Flow Field Analysis of Cutter Head for Cutter Suction Dredgers

For a cut ter suction dredger, exploring slurry formation mechanism plays an important role for improving the dredger’s efficiency and performance. In order to optimize the dredger’s working parameters, the flow field is simulated for the cutter head of a cutter suction dredger in this study. First, Cutter’s 3D model is const ructed by 3D Modeling software after necessary parameters are collected according to the designing 2D geometric drawing and related empi rical contour curves . Then import the model to CFD for analysis , numerically simulate the cutter’ s flow field in different working conditions so as to achieve the velocity and pressure distribution in and around the cutter head. And based on the simulation result , the optimized working point can be found in terms of equipment service li fe, environment protection and energy consumption.