Dredging360.com

The summer issue’s hot topics include a safety roundtable, numerical simulation and mud motor.
An article by Cao Lei presents research which numerically simulates the unsteady water flow and silt-laden flow in a dredge pump and comparatively analyses the unsteady characteristics of the pump performance and the flow field in three typical conditions to expound the influence of sands and the relationship between head and flow field. First presented as a paper at the 22nd World Dredging Congress, the article is authored by the recipient of IADC’s Young Author Award.
Can sharing strategies lead to safer crew transfers? As an integral part of completing a dredging project, crews perform routine crew transfers. But are these transfers so routine? Whether from vessel to vessel, equipment to vessel or land to vessel, crew transfers are a complex activity which take place multiple times during each and every project. IADC held a roundtable with safety specialists in its member companies to find out how marine contractors ensure safe crew transfers if the presented conditions are not optimal.
IADC interviewed Luc Vandenbulcke who took the reins of DEME Group at the start of 2019. A civil engineer employed for 21 years within the group, he has noteworthy qualifications: he cofounded and led DEME’s fastest growing subsidiary company which specialised in hydraulic engineering projects and offshore wind farms. His track record is directly applicable to his new role as he leads an organisation which wholly embraces constant change, welcoming innovation and navigating the evolving nature of sustainability.
An innovative approach to beneficially re-use dredged sediment to enhance salt marsh development was tested by a ‘Mud Motor’, a dredged sediment disposal method in which a semi-continuous source of mud in a shallow tidal channel allows natural processes to disperse sediment to nearby mudflats and salt marshes. An article by Martin Baptist and Erik van Eekelen shows the feasibility of a Mud Motor based on a pilot which occurred over two winter seasons.