Theo Barr Fender System

Waterfront infrastructure and navigation rely heavily on the role of fender systems to keep bridge piers safe. As various types of boats, ranging from recreational vessels to fully loaded barges, traverse waterways, it becomes essential to safeguard the bridges they pass under. Traditionally, fender systems made of wood or steel have been employed to shield bridge piers from boat impact. However, the inherent rigidity of these materials often leads to damage to either the boat or the fender system itself. This is where FRP fender systems excel, offering an ideal replacement or new construction solution that prevents damage by combining high strength and flexibility to absorb impact loads, much like a spring. Furthermore, FRP requires minimal maintenance in marine environments due to its corrosion-resistant properties.

When tasked with designing a fender system for the navigational channel beneath SR292, Theo Baars Bridge, Axcess combined pultruded FRP piles with structural plastic lumber wales, resulting in a fender system spanning 208’ per side and capable of absorbing over 479 ft-kips of energy without causing harm to either the boat or the pier it was positioned in front of, thereby ensuring effective protection. Axcess also worked with the contractor to make sure that no utility lines or pipes were impacted during the installation by battering the piles away from estimated locations of utilities.

Axcess used the soil boring information to model site conditions and determine the proper depth to drive the piles to meet the FDOT requirements. Next the model was expanded to show one whole side of the fender system and loading conditions were applied as described by FDOT to confirm that the piles and wales would absorb the energy before reaching the allowable stresses of the materials.