Dredging Suction Head with Rotating Precutting Visor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suction heads for dredging vessels face low efficiency when dealing with hard and/or highly compacted bottoms, as they struggle to dislodge material effectively and often result in bin overflow and turbidity issues.
Innovation Solution
The suction head incorporates a precutting device with a holder body that can be rotated to a greater depth than the visor, allowing for initial dislodgment of bottom material, which is then suctioned up by the visor, reducing spillage and improving efficiency by separating cutting from suctioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional suction head with visor is used for dredging hard and compacted bottoms, then the structure is simple and easy to operate, but the dredging efficiency is low due to inability to effectively dislodge material
Solution Approach 1:
The suction head is segmented into functionally independent components: the visor for suction and the precutting device for dislodging material. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, with the precutting device featuring rotating cutters that can penetrate hard bottoms while the visor maintains its suction capability, thereby resolving the contradiction between improved productivity and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The precutting device performs preliminary action by dislodging and breaking up hard and compacted bottom material before the suction process begins. The rotating cutters on the precutting device penetrate and fracture the hard bottom, preparing the material for subsequent suction by the visor, which significantly improves dredging efficiency on difficult substrates without requiring complete redesign of the entire suction head.
2Productivity
If the visor is lowered to dislodge hard bottom material, then more material can be suctioned, but the suction opening becomes blocked and dredging efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The suction head is segmented into functionally independent components: the visor for suction and the precutting device for dislodging material. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, with the precutting device featuring rotating cutters that can penetrate hard bottoms while the visor maintains its suction capability, thereby resolving the contradiction between improved productivity and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The precutting device performs preliminary action by dislodging and breaking up hard and compacted bottom material before the suction process begins. The rotating cutters on the precutting device penetrate and fracture the hard bottom, preparing the material for subsequent suction by the visor, which significantly improves dredging efficiency on difficult substrates without requiring complete redesign of the entire suction head.
3Productivity
If bin overflow is used to increase dredging efficiency, then more bottom material can be processed, but environmental harm increases due to turbidity
Solution Approach 1:
The precutting device performs preliminary action by dislodging and breaking up hard and compacted bottom material before the suction process begins. The rotating cutters on the precutting device penetrate and fracture the hard bottom, preparing the material for subsequent suction by the visor, which significantly improves dredging efficiency on difficult substrates without requiring complete redesign of the entire suction head.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical state and size distribution of bottom material through the precutting device's mechanical action. By breaking up hard, compacted material into smaller, more manageable pieces before suction, the system improves the suctionability of difficult substrates, enabling efficient dredging of hard bottoms without requiring bin overflow and thereby preventing environmental turbidity issues.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly increases dredging efficiency, particularly for hard and compacted bottoms, by effectively dislodging material that can be suctioned up, reducing energy consumption, and minimizing bin overflow and turbidity.
Implementation Method 1
a suction pump, wherein the suction head is lowered underwater and dragged over a bottom for dredging, wherein bottom material is dislodged and suctioned away with a quantity of water to a bin of the dredging vessel through the suction conduit connected to the suction pump
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
Described is a suction head of a dredging vessel configured for movement in a dragging direction P. The suction head comprises a connecting construction connectable to a suction conduit and a visor rotatable relative to the connecting construction between a lowered and a raised position around a shaft running transversely of the dragging direction P and having a suction opening directed toward the bottom for suctioning up bottom material dislodged by a lower edge of the visor. The suction head is also provided with a precutting device and with positioning means configured to carry a lower edge of the precutting device to a greater depth than the lower edge of the visor in the raised position of the visor so that bottom material can be dislodged with the lower edge of the precutting device. Also described are a dredging vessel equipped with the suction head and a method for dredging an underwater bottom.