

We humans, however, want our lakes, rivers and beaches to stay put so that we can enjoy the aesthetic, recreational, and economic benefits that they provide. Left to nature, rivers flood and change course, lakes fill in, and coastlines change. We live on a dynamic and constantly changing planet. This type of dredger most commonly uses a pump to suck up the material from the bottom and pump it to a remote location, however, other means can be used to impart motion to the water, such as air lifts or siphons. If the crane is mounted on a barge, the entire vessel is referred to as a dredger.Īnother type of dredger uses moving water to suction up the material to be dredged and transport it in suspension through a pipeline. The crane could be located on the bank, or perhaps mounted on a barge. Developing this idea further, a motorized crane equipped with a drag bucket or clamshell (grabber) that is used to scoop material from the bottom of a body of water is also a dredger. For example, a scoop attached to the end of a rope or pole by which a man can draw sediments up from the bottom of a pond is a dredger.

What is a Dredger?Ī dredger (or “dredge” as is the general usage in the Americas) is any device, machine, or vessel that is used to excavate and remove material from the bottom of a body of water. In this overview of dredgers and dredging, we provide a brief summary of the how, what, and why of twenty-first century dredging: what is it, how does it work, and why is it so imperative to the day-to-day survival of modern society.

The construction industry would be severely hampered by lack of inexpensive sand and gravel, and many civil works projects – including important bridges and reservoirs – would be impossible. Many of our ports and waterways would quickly become untraversable, and much of the recreation and tourism made possible by our seashores, lakes, and rivers would slowly diminish and finally cease as beaches eroded, lakes filled in, and rivers changed course. Yet, without dredging, supply lines for hundreds of thousands of products would be shut down. Dredging is rarely on people’s list of life-changing technologies. When you consider the physical support systems for modern living, you may think of roads, electricity, computers, or even advances in farming and agriculture. moraine areas, that is, areas with an accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris where big stones can be expected.Brantz von Mayer and The Writers for Hire Overview.along quay walls where the soil is damaged by wires and debris.small quantities in strongly varying depths.not easily accessible places in harbours.Smaller grabs are mostly used for special jobs, such as: The large grab dredgers are used for bulk dredging. Production ratesĭepending on the type of material dredged, they have moderate to low production rates. However, they are used for this purpose in smaller jobs or when fitted with special sealed buckets. They are not particularly effective in fine silts, which have a tendency to run out of the bucket. Grab dredgers can be used in sands, clay, gravel, cobbles and occasionally broken rock.

to remove isolated areas above grade either in the navigation prism or along dock walls and in corners of docks.The grab dredger’s advantages are its ability: Also, for grab dredgers used for winning sand and gravel, material may be discharged to a separator installation through conveyor belts. However, some grab cranes are placed on self-propelled hoppers, so the material is transported by the dredger itself. The discharge of the material is usually done by transporting it with barges. Normally they are stationary, being fixed at the excavation site using anchors or spuds. They have hoisting and control systems and use grab (clamshell) digging devices or buckets rigged on cables to excavate the material from the waterbed at or near its in situ density and transport it vertically out of the water and into barges for subsequent transport to the placement area. Grab or clamshell dredgers have either a rotating cab or fixed A-frame-type barge-mounted equipment. Work method of Grab or clamshell dredgers
