The spud system is one of the main equipment of the cutter suction dredger. It will guarantee the accurate positioning of the dredger operation, by working together with the swing winch and anchor rope system to ensure the dredging operation is carried out along a certain track. There are two types of spud system. One is the spud carriage system and the other is the fixed spud. The spud carriage system is much superior to the fixed spud system.
The spud is important equipment in the spud system. The hoisting is usually carried out by the hydraulic cylinder, and in some situations by the winch. The thicknesses of the spud wall are usually designed as two types, equal strength or equal thickness. For the convenience of manufacture, the spuds of small and medium-sized dredgers are often designed to be equal in wall thickness. The spud should have enough strength to meet the dredging requirements. Therefore, in the design of equal thickness spud, it is necessary to analyze the stress state of the spud and establish a reasonable mathematical model, to determine the section size of the spud.
Due to the different soil types, there are two cases of the maximum stress point of the spud. One is in the situation of soft soil, the maximum force point is at the clamp under the spud, and another is in the situation of hard soil, the point of stress is the interface between the soil layer and the water. Therefore, in the same climatic conditions, there may be a possibility of broken spud for the different soils. The mathematical model of the bearing spud is changed due to the change of the construction soil, and the maximum force point is transferred, and the strength of the part is not enough. This situation shall be taken into consideration during the design and manufacture of the spuds.
