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The dredge valve is a component of a Cutter Suction Dredge or a Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger that is used control the flow of water and sand in the suction and discharge pipes of one of these types of dredgers.
There are 3 cases when this vertical valve can block or reduce the mixture flow of water and sand by lowering its gate:
- 1.from the hopper of the TSHD to the discharge pipe.
- 2.from the dredge cutter head of the CSD to the ship
- 3.from the dredge drag head of the TSHD to the ship
The dredge valve’s gate is hydraulically control and it has raised a lot of challenges because of maintaining it clean. The gate can be blocked by the sand that enters through the dredge valve causing a lot of damages. Because of this reason the dredge valve has a lot of water flushing canals in order to keep it clean.