Royal IHC making dredge pumps more and more efficient

The performance of any dredger is highly dependent on the efficiency of the slurry pump. That’s why for decades Royal IHC has been researching how these can work more efficiently.

The latest findings have led to the development of a new generation of dredge pumps with three major improvements:

• a larger spherical passage to reduce blockage;
• improved efficiency compared to the previous generation of pumps;
• and greater wear resistance to double the lifespan.

Cutter suction dredgers (CSD) that encounter rocks and boulders regularly have to deal with blockages in the dredge pump.

A blockage leads to downtime of the dredging work and in some cases even damages the pump, which then requires repair.

That’s why Royal IHC introduced the Cutter Special dredging pump 20 years ago – with a passage of 50% of the suction opening of the pump, which was significantly larger than the previous generation.

Its main advantage is that rocks, which are half the size of the inlet opening, can pass through the pump without causing a blockage.

IHC’s latest innovation blog talks more about the development of a new generation of dredge pumps. Like the improvements on efficiency and wear resistance by developing Curve® technology.