Pneumatic Fender Maintenance&Management
Introduction Pneumatic fenders are an essential piece of protection for modern ships, not only protecting hulls and quay facilities from damage, but also improving ship manoeuvrability and safety. In this
What Are The Different Types Of Pneumatic Fenders?
Introduction
Pneumatic fenders, an essential product of Jerryborg Marine, are specialized devices used primarily to protect ships, docks, and other marine structures. They are designed and manufactured using advanced airbag technology with excellent compressive and cushioning properties. They are mainly used in harbors/terminals/docks and other marine projects. Their primary function is to reduce the impact of the hull of the ship or structure through wind or to absorb the result when the boat or terminal and other systems come into contact with each other, to protect the integrity of the vessel or terminal and other harbor facilities. It is an indispensable protection equipment in the field of marine engineering.
Table of Contents
The Role Of Pneumatic Fender
Pneumatic fenders play a vital role in the marine industry, significantly impacting the ship’s stability and maneuverability. The following are the main functions and roles of pneumatic fenders in boats:
Enhanced Stability: Pneumatic fenders help to keep the ship balanced and stable at sea by providing extra stabilizing force. This is particularly important when faced with bad weather or unexpected conditions, reducing the ship’s rocking and tilting and increasing the safety of navigation.
Reduces Rolling and Tilting: In high sea or wind conditions, ships are prone to rolling and tilting. Pneumatic fenders can effectively mitigate this by providing additional resistance to tilting, ensuring the vessel’s stability and reducing discomfort for passengers and cargo.
Improved ship handling: Pneumatic fenders can improve ship handling, especially at low speeds, when docking and turning. They can provide additional lateral force, making it easier for the ship to maintain directional stability.
Improved navigational efficiency: By adjusting the position and angle of pneumatic fenders, the hydrodynamic characteristics of the hull can be altered to optimize the vessel’s marine performance. This can help reduce fuel consumption and improve fuel efficiency.
Reduced wave impact: Pneumatic fenders can reduce the disturbance of the hull to the surrounding water and minimize the effects of waves and eddies on other vessels and shoreline facilities, thus improving the safety and smoothness of the waterway.
Improved berthing and mooring: When berthing and mooring, pneumatic fenders provide additional stabilizing force, making it easier for the vessel to maintain the correct position and orientation, reducing the risk of accidental collisions and accidents.
Different Types Of Pneumatic Fenders
The Yokohama Pneumatic Fender is crucial for berthing and mooring a ship. With its unique structure and working principle, it is suitable for a wide range of ship types and environmental conditions.
The structure of the Yokohama Pneumatic Fender mainly consists of the inner tire, outer tire, tire belts, valves, and connecting parts. The inner tire is a high-strength synthetic rubber and can withstand the ship’s pressure when berthing. The outer tire protects the inner tire from the external environment. The belt is fixed to the outer tire and can be adjusted to ensure the pneumatic fender maintains good contact with the vessel.
As the pneumatic fender inflates, the inner tire gradually expands, bringing the fender into contact with the vessel and providing support. Once the proper steady state is reached, the valve closes to maintain internal pressure. When the ship is ready to leave the harbor, the valve is opened to release the inner tension, allowing the pneumatic fender to retract, facilitating the vessel’s departure from the port.
Currently suitable for berthing a wide range of vessels, especially in large ships or lousy weather conditions.
Advantages:
High reliability: Yokohama pneumatic fenders are high-strength materials with good abrasion and pressure resistance, ensuring their reliability under various conditions.
Easy to install and operate: Compared to other fenders, it is relatively simple to install and use and can be deployed quickly.
Broad applicability: it is suitable for all types of ships, including oversized cargo ships, passenger ships, and special ships.
Disadvantages:
Higher maintenance costs: due to their complex construction, Yokohama Pneumatic Fenders may require regular inspections and maintenance to ensure proper operation.
Subject to environmental influences: In extreme weather conditions, such as strong winds or rough sea conditions, the use of Yokohama Pneumatic Fenders may be limited.
