A research team led by Kim Hyong Chol, a researcher at the Faculty of Shipbuilding and Ocean Engineering, has developed a dredging vessel for building tideland banks with the soil on the ocean floor.
The dredging vessel can remarkably increase the construction speed of tideland banks in the absence or shortage of mountainous soil, and carry out continuous work without being affected by rising tide and falling tide.
The dredger consists of a hull, two back side shovel excavators, a bunker, a main belt conveyor, an intermediate belt conveyor, a ground tackle, etc.
The two back side shovel excavators, separated from the front of the hull to the left and right sides, perform the function of digging the soil on the ocean floor up into the bunker.
The excavation width of the ocean floor is set to be larger than the hull width and the excavation depth is set to form a section larger than the section of a bank.
The main belt conveyor lays the excavated soil on the bank. The main belt conveyor is installed vertically to one side so that the dredging vessel can move along the bank to dig up soil onto the bank. To ensure the safety of the bank, the dredging vessel works 30m away from the bank, so the main belt conveyor is longer than 30m.
In order to keep a balance with the two excavators, the main belt conveyor is set up on the stern, and the intermediate belt carrying the soil in the bunker to the main belt conveyor is placed on the central longitudinal section of the hull.
This dredging vessel is characterized by its structure in which excavation and transport are carried out by one boat, and by its operation whereby at the time of high tide, it works on the tidal water, and at the time of low tide it floats on the water left in the pool excavated by itself, regardless of tidal current.
This dredging vessel can be efficiently used to build tideland banks, tidal power stations and other dams on the water areas whose floors are exposed during low tides.
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