20 Apr 2026

New Poe Lock Emergency Closure System Physical Model Study

Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)–Detroit District (LRE) has begun the process of designing a new emergency bulkhead for Poe Lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and has requested assistance from the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, in determining the hydraulic loads the bulkhead will experience during operation. The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center has constructed a 1:25 scale physical hydraulic model to estimate the hydraulic forces on the bulkhead and pressure on the bulkhead sill during lowering operations. Multiple bulkhead lowering speeds and bulkhead lip designs have been tested over the course of the study. This report provides time histories of the hydraulic loads and bulkhead pressures throughout the bulkhead lowering operations. These results will inform the design of the emergency bulkhead and the size of its operating equipment.