The working principle of the open body mud barge is to use the force couple formed by the lateral displacement of the floating center and center of gravity during full and empty load to open and close the barge by hinged connection between the left and right symmetrical half hulls at the front and rear ends. Specifically, when the half hull is fully loaded, the center of gravity is close to the longitudinal axis of the hull, and the floating center is outside the center of gravity, generating an opening moment; After unloading, the center of gravity moves to the outside of the floating center, generating a closing torque controlled by a hydraulic cylinder.

This design enables the open body mud barge to automatically open and close during loading and unloading of sediment without causing the vessel to sink, mainly due to the principle that buoyancy equals gravity.

In addition, the open bottom mud barge also has self propulsion capability and is mostly designed with an open bottom, further enhancing its operational efficiency and flexibility. ‌