Analytical Model of Hydraulic Pipeline Dredge

A hydraulic pipeline dredge system is a complicated combination of mechanical equipment, operational variables, and soil-water interactions. Of primary interest is knowledge of the maximum solids output volume per unit time delivered at the discharge end for a given dredge configuration, digging depth, and pipeline length for a given soil material. Current dredging practice is to estimate performance (output) based on rules-of-thumb developed from experience. This paper develops and demonstrates how performance of a dredge can be computed using basic engineering principles of fluid mechanics and sediment transport. Four fundamental factors which limit dredge output are identified and examined along with the development of a model for computer-based computations of dredge systems.