Baton Rouge Hydrokinetic Barge ModuleEngineering Concept Sheet
Phase 1 Prototype | Concept-level package for engineering screening, investor discussion, and feasibility scoping
Status: Concept only — not for construction, procurement, navigation approval, or permit submittal
| Recommended hull | 120 ft × 50 ft × 8 ft inland equipment/spud barge | Design envelope | Outside maintained navigation corridor; retractable storm mode; armored shore export cable |
| Turbine package | 2 × 4.5 m variable-speed axial-flow rotors on retractable frame | ||
| Module output | ~110–135 kW at ~2.8–3.0 m/s current | ||
| Primary restraint | 4-point mooring to engineered pile/dolphin anchor groups |
1. Basis of Design
Design intent is a single pilot-scale hydrokinetic barge module for deployment in the Baton Rouge reach of the Mississippi River, outside the maintained deep-draft navigation channel and outside critical levee and revetment conflict zones.
The concept uses a heavy inland equipment/spud barge as a support platform, a retractable steel turbine carriage carrying two submerged rotors, and a permanent 4-point mooring system with upstream load bias. Spuds are included for positioning and maintenance support only.
All values in this package are conceptual first-pass engineering values. Final design requires hydrodynamic surveying, geotechnical borings, bathymetry, navigation review, utility interconnection study, environmental review, and stamped structural and marine analyses.
2. General Arrangement
Top view
Figure 1. Top view with conceptual dimensions, turbine well, spuds, and 4-point mooring arrangement.
Side view
Figure 2. Side view showing hull, retractable twin-rotor carriage, export cable, and anchor dolphin concept.
Anchor / mooring layout
Figure 3. 4-point mooring concept with upstream primary groups and downstream stabilizing groups.
3. Principal Dimensions and Design Assumptions
| Parameter | Value | Units | Notes |
| Hull length overall | 120 | ft | Inland equipment/spud barge, raked upstream bow |
| Hull beam | 50 | ft | Selected for stability, deck space, and twin-rotor packaging |
| Hull depth | 8 | ft | Typical deck barge depth |
| Operating draft | 4.0–4.5 | ft | To be verified by final weight takeoff and freeboard calculation |
| Rotor quantity | 2 | ea | Horizontal-axis hydrokinetic rotors |
| Rotor diameter | 4.5 | m | ~14.8 ft rotor diameter |
| Hub depth below normal surface | 18–22 | ft | Site-tuned to balance output, clearance, and debris exposure |
| Bottom tip clearance | 8–12 | ft | To be verified with site bathymetry and scour envelope |
| Turbine well clear opening | 16 × 8 | ft | Conceptual internal opening for carriage and maintenance access |
| Spuds | 24 in × 45 | ft | Auxiliary positioning only; not primary storm restraint |
| Anchor spread | ~160 | ft | Lateral distance between upstream groups |
| Fore/aft anchor spacing | ~70–90 | ft | Approximate upstream-to-downstream group spacing |
| Export voltage | 13.8 | kV | Conceptual shore interconnect level |
4. Preliminary Load Table
Loads below are first-pass conceptual values for screening the mooring and hull/frame arrangement. They are not final structural design loads.
| Load case | Current | Estimated load | Units | Comment |
| Twin-rotor thrust | ~2.8 m/s | ~100 | kN | Combined thrust from both 4.5 m rotors |
| Twin-rotor thrust | ~3.0 m/s | ~115 | kN | Upper normal operating band |
| Hull drag | ~2.8–3.0 m/s | ~75 | kN | Barge aligned to current |
| Frame, appendages, misc. drag | ~2.8–3.0 m/s | ~30–50 | kN | Carriage, cabling, miscellaneous components |
| Total service mooring load | ~2.8–3.0 m/s | ~205–240 | kN | Normal operating envelope |
| Extreme/event screening load | high water + debris + dynamic margin | ~450–550 | kN | Preliminary system design envelope |
| Upstream anchor group target working load | design basis | 300–400 | kN each | Primary restraint capacity target |
| Downstream anchor group target working load | design basis | 150–200 | kN each | Secondary stability / yaw control |
| Total mooring system ultimate target | design basis | >1,000 | kN | Target with redundancy and reserve |
Key mechanical takeaway: this is a 0.1 MW-class module, not a 1 MW-class module. The engineering fight is survivability, restraint, access, and debris handling—not simply rotor power density.
