The hopper unloading system on self-discharging dredgers.
The self-discharging dredger SAND FALCON is provided with the hopper-mounted bucketwheel unloader. Driven by hydraulic motors, the wheel is carried on a shaft at the end of a hinged boom. The boom also carries a chute into which the buckets discharge, and a conveyor which feeds onto a cross conveyor. The hole unit, including carriage and associated drives, is driven by a chain and sprocket arrangement, and the carriage is mounted on six unpowered wheels which ride on tracks fitted to the uppermost edge of the hopper coaming. The bucket wheel is controlled from an operator cabin on the carrier, cutting through the cargo to a depth approximately 1m as it proceeds up and down the hopper. The associated conveyor belt system, which is arranged along the starboard side of the hopper, ends in an elevating conveyor, which is raised at an angle of 25 degrees and is capable of handling aggregates at a peak ra te of 1,400 m3/h.