Dredging using skid mounted water spray bars towed by barge - allowing removal of emulsified silt by tide

摘要

Dredging of underwater areas such as ports, canals, etc. involves the formation of an emulsion from the silt using high pressure jets of water. The emulsified silt is then carried away to sea by the ebb tide. The apparatus used consists of a barge or other floating vessel on which is mounted a crane which lifts the dredging apparatus into and out of the water. The apparatus comprises a large horizontal metal tube mounted on skids at either end with a row of downward facing nozzles. The tube is linked to a pressurized water supply. Water is pumped under pressure into the tube and out through the nozzles, breaking up the silt. The floating vessel moves over the area to be dredged following a specified pattern until the dredging operation is complete.