Dredging Pumps









The methods to operate with PNEUMA pump are the following:

The HOLE DREDGING SYSTEM for loose bottom materials (sand-soft silt) and for deep depth.

OPERATING METHODOLOGY


The pump body is suspended by shears and lifted by a winch. To start dredging operation the pump is lowered until the three inlet pipes are in contact with the bottom.

By keeping the steel wire of the lifting winch slightly slack, the inlet pipes will be continuously immersed into the material to be dredged.

Due to the hydrostatic head, as soon as the distributor releases the pressure from each one of the cylinders in sequence, there will be an immediate "in-rush" of the material through the inlet pipes.

The greater the depth, the more intense will be the suction.



No induced turbidity is produced when dredging loose materials which enter into the inlet pipes without the use of rotating cutters.

The here below picture clearly shows the hole just created during the first dredging phase.

 

The TRAILING SYSTEM for compacted bottom materials (clay -compacted silt) cohesive and polluted sediments in general.

OPERATING METHODOLOGY

To obtain the maximum solid content, the problem consists in facilitating the collection of the material by the pump. This is done by trailing the Pump and forcing the material to penetrate through the shovels into the cylinders as it is dredged forward.
To dredge by the trailing system, the Pneuma Plant, equipped with relative shovels, is assembled on a pontoon fitted with four main winches, two to trail it and the others to return it.
The winches will trail the pontoon at a speed which may vary from 1 to 5 m/min depending on the compactness of the material to be dredged.
The return winch speed will be greater and is normally about 20-30 m/min.
The shovels and the pump are connected to a lifting winch placed on the stern and to a positioning winch placed on the bow of the pontoon.
With this system the movement of the barge is directly transferred to the shovels which will be forced into the material to be dredged.
Using the trailing system, it is possible to reach a very high solid content in the mixture, i. e. 80-90 per cent. This is due to the fact that the shovels are equipped with fixed blades which cut the material into strips allowing it to be pushed inside the pump body by the hydrostatic head.
Because of the particular shape of the shovels, those are continually buried in the material to be dredged so that there is little possibility of water entering the pump body and mixing with the solid material.  Similar efficiency can also be obtained when dredging polluted materials.  Furthermore, the Pneuma system provides a distinct advantage over traditional dredges in that it does not create secondary pollution by disturbing the material on the bottom, as the fixed blades cut the material at a low advancement speed.

Trailing in shallow waters

In shallow waters, up to 4/5 mt. depth, it is possible to apply the pump body, completed of vacuum system, assembled in line, guided by a frontal sliding device and suspended by shears.



NO INDUCED TURBIDITY DURING OPERATION IN COMPACTED BOTTOM MATERIAL (SILT-MUD-CLAY)

The PNEUMA SYSTEM does not create secondary pollution by disturbing the material on the bottom, as the fixed blades cut the strata of material, allowing the shovels to penetrate in it at a very low advancement speed and without any kind of rotating cutters.

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Fishing close to a Pneuma dredge in operation is the best demonstration of the absence of induced turbidity