacity for said barge and a resistance to movement along said waterway for said barge such that revenue generated by shipping said cargo in said barge less a sum of fuel costs associated with overcoming resistance to propel said barge along said waterway and maintenance and repair costs associated with propelling said barge along a waterway is maximized, said block coefficient ranging from 0.96 to 0.988 and said corresponding radius ranging from 10' to 22'.

A plurality of barges configured into a flotilla, said flotilla being generally N barges wide by M barges long and including either all raked barges or a combination of raked and box barges, at least one raked barge having:

• a bow,
• a stern,
• elongated sidewalls between said bow and stern,
• a bottom interconnecting said bow, stern and sidewalls, and
• a longitudinal centerline plane therealong;
• said bow having a profile within said centerline plane defined by a fullness with a corresponding radius, said fullness defined by a block coefficient, said block coefficient ranging from 0.96 to 0.988 and said corresponding radius ranging from 10' to 22' said fullness and radius optimized to provide a capacity based upon deadweight or tonnage for said flotilla and a resistance to movement along said waterway for said flotilla such that revenue generated by shipping said cargo in said flotilla less a sum of fuel costs associated with overcoming resistance to propel said flotilla along said waterway at speeds up to about 15 mph and maintenance and repair costs associated with propelling said flotilla is maximized.

A plurality of barges configured into a flotilla, said flotilla being generally N barges wide by M barges long and including either all raked barges or a combination of raked barges and box barges, at least one raked barge having:

• a bow,
• a stern,
• elongated sidewalls extending between said bow and stern,
• a bottom interconnecting said bow, stern, and sidewalls,
• a longitudinal centerline plane therealong, and
• a capacity based upon deadweight or tonnage therein;
• said bow having a profile within said centerline plane defined by a fullness with a corresponding radius, said fullness defined by a block coefficient, said block coefficient ranging from 0.96 to 0.988 and said corresponding radius ranging from 10' to 22', said fullness and radius optimized for economic performance of said barge along said waterway at speeds up to about 15 mph by evaluating:
• said barge capacity,
• barge speed attained along said waterway,
• propulsion horsepower required to overcome flotilla resistance to traverse said waterway,
• flotilla running time required to traverse said waterway,
• fuel costs required to overcome flotilla resistance to traverse said waterway, and
• propulsion maintenance and repair costs required to traverse said waterway.

A plurality of barges configured into a flotilla, said flotilla being generally N barges wide by M barges long and including either all raked barges or a combination of raked and box barges, at least one raked barge having:

• a bow,
• a stern,
• elongated sidewalls extending between said bow and stern,
• a bottom interconnecting said bow, stern, and sidewalls, and
• a longitudinal centerline plane therealong;
• said bow having a profile within said centerline plane defined by a fullness with a corresponding radius, said fullness defined by a block coefficient, said fullness and radius optimized for economic performance of said barge,
• said block coefficient ranging from 0.96 to 0.988 and said corresponding radius ranging from 10' to 22', said economic performance dependent upon:
• revenue generated by shipping said cargo in said barge along said waterway,
• fuel costs associated with overcoming resistance to propel said barge along said waterway, and
• maintenance and repair costs associated with propelling said flotilla.