VULKAN Couplings to Exhibit at MARINTEC 2013 (China)

VULKAN Couplings’ focus at the product and service presentation at MARINTEC 2013 in Shanghai will be on specially integrated drive solutions for suction dredgers and offshore ships. The couplings manufacturer, which has its head office in Herne, Germany, has been supplying drive components for many years, primarily to the high-growth markets in Brazil and China.

The most recent example of a successful project in Asia was the supply of one of the largest suction dredgers in the world – the Inai Kenanga, which belongs to Inai Kiara SDN BHD, the Malaysian shipping company. The TSHD has been designed for a capacity of 32,000 m3. In the standard configuration, two suction pipes at the end of the loading space of the suction dredger reach up to a depth of 35 m.

In fact, with extension pipes the dredge can work up to a depth of 120 m. VULKAN Couplings has supplied six clutches for the gearboxes of the powerful sand pumps – these clutches are the largest that the company has ever manufactured.

For the two Siemens/Flender 3-gear sand pump gearboxes of GJZ 2250 type, the couplings specialist based in Herne manufactured a total of six MESLU clutches in cooperation with its Chinese subsidiary, WUXI VULKAN; each one of these were of size 540 for shifting to the first gear and there were two smaller MESLU 330 for shifting to the second and third gears.

As a holistic solutions provider for the Inai Kenanga, and apart from the MESLU clutches, VULKAN Couplings is also supplying all highly flexible couplings for both the main as well as the suction pump operation, while RATO S 582Z have been installed for the drive operation; highly flexible RATO R 473Z provide the necessary torsional vibration damping and misaligment compensation in the pump system on the front side.

The benefit of this overall solution for the customer: The complete drive system can be optimally tuned with respect to torsional vibration as a result of all components coming from a single source. This leads to maximum system availability and contributes to minimising the operating costs.

The MESLU is available in different sizes and covers a range of power requirements from 8 kNm up to 250 kNm. At this year’s MARINTEC, VULKAN Couplings will be showcasing a MESLU 24 in combination with the highly elastic CRR2320.

Operating times of up to 7,000 hours per year, stringent demands on performance and the maximum possible manoeuvrability are the requirements that these special types of ships need to meet. In addition, there is the requirement for low-space drive systems in order to gain maximum room for loading and therefore to enhance the transport efficiency. To cater to all these requirements, diesel-electric systems are increasingly being deployed in such types of ships in conjunction with rudder propellers. Diesel engines drive generators and the power generated in the process is used to drive the electric motors that in turn drive the corresponding rudder propellers.

VULKAN Couplings will be presenting the entire product portfolio at MARINTEC 2013 for these demanding diesel-electric high-power and high-performance drives: The highly flexible couplings of the RATO series in combination with elastic mounts provide the optimal reduction in vibrations and damping of the propeller excitation.

VULKAN Couplings has designed the VULKARDAN G especially for generators and Z-type drives. The coupling can be deployed for both the SAE engine range (size 54-62) and also for the non-SAE engine range (size 84). The torque range of this coupling is 8.0 kNm to 63.00 kNm. The coupling has been developed for rigidly mounted systems, in which it is possible to dismantle the elastomer without shifting the units connected.

As a result of the element design the coupling provides excellent values for power loss in the coupling. By using a new type of elastomer with proper torsional rigidity CTdyn, the system is also tuned optimally with regard to torsional vibration, so that harmful resonant frequencies are eliminated from the operating speed range and impact on the engine control is prevented.

Apart from the several years of experience of VULKAN Couplings in this market segment, the company is also characterised primarily by the fact that it can provide holistic solutions. In addition to the wide range of couplings, a broad-based spectrum of elastic mounts for the most diverse requirements will also be showcased at MARINTEC. The interaction of the elastic mounts with the flexible torsion couplings ensures that the overall system is protected optimally against harmful vibrations and thus runs reliably and with maximum availability.

The experts at WUXI VULKAN shall be welcoming visitors to the MARINTEC in the German pavilion at stand number N2D21-05.

[mappress]

Press Release, November 28, 2013