{"id":1161,"date":"2026-08-13T01:17:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T01:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zhhmarinefender.com\/?p=1161"},"modified":"2026-08-13T03:14:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:14:41","slug":"arch-rubber-fenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zhhmarinefender.com\/ko\/arch-rubber-fenders\/","title":{"rendered":"\uc544\uce58 \uace0\ubb34 \ud39c\ub354\uc5d0 \ub300\ud55c \uad81\uadf9\uc758 \uac00\uc774\ub4dc"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arch rubber fenders are one-piece moulded rubber units bolted to a quay face through a reinforced foot on each side of the arch, suited to berths where shallow projection and rugged, directly anchored construction matter more than the higher energy efficiency of a cone or cell system. Selection turns on the assembled projection, the manufactured variant, and whether the quoted energy and reaction figures state the conditions they were measured under. Height, length and the fixing arrangement are set at manufacture. The stated conditions decide whether a catalogue line describes your berth at all.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Arch fender specification<\/th>\nWhat published data shows<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Height range<\/td>\nRoughly 150\u20131,000 mm across published supplier catalogues<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Unit length<\/td>\nVaries by manufacturer and height; published tables list maximum lengths up to about 3,500 mm \u2014 take final length and anchor spacing from the manufactured drawing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Steel reinforcement<\/td>\nPlacement depends on product design: reinforcement around the mounting points, plus an additional plate in the fender head on panel and face-pad variants<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
UHMW-PE pad thickness<\/td>\nAbout 30\u201360 mm across one published catalogue family, rising with fender height; other makers publish wider ranges<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Manufactured variants<\/td>\nRubber-face; head-plate for a bolt-on UHMW-PE pad; head-plate connected to a steel frontal panel or pile<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mounting<\/td>\nBolted horizontally or vertically; ends square or bevelled; corner units made to order<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Governing design document<\/td>\nPIANC Fender Guidelines 2024 (MarCom WG 211)<\/a>, covering design, manufacture and testing of fender systems for seagoing vessels at berths, superseding WG 33 (2002)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Ranges above are read across published supplier catalogues and differ between makers. Take the governing figures from the supplier’s drawing for the model quoted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What is an Arch Rubber Fender?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Arch rubber fenders are linear fender units whose energy capacity comes from compression of an arched cross-section, which suits berths with limited projection from the quay face and vessels in the small to medium size range. The profile is a development of the older V-type rubber fender<\/a>, with a wider foot and a deeper radius at the leg-to-base transition.<\/p>\n

The unit is moulded in one piece and fixed through a foot at each side of the arch, so the load path runs through both feet and straight into the quay face. That geometry gives the type its longitudinal shear tolerance and its low parts count. It also fixes the important dimensions early: bolt pattern, height, length and end treatment are all decided before the unit is cast.<\/p>\n

Where a project is chasing the highest energy absorbed per unit of reaction force, cone<\/a> and cell systems generally have the advantage. Arch units are chosen where a directly anchored, shallow, low-parts-count fender fits the berth. Confirm the clear projection available at the berthing line first. It caps the height, and the height caps the energy.<\/p>\n

\"Arch-Rubber-Fender-2\"<\/p>\n

Reading an Arch Fender Datasheet<\/h2>\n

Catalogue energy and reaction figures for an arch fender describe one declared test condition, and they hold only for the compression speed, temperature and contact angle printed beside the table. Published fender catalogues commonly report performance at about 23 \u00b15 \u00b0C and a 0\u00b0 compression angle, then supply velocity, temperature and angular factors to be applied separately for anything else.<\/p>\n

Read the basis of the table before applying any factor. Some catalogues publish slow-speed constant-velocity data, some publish rated performance already corrected to a stated approach velocity, and catalogues rebuilt under the 2024 guideline publish Base Fender Performance \u2014 the term WG 211 uses for the declared starting figure, before any correction factor is applied. Applying a velocity factor to a figure that already contains one corrects the same effect twice.<\/p>\n

Manufacturing tolerance carries a second trap. Published catalogues state a tolerance of about \u00b110%, applied as plus ten on reaction and minus ten on energy, and the two do not cancel. For the structural check on the quay, the realistic pairing is the low end of energy with the high end of reaction, so a single printed line understates both the fender needed and the load the embeds carry.<\/p>\n