The Sling Pneumatic Fender is used for berthing and buffering between ships. It mainly consists of a rubber outer layer, wire rope, air valve, and explosion-proof facilities. The rubber outer layer has good elasticity and abrasion resistance, effectively absorbing the energy from ship collisions and protecting the ship and dock facilities from damage. The wire rope is fixed to the quay or ship through connectors to ensure the stability of the fender.
The overall control is based on gas pressure. An internal gas valve can adjust the stiffness and buoyancy of the fender by injecting or discharging high-pressure gas. When the fender is impacted by a ship, the rubber outer layer will be compressed, and at the same time, the gas will generate a reaction force inside, thus slowing down the impact of the collision and protecting the ship and dock.
It is widely used in various piers, harbors, offshore drilling platforms, and other places where ships need to berth.
Advantages:
Good cushioning performance: it can effectively absorb the collision energy and protect ships and wharf facilities from damage.
Robust adjustability: the hardness and buoyancy of the fender can be flexibly controlled by adjusting the gas pressure, which can adapt to the berthing requirements of different vessels.
Strong durability: the rubber outer layer is highly wear-resistant and can maintain stable performance in long-term use.
Disadvantages
Higher maintenance costs: Regular inspection and maintenance of the valve and the rubber outer layer are required to ensure proper functioning.
Subject to environmental influences: in extreme weather conditions, such as extreme cold or heat, the stability of the gas pressure may be affected.
The Hydro Pneumatic Fender is an advanced marine protection device with a unique structure and working principle. It consists mainly of an internal tire and an external protective sleeve. The inner carcass consists of a high-strength rubber layer, an abrasion-resistant layer, and a multi-layer tension-resistant cushioning layer, which ensures good durability and protection. The external protective casing protects the internal carcass from the external environment and is usually made of abrasion and corrosion-resistant materials such as rubber and polyester fabric.
The overall design is based on hydroaerodynamic principles. When the boat comes into contact with the Hydro Pneumatic Fender, the internal carcass is squeezed and deformed by the pressure of the boat’s hull, resulting in the water and gases crowding each other. As the internal pressure increases, the Hydro Pneumatic Fender will quickly provide a large amount of protective reaction force, slowing the collision between the boat and the marina or other vessels.
It is widely used in various piers, docks, berthing, docking, and buffering between ships and other operation places. Especially in the contact between large ships and harbors, its strong buffering capacity and protective performance can guarantee the safety of vessels and wharf facilities.
Advantages:
Excellent Impact Resistance: Adopting high-strength rubber material and advanced hydro-pneumatic principle design, it has excellent impact resistance. When the ship is close to the dock or other ships, the fender can absorb and mitigate the impact between the boat and the port or other vessels, thus effectively protecting the ship and dock facilities from damage.
Adjustable inflation pressure: The characteristic of adjustable inflation pressure can be flexibly adjusted according to the size and weight of different ships. Adjusting the inflation pressure can provide the best protection effect in different situations and ensure the ship’s stability during berthing, anchoring, and other operations.
Good durability and long life: Adopting high-quality rubber material and an advanced manufacturing process, it has excellent durability and anti-aging performance. It can withstand prolonged underwater immersion, repetitive pressure changes, and harsh weather conditions, maintaining good performance and prolonging service life.
Disadvantages:
Relatively high manufacturing and installation costs compared to traditional rubber fenders.
Under extreme environmental conditions, more frequent maintenance and overhaul may be required to ensure stable working performance.
Hydro Pneumatic Fenders may require more installation space under certain circumstances than other fenders.
Conclusion
Pneumatic fenders play a vital role in the marine industry. They provide significant benefits to the shipping industry by providing stability, protecting the ship’s hull, enhancing the efficiency of the ship’s operations, and many other functions. Their versatility and importance make them an integral part of the marine industry.
Jerryborg Marine, a professional pneumatic fender manufacturer, provides high-quality design and manufacturing services; if you have any questions about pneumatic fenders, please get in touch with our engineers!
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