Flow velocities in an axi-symmetrical rotating cutter suction head

Conference paper (2017)

Authors

B.J. Nieuwboer Offshore and Dredging Engineering - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
G.H. Keetels Offshore and Dredging Engineering - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
C. van Rhee Offshore and Dredging Engineering - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
Research Group
Offshore and Dredging Engineering (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
OpenFOAM Numerical Modelling Cutter Suction Dredger Spillage
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Published Date

2017

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Marine and Transport Technology

Research Group

Offshore and Dredging Engineering

Abstract

Although there have been many improvements in the design of cutter suction dredgers, a modern cutter still spills up to 40% of the cut rock in most unfavourable conditions. This spillage is the amount of rock that is cut loose by the cutter head, but is not sucked up by the dredge pump. This paper focusses on the flow phenomena of the water in the cutter. The flow partly causes this spillage. Previously, physical experiments have been performed to study the flow in a cutter head. In this paper the results of these measurements are used for the validation of an unsteady flow model. The cutter is modelled using Computational Fluid Dynamics with the OpenFOAM software. The modelled fluid velocities are averaged over one revolution and are compared with the time averaged velocities from experiments. This shows good agreement for different rotational speeds of the cutter head.