5. Anchor and Mooring Concept
Recommended permanent restraint is a 4-point mooring to engineered anchor dolphins or pile groups rather than loose deadweight anchors. Upstream groups carry the dominant current load; downstream groups stabilize yaw, surge recovery, and fault tolerance.
Conceptual anchor group: two 30-inch OD steel pipe piles with 1-inch wall thickness, tied by a cap beam, with preliminary embedment screening in the 60–80 ft range below mudline. Final size and embedment depend on geotechnical borings, scour depth, and lateral analysis.
Mooring line concept: 1.5-inch wire rope or equivalent hybrid line upstream; 1.25-inch downstream. Add chafe protection, line monitoring, and replaceable connection hardware. Use two onboard 24-inch square spuds only for positioning, maintenance, and short hold periods.
6. Bill of Major Components
| System | Major component | Qty | Concept notes |
| Hull/platform | 120 ft × 50 ft × 8 ft inland equipment/spud barge | 1 | Raked upstream end, service deck, local crane pad, equipment zones |
| Positioning | 24 in × 45 ft spuds | 2 | Auxiliary hold only |
| Turbines | 4.5 m axial-flow hydrokinetic rotor assemblies | 2 | Variable speed, sealed nacelle, underwater bearings |
| Support frame | Retractable steel carriage / portal frame | 1 | Raise/lower/lock positions for operation, inspection, storm mode |
| Debris management | Floating debris boom / deflector | 1 set | Angled to steer drift away from rotor plane |
| Mooring | Engineered upstream anchor groups | 2 | Pile/dolphin groups with cap beam |
| Mooring | Engineered downstream anchor groups | 2 | Pile/dolphin groups with cap beam |
| Mooring hardware | Wire rope / hybrid mooring lines, shackles, fairleads, instrumentation | 1 set | Oversized for river service |
| Electrical | Underwater generators with drives / converters | 2 | 480–690 V class at machine |
| Electrical | Main transformer and switchgear | 1 set | Barge-mounted or shore mounted depending final arrangement |
| Electrical | Armored export cable to shore | 1 set | Buried/protected at landing |
| Controls | SCADA, vibration monitoring, line tension monitoring | 1 set | Remote alarms and performance tracking |
| Safety | Navigation lighting / marks, emergency retrieval gear | 1 set | Integrated with marine operations plan |
7. Phase 1 Prototype Specification
Prototype objective: Prove survivability, power yield, maintenance access, and navigation compatibility through at least one full hydrologic cycle.
Nominal module rating: 110–135 kW expected at approximately 2.8–3.0 m/s current; design to capture operating data rather than advertise nameplate hero numbers.
Deployment mode: Single barge module located outside the maintained ship channel and outside critical bank/flood-control infrastructure conflict zones.
Storm strategy: Retract carriage to protected position and/or remove module from service during major storm or high-debris windows.
Target monitoring package: Rotor speed, generator power, vibration, bearing temperature, line tension, hull motions, current velocity, debris events, and scour observations.
Recommended engineering gates before fabrication: ADCP current survey, bathymetry, geotechnical borings, pile lateral design, hull stability review, mooring analysis, debris study, cable route study, and interconnection screening.
Recommended pilot duration: 12 months minimum, preferably covering one high-water season and one lower-water season.
Success criteria: No serious navigation conflict, acceptable maintenance burden, stable mooring performance, survivable debris events, and bankable net energy data.
8. Immediate Next-Step Work Package
1) Confirm a candidate river reach outside the navigation corridor and outside levee/revetment conflict zones.
2) Run ADCP transects to define the real velocity profile through the target operating depth band.
3) Collect borings and sediment data for pile design and scour protection.
4) Complete barge weight estimate, draft/freeboard check, and intact stability review for carriage-up and carriage-down conditions.
5) Run mooring analysis for normal operation, high water, asymmetric line loss, and debris strike scenarios.
6) Define export cable route and shore switchgear elevation above flood risk.
7) Build a utility/interconnection and permit map before advancing to procurement pricing.
Engineering caution: This concept package is intended to start real conversations with marine engineers, coastal/environmental engineers, fabricators, utilities, and investors. It is intentionally conservative on output and intentionally aggressive on survivability.