When a reaction figure is read as though it already includes site temperature, the outcome is usually a bolt group or panel sized under the real peak, and the correction arrives after the embeds have been cast. Before quoting, we compare the requested conditions against the factors that belong to the compound actually supplied.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
What varies<\/th>\nCatalogue basis<\/th>\nEffect on the figures<\/th>\nWhat to request<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Reporting basis<\/td>\nConstant-velocity, rated, or WG 211 Base Fender Performance<\/td>\nDetermines which factors are already inside the number<\/td>\nWhich basis the table uses, in writing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Berthing velocity<\/td>\nRated at a stated initial approach velocity<\/td>\nRubber is viscoelastic, so faster contact raises reaction<\/td>\nThe velocity factor for the compound being supplied<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Temperature<\/td>\nCommonly about 23 \u00b15 \u00b0C<\/td>\nCold service stiffens the unit and lifts reaction<\/td>\nThe temperature factor table for the same compound<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Contact angle<\/td>\nCommonly 0\u00b0<\/td>\nAngled contact lowers absorbed energy on a linear unit; vertical and horizontal components apply separately<\/td>\nAngular factors stated for both axes, not one combined number<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Manufacturing tolerance<\/td>\nCommonly about \u00b110%<\/td>\nReaction plus, energy minus, within the same batch<\/td>\nWhether the quoted table is before or after tolerance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Test basis<\/td>\nType approval testing under the current guideline<\/td>\nA design guideline is not a product certificate<\/td>\nThe test report, its date, and who witnessed it<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Converting a corrected figure into a design value is a separate step. The current guideline applies partial factors and accounts for contact on more than one fender at a time, and that calculation belongs to the berth designer working from site berthing data.<\/p>\n

Contact Faces on an Arch Fender<\/h2>\n

The vessel-contact arrangement on an arch fender sets the friction and marking behaviour of the whole system, and the choice depends on hull type, berthing frequency and whether a frontal panel is carried. The variants share the same arch profile. What changes is whether a head plate is moulded in, and that cannot be added afterwards.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Manufactured variant<\/th>\nVessel contacts<\/th>\nSuits<\/th>\nConfirm before ordering<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Rubber-face arch fender<\/td>\nRubber directly<\/td>\nGeneral cargo and workboat berths where restraining vessel movement is wanted and marking is not a concern<\/td>\nWhether recorded damage came from impact or from sliding<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Head-plate arch fender with bolt-on UHMW-PE pad<\/td>\nThe pad<\/td>\nHigh-frequency berthing, steel hulls, and berths needing non-marking, low-friction contact<\/td>\nPad thickness against the clear projection available<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Head-plate arch fender connected to a frontal panel or pile<\/td>\nThe panel face, usually itself faced with UHMW-PE<\/td>\nBerths spreading load across a panel over several units<\/td>\nPanel weight, tidal travel and whether chains or other restraints are required<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

A high-friction rubber face restrains relative movement between hull and quay, and the same friction raises the shear demand carried by the fender body, the feet and the anchorage. Bolted UHMW-PE pads are the usual arrangement because the pad can be unbolted and replaced without disturbing the unit. Permanently bonded rubber-to-polyethylene composites also exist, and on those the face is not a separately replaceable part.<\/p>\n

Pad thickness changes geometry, and that arithmetic is worth doing before a drawing is signed. A 500 mm arch unit with a 50 mm pad projects about 550 mm from the quay face, roughly a tenth more standoff than the bare unit. Substitute your own values in the same way: fender height plus pad thickness equals the assembled projection, then compare that against the clear distance your berthing line and existing embed pattern allow. On a retrofit, that difference often decides whether the same bolt line can be reused. The example runs on published catalogue dimensions and carries no site data, so work it again on the drawing you are quoted.<\/p>\n

Hull marking has at least two mechanisms behind it, and the pad only addresses one cleanly. Transfer from the rubber contact surface stops when a non-marking face is fitted. Abrasion caused by the vessel sliding along the face is reduced by the lower friction but not removed, and where the sliding comes from mooring restraint, a pad will not fix it.<\/p>\n

\"Arch-Rubber-Fender-4\"<\/p>\n

Which Arch Fender Variables to Lock First<\/h2>\n

Two arch fender variables have to be settled before any embed is cast, because both are fixed once the unit is moulded and the concrete is poured: the assembled projection, and whether a head plate is included. They lock first because they are the inputs to the embed layout, not because they outrank the others in the calculation. The whole set has to converge together.<\/p>\n

A different rubber grade may fit the same nominal geometry, but it is not interchangeable on that basis alone. Changing grade moves energy capacity, reaction force and rated deflection together, which in turn moves anchor loads and hull contact pressure. Where the bolt pattern is identical, the structural check still has to be repeated.<\/p>\n

Before embeds are set, these items have to be fixed rather than assumed:<\/p>\n