Engineering a Barge

Who Designs and Builds Ships? Marine engineers and naval architects design, build, and maintain ships from aircraft carriers to submarines, from sailboats to tankers. Marine engineers work on the mechanical systems, such as propulsion and steering. Naval architects work on the basic design, including the form and stability of hulls. architects.htm#tab-2

How do Boats Float? An object will float if the gravitational or downward force is less than the buoyancy or upward force. So, in other words, an object will float if it weighs less than the amount of water it displaces. This explains why a rock will sink while a huge boat will float. How does this relate to the barge you created?

Vocabulary Buoyancy is the upward force we need from the water to stay afloat, and it's measured by weight.

Add this to your notes. Choose an item to put in the bottle. Could you change the arrow length?

Archimedes Principle Who is Archimedes?

Advantages to shipping by barge: In areas where barge transportation is available, the cost of transportation tends to be lower. Lower costs to the shipper translates into lower costs for the consumer. Shipping by barge is more energy efficient.

Advantages to shipping by barge: It is safer. Statistics show that barge transportation has fewer accidents, fatalities, and injuries than truck or rail in every measure. Causes little congestion. Water transport seldom causes congestion problems that represent a hazard to the public.

Advantages to shipping by barge: They produce little noise or air pollution. They have small effects on land and community. Barges require minimal modification to the land for support unlike road or rail.

Disadvantages to shipping by barge: Barges are long vessels, might be hard to handle on certain waterways. Some ports may not be able to accommodate the large size of a barge. If the barge is not filled to capacity it is not economically feasible to ship. What else can you think of in terms of pollution?

The Science Guy! Bill Nye and Buoyancy