Structural Engineering
The Department of Structural Engineering deals with issues related to the construction, statics, construction materials and design of hydraulic structures.more
Geotechnical Engineering
In the Department of Geotechnical Engineering ground and groundwater conditions are investigated and assessed, recommendations are given for foundation engineering, ...more
Hydraulic Engineering
The Hydraulic Engineering Departments carry out project-related studies for Germany's 7,350 km of inland waterways and 23,000 km² of coastal waterways ...more
The accident of the TMS Waldhof - Use of a ship handling simulator to identify the causes
On 12 January 2011 the inland tank barge (TMS) Waldhof, bound for the Belgium port of Antwerp and carrying 2,378 tonnes of sulphuric acid, left the port of Ludwigshafen/Rhine. On 13 January it reached the part of the Rhine where the river bends around the Loreley cliff - a reach which is marked with navigation signs to help vessels steer through safely. The vessel contacted the Revierzentrale (vessel traffic monitoring centre operated by the Waterways and Shipping Office) in Oberwesel via radio at 04:29:12 a.m. At 04:42:19 a.m. the Waldhof disappeared from the radar screens in the field of the red fairway buoy at Rhine kilometre 553.75. The ship had capsized at this position and subsequently drifted, bottom-up, in a downstream direction until it ran aground on the right bank of the river at Rhine kilometre 555.33. The accident claimed one life; one crew member is still missing.more
