GIW Industries Inc, the leader in the design, manufacture and application of heavy-duty centrifugal slurry pumps, has announced the successful design and installation of a unique underwater pump system for a major Chinese dredging contractor.
This equipment package consists of a GIW® Minerals LHD pump directly mounted onto a 4,500kW submersible electric motor and housed in a carrier arm attached to the drag arm of a trailing suction hopper dredge. This upgrade allows the dredge to operate efficiently at depths up to 100m.
This highly specialised pump package gives the dredging company the flexibility to bid on complex dredging projects all over China and even set its sights on global projects.
The drag arm is lowered into the water when dredging and can be extended to reach a depth of 100m. It is retracted and stowed on board when sailing to the delivery point. The 58in impeller and 4,500kW / 6,000HP motor significantly decrease the filling time of the 15,000m³ hopper when operating at depths in excess of 35m, thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the dredge.
Exceptional partnership, professional project management
After winning the initial contract, GIW made completely new design changes to meet the updated requests of the dredging company. Only a few dredges in the world have a similar low-speed electric motor configuration for their submersible pump, so GIW had to design major components and the entire system from scratch.
The dredge ship was already in operation, forcing GIW to work within existing size and weight parameters to retrofit the underwater pump package.
GIW region manager serving customers in Asia and Europe, Jonathan Samuel, assembled and worked with a team of international partners to deliver the project, fulfilling the dredging company’s requirements in September 2014. The pump was designed and manufactured by GIW, and several companies worldwide played a role in completing the final project.
Samuel said: "GIW manufactured the dredge pump and the submersible gland water pumps were sourced from KSB Germany.
"The electrical system designer / integrator / supplier was a Dutch company, and the carrier arm was also designed by a Dutch expert. The low-voltage components and the heavy fabrication were sourced from China.
"Coordinating multiple international suppliers and partners was the biggest challenge of this project, and the successful execution is a testament to the project management and technical capabilities of GIW."
Image: GIW’s new, specialised underwater pump dredge system. Photo: courtesy of GIW Industries.