Lock Performance
By
Wesley W. Wilson
University of Oregon and IWR
Purpose of Study
The inland waterway consists of the river and a series of locks
and dams that allow the river to be navigated.
The capacity and use of the waterway depends on lock
performance.
There is a wealth of information on locks and lock performance
which can be used to estimate the effects of particular lock
characteristics on performance.
Purpose
To develop and estimate a model of lock performance as a function
of lock and “flotilla” characteristics.
Locks
Locks: Necessary to make the river navigatable.
Pool 1
Lock
River
Pool 2
River
Flotillas and Lockages
A flotilla consists of a power vessel and a set of
barges which have different configurations and
dimensions.
Locks have a fixed set of dimensions.
Single Lockage: Flotilla can pass through in one
“cut”.
Double Lockage: Flotilla must take two cuts to
pass through the lock.
Single Lockage
Approach the lock
Enter the chamber
Gates close
Lock is filled (or emptied)
Open gates
Exit the lock.
Double Lockage
Approach the lock
Enter the chamber
Uncouple and back out second cut (*)
Close gates
Fill (empty) the lock chamber
Open gates
First cut exits (*)
Close gates (*)
Fill (empty) the lock chamber (*)
Open gates (*)
Second cut enters lock chamber (*)
Close gates (*)
Fill (empty) the lock chamber (*)
Open gates (*)
Recouple the tow (*)
Exit
Lock Characteristics
Age
Dimensions (length and width)
Gate Types
Number of chambers
Lift
Upper Miss Locks
Age
29 Locks
Year opened ranges from 1922 – 1990
Decade Opened
Decade Opened
90s
60s
50s
40s
30s
20s
0
5
10
15
Number of Locks Opened
20
25
Lock Length
Number of Locks
Length of Locks
30
20
10
21
1
3
1
360
400
500
3
0
Length
600
1200
Lock Dimensions
Standard Lock on UMISS is 110 by 600.
_______________________________________________
Width
Length
56
110
Total
400
500
600
1200
Total
3
0
0
0
0
1
22
3
3
1
21
3
3
26
29
Lift Lift
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
15
16
21
24
25
38
49
Freq.
1
1
1
4
4
4
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
Percent
3.45
3.45
3.45
13.79
13.79
13.79
10.34
6.90
6.90
3.45
3.45
3.45
3.45
6.90
3.45
Total
29
100.00
Flotilla Characteristics
Flotilla is a tow-barge configuration that passes
through a lock.
In 2000, there were about 69,989 flotillas on the
UMiss that were used in the analysis.
Flotilla
Data
Over 69,000
observations (flotillas are tow/barge
passages through a lock)
Characteristics:
Number of barges per flotilla:
>15
8170
7-15
39969
<=6
21850
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
Series 1
Flotilla Data
Flotilla Lengths
>1200
24
601-1200
52573
<600
17392
0
20000
40000
60000
Flotilla Width
>110
35
57-110
57647
<=56
12305
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
Flotilla Draft
5858
Greater than 9
46909
6-9
1110
3 to 6
16112
3 or less
0
20000 40000 60000
Characteristics
Number of cuts
1-33,945 (48.5%)
2-36,043 (51.5%)
Up and Down River Cuts
35,319 Down River
34,670 Up River
Day versus Night
38,481 (55%) Day
Cuts and Month
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
Lockage Types
TYPE
C - Consecutive
J - Jackknife
K - Knockout
S - Straight
T - Barge Transfer
V - Set over
Z - Other
Number
35,560
9
6,231
26,894
68
1,224
3
Percent
51
0
9
38
0
2
0
Mechanical Assist
Type
I - Tow with Bow Thrusters
J - Tow haulage (e.g., winch)
(e.g., winch, kevel)
K – Hydraulic
N – Tow and Barge equip
(e.g., winch, kevel)
None
Number Percent
70
0
23186
33
11474
780
16
1
34694
50
Processing Time
(End of lockage-Start of Lockage-Stoppage)
77 minutes
79 minutes
0
.005
Density
.01
.015
Mean
50%
0
50
100
(m ean) t ot_pro
150
200
Lock Length
Lock Length and Processing Time
1200
500
360
0
20
40
60
Minutes
80
100
Lock Times-Size and Cuts
Lock
400-56
500-110
600-110
1200-110
All
29
43
92
49
Minutes
Single Multiple
29
.
43
108
39
110
48
.
All
78
42
110
Econometric Model
Time = f(Lock, Flotilla, Vessel, Passage, Time of day)
Lock:
Flotilla:
Vessel:
Passage:
Time of day:
Dummies for width and length
Lift
Age
Length, width, number of barges
Horse power and dummy for tugboat or not.
Dummies for single or double cuts
Dummy for “first in queue” or not
Dummy for night or day.
Unobserved factors: River conditions, lockmaster rules.
Results-Lock Types (R2=83)
Lock (600 by 110 base)
1200 by 110
-.2779012 .0061766 -44.99
400 by 56
-.4273209 .0085801 -49.80
500 by 110
-.0983614 .0077284 -12.73
log_lift
log_age
.1643288 .004017 40.91
.0649217 .0028885 22.48
Flotilla Effects
log-length
.6141746
.0079148
77.60
log_width
.0086608
.0085224
1.02
log_area/NUMBAR
-.0982405
.0078662
-12.49
Vessel Effects
v_hp
v_length
v_brea~h
v_age
v_draft
tugboat
.0311656
-.0580582
-.0324201
.0383967
.2432245
-.0063391
.0069811
.008854
.0145776
.003187
.0070532
.002503
4.46
-6.56
-2.22
12.05
34.48
-2.53
Passage Results
mult
daytime
q_1
upriver
.5943969
-.056563
.194837
-.0717073
.0044403
.0020391
.0022855
.0020738
133.86
-27.74
85.25
-34.58