The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is supporting State-owned Transnet on the port projects at the Durban, Saldanha Bay, the Port of Ngqura, Richards Bay and Cape Town harbours, says CSIR Built Environment Coastal Engineering and Port Infrastructure research group leader David Phelp.

Phelp explains that, besides specialist studies for environmental-impact assessments, the CSIR provides three main areas of input for the port projects. These include record-ing wind, wave and current data, building small-scale physical models of the ports and running computer models, including ship motion simulations.

The CSIR measures and records wave and current data using instruments that are located on the seabed or situated on wave buoys in the sea. This information is fed to Transnet and is also used in the operation of the ports.

Phelp says that after a long period of data collection, the CSIR can advise on the design criteria of any new expansions, which are used by port design consultants for the actual design of port expansions.

The CSIR has the largest small-scale physical model facility in Africa that can carry out actual physical model studies. Phelp explains that this is a large shed where accurate small-scale models of the harbours are built in basins, which are then filled with water. Waves are simulated, the stability of structures is monitored and moored ship motions are measured.

Physical models can be assembled with the proposed expansions before the actual extensions are built. Phelp says this is useful in the design process, as the CSIR can test what effect the waves will have on the proposed infrastructure and how long and strong the harbour breakwater must be to keep wave action within the harbour as low as possible.

The CSIR also analyses data on ship motion. Ship motion simulator software is run on computers to determine how a ship will be manoeuvred into the port. A pilot will steer the simulated ship into the harbour, which will provide statistical information that is then used to design the safe layout of a port.

For example, different con-ditions and scenarios are fed into the simulation and repeated simulations provide information on how wide the entrance channel should be. The simulations are also carried out with a few different harbour layouts to determine which is the safest and most economic design. The simulations also allow the ports to be tested for ships of the future, not only ships that currently use the ports.

The computer simulations are also used for the physical model results and after the port has been designed for safety and efficiency, the physical model can help determine the wave action that may enter the port for each port expansion design. Data is extracted from all the different models and simulations to increase the efficiency of the actual port expansion design, and determine limiting conditions for safe port operations.

The CSIR also follows up on operation and maintenance issues after a harbour has been built. It monitors the harbour breakwaters and coastal structures before and after storms. These surveys are combined with wave and current data to check the performance of the breakwater concrete armour blocks. This information is also used to calibrate and make sure that the small-scale physical models are accurate.

Project Involvement
Phelp says that the CSIR has been involved in port expansion projects over the past 40 years. The CSIR is also involved in the operational conditions of the ports by providing the environmental and wave data from the instruments it has deployed around the South African coast.

At the Durban port, the CSIR was part of the design team for the new entrance channel. The CSIR has completed its work with a physical model and the construction of the port expansion is currently under way.

Phelp says the CSIR is still involved in measuring the waves and currents, and the data is fed to the port contractors and consultants taking part in the expansion. The CSIR also continues to analyse and archive the data on Transnet’s behalf, which is ongoing work.

The CSIR is also involved in acquiring the environmental and wave data and is involved in the ship simulation studies for the Port of Saldanha Bay, which is a naturally sheltered bay that is being upgraded for increased iron-ore exports.

The council has been involved in the Coega industrial development zone and the Port of Ngqura from the beginning. The council built a small-scale model, retrieved the environmental data, and has now carried out photographic monitoring surveys of the breakwaters to check performance and analyse these in comparison with the models and the design. Phelp says the CSIR’s involvement is therefore ongoing.

At the proposed Cape Town port expansion, Phelp says that the CSIR has also been involved in gathering the data and constructing physical and computer models and carrying out simulations.

Port Operating Tools
The CSIR also monitors port activities. The tools it developed for port operation include Harbour Watch, a digital video system that tracks and monitors moored ship motion, and DMAX, an underkeel clearance advisory system, as well as its integrated port operating support system (IPOSS).

Phelp explains that Harbour Watch supplies visual information on all the ships operating in a port, entering the port and moored at the quayside. He says that this tool monitors the movement and safety of the vessels, which can also be used to increase the efficiency of port operations.

The visual information can be linked to the wave conditions and, together, can allow port operators to determine whether ship motion is too great to allow the ship to load or unload safely. Phelp says Harbour Watch can also be used to track accidents that have occurred on vessels, and thereby improve safety.

The IPOSS consists of all the data that the CSIR measures from the waves, wind and currents off the ports. This real-time information is fed to the port control tower at each port to assist decisions made affecting port operations. This is especially applicable during unfavourable weather con- ditions. This real-time information is also archived at the CSIR for further analysis.

Phelp says that the CSIR is currently involved in discussions with Transnet to install an IPOSS and Harbour Watch system at the Port of Ngqura.

New Development
The CSIR has been upgrading its coastal engineering and port infrastructure modelling facilities. Phelp says it has invested in new instrumentation and new machines for generating waves to ensure that it uses state-of-the-art technology as far as physical modelling is concerned.

The CSIR is also updating all its computer models to ensure it is on the cutting edge of computer simulation and modelling technology.

Phelp says the CSIR’s physical model facility in Stellenbosch is the same quality as only a handful of other large laboratories around the world. This has resulted in the CSIR being asked to bid on a number of international port projects.

“The CSIR is ensuring that it is at the forefront of technology so that it can support South African expansions and any interesting international projects that may arise,” concludes Phelp.