Initial Experiments and Data Acquisition for the Model Dredge Carriage
Type:
Presented during:
WODCON XVIII - 2007 Orlando, Florida, USA
Authors:
Henriksen
Abstract: Resuspension of sediment from dredging operations is an important environmental topic. The Haynes Coastal Engineering Laboratory provides an exceptional environment to test dredge resuspension. The 2,045 square meter laboratory houses a 45.7 m long, 3.7 m wide, and 3 m deep dredge/tow tank with an additional 1.5 m by 9.1 m long sediment pit. Four water pumps provide the capability of pumping a total of 2,233 liters/s through the tank facilities. The laboratory is also home to a dredge carriage. The dredge carriage is mounted on the rails of the dredge/tow tank and is composed of a carriage, cradle, and ladder. A 10 cm suction by 7.6 cm discharge dredge pump is mounted on the carriage and a moveable upper vertical and lower articulating ladder has a 30 cm cutter for dredging sediment from the sediment pit.
The objective of this paper is to illustrate recent additions to the dredge carriage system. These additions include the installation of a hydrocyclone separator system onto the dredge carriage as well as the installation and calibration of optical backscatter sensors (OBS) onto the dredge ladder. Other instrumentation includes the addition of a nuclear density gauge, a magnetic flow meter, and the installation of cutter force gauges. Testing methods and results of the instrumentation are described and data from a trial simulation is reported. The sediment plume data will be used to calibrate a near-field sediment plume numerical model for a cutter suction dredge. This information will be valuable to dredging resuspension research and will help predict environmental impacts for specific dredging projects.
Keywords: Dredge carriage, dredge laboratory modeling, cutter performance, and sediment resuspension modeling.