DREDGE SUCTION CUTTERHEAD ANALYSES

MODERN DREDGES, PARTICULARLY HYDRAULIC CUTTERHEAD PIPELINE DREDGES, ARE AMONGST THE MOST EFFICIENT EXCAVATION TOOLS DEVISED AND OPERATED BY MAN. THEY ARE USED TO MAINTAIN NAVIGATION FOR MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MILES OF WORLD WATER WAYS. THESE DREDGES COULD BE EVEN MORE EFFICIENT IF OPERATIONAL TECHNIQUES WERE EMPLOYED WHICH WOULD OPTIMIZE THE SOIL MOVEMENT ALONG WITH MODIFYING THE SUCTION ENTRANCE TO THE PUMP INTAKE AND UTILIZATION OF DREDGE SHIELDS. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED STUDIES IS TO PROVIDE THE DREDGING INDUSTRY WITH IMPROVED CUTTERHEAD AND SUCTION INLET THAT WOULD INCREASE THE EXCAVATION AND PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY OF HYDRAULIC CUTTERHEAD PIPELINE DREDGES, AND WOULD INCREASE ENVIRONMENTALLY OBJECTIONABLE TURBIDITY CURRENTS. COMPUTER AND HYDRAULIC MODEL SIMULATIONS WOULD BEUSED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROCESSES OF SOIL MOVEMENT AND TRANSPORT BY A CONFUSED 3-D FLOW FIELD AFFECTED BY COMPLEX BOUNDARIES, ROTATING CUTTERBLADES, VARIABLE FLOW RATES AND POSITIONING OF THE INTAKE TO THE DREDGE PUMP. NEW DREDGE INTAKE AND CUTTERHEAD SHIELDING TECHNIQUES WOULD BE TESTED FOR IMPROVING HYDRAULIC CUTTERHEAD DREDGE PERFORMANCE. COMPLEX COMPUTER CODES HAVE RECENTLY BEEN MADE AVAILABLE BY CHAM WHICH PROVIDE 3-D RESULTS OF TURBULENT 2 PHASE FLOWS PAST MORING BOUNDARIES. SEDIMENT TRANSPORT INTO THE MORING BLADES OF A ROTATING DREDGE CUTTERHEAD CAN BE SIMULATED USING CHAM'S PHOENICS CODE. A PROGRESSION OF THESE STUDIES WOULD BE TO REFINE DREDGE CUTTERS, PIPELINE TRENCHERS, OFFSHORE MINING TECHNIQUES TO ADVANCE TO ANALYSISOF OIL WELL DRILLING BITS AND TUNNELING MACHINES.