Environmental and high-depth dredging are emerging trends in the dredging market.

Dragflow has developed a full line of hydraulic and electric pumps and cutters for high-depth applications that its customers have been using for environmental dredging.

A perfect example of this is a dam cleaning dredging project Dragflow is are currently undertaking in Udine, Italy. In this dam cleaning project, Dragflow’s environmental high-deep system is operating at depths of more than 50m, cleaning an area of 30,000m³ of clay and alluvium material.

For this project, the company has used three hydraulic pumps (HY85/160B) and excavators, with dredging capacities of up to 1,400m³ a day, for maximum client satisfaction.

The beauty of the system is that the dam is in full service during the dredging operation.

Dragflow’s high-depth systems, powered by hydraulic power packs or generators, can operate as deep as 300m and include hydraulic or electric pumps, hydraulic or electric cutters, high-pressure water jets and anti-turbidity bells.

The design of the Dragflow high-depth system prevents contamination. The action of both, the strong suction of the impeller and the effect of the double blade agitator (that sends a high-pressure flow of water towards the sedimented material), put the solids in suspension, creating a high-density slurry. This slurry is conveyed to the eye of the impeller at high velocity, containing the turbidity in a cone-shaped zone adjacent to the pump.

As a safety factor, the anti-turbidity bell covers the perimeter where the pump and cutters are operating, keeping all disturbances within.

The Dragflow system handles a high concentration of solids with smaller pumps, less power and reduced discharge pipe diameters; achieving better productions than larger conventional suction dredges at a much lower operating cost.

Image: Dragflow’s dam cleaning dredging unit. Photo: courtesy of Dragflow.