Proceedings of the Thirty-second (2022) International Ocean and Polar Engineering Conference
Shanghai, China, June 5–10, 2022
Copyright © 2022 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE)
ISBN 978-1-880653-81-4; ISSN 1098-6189

www.isope.org

Research on Dynamic Monitoring and Optimization Scheme of the Entire-pipeline Operating
Performance for the Conveying System of Dredgers
Feixin Wang, Zhongwei Zhou, Shu Wang, Jiajun Lu
National Engineering Research Center of Dredging Technology and Equipment, Shanghai China

ABSTRACTKEY WORDS: Conveying system; production; energy consumption;
critical velocity; practical velocity.

It is an important prerequisite for high performance of the whole
dredger to maintain safe and effective operation of the conveying
system during dredging process. Due to the complex operation
processes, current monitoring and adjustment operations of theconveying system are mostly based on personal operation experience.
There is a lack of monitoring, evaluation and accurate control methods
for the overall working status of the conveying system. This paper
intends to research and establish a monitoring and optimization scheme
which can monitor and deduce the working status of the entire pipeline
in real time, applying relevant theories and analysis methods of
sediment movement mechanics, after conducting a field test andanalysis of a reclamation project in China. In order to solve the problem
of monitoring and predicting the risk of pipe blockage in the dynamic
operation of the transportation system, the method of lower limit
velocity parameters of key monitoring points is adopted; while theparameters of lower limit velocity at key monitoring points andeconomic velocity range (which is defined by the critical velocity) of
the entire pipeline are taken as the major control factors, according to
the working characteristics of the conveying system; On this basis, adynamic monitoring and optimization scheme of conveying system isput forward according to its operating properties. The comparative
analysis and calculation are carried out based on the measured datafrom the field test.The results show that the monitoring andoptimization scheme proposed in this paper can accurately deduce theentire pipeline conveying parameters in real time; and the operation
parameter of the conveying system can be real-time optimized andadjusted on the premise of ensuring safety, to maintain the relatively
efficient and stable operation status.

INTRODUCTION
Hydraulic Dredger, represented by Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger(TSHD) and Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD), is the most popular ship
type in dredging industry, which is widely used in inland and offshore
dredging and reclamation projects. Conveying system, composed ofslurry pump(s), pipeline, supporting and auxiliary devices, is one of thekey and main energy consumption components of hydraulic dredger,
performing the function of suction and discharge of dredged material.
Its working performance is the key factor for construction efficiency
and energy consumption of hydraulic dredgers (Xiong et al., 2015; Li etal., 2017). Generally, designed slurry pump power can account for 2040%, 40-60% of the total installed power of large and super larger
TSHD for trailing (dredging) operation and discharging operation
respectively (Zhang, 2003). The operation mode for conveying system
of CSD may be adopted due to the change of conveying distance, andthe energy consumption of conveying system may account for morethan 80% of the total (Bi et al., 2009; Li et al., 2017). Therefore, it is an
important premise for high-efficiency and energy-saving operation of
the whole dredger, to keep the conveying system working safely andefficiently through reasonable optimization and adjustment measures,on the basis of real-time monitoring of relevant operation parameters.
Due to complexity of operation process and fluctuation of working
parameters, it is a difficult problem for the dredging industry to
optimize the working process of dredgers in real time. It is difficult to1753