Cutter Gear Bulkhead

Advantages

• The flexibility and (bearing) support to manage 5 mm of radial displacement
• Minimal wear on lip seals and the support bearing
• Condition monitoring
• Planned maintenance while minimising risk of sudden failure
• Modular, Made-to-Measure

How it works

Conventional seals are not able to perform under harsh dredging conditions that cutter suction dredgers (CSDs) encounter every day during their activities. For this sole purpose, Lagersmit has developed a highly reliable cutter gear bulkhead sealing solution, which can handle extreme bulkhead and shaft deformations.

The Cutter Gear Bulkhead sealing system consists of a floating seal with a protective cover and lubrication system, equipped with all necessary sensors for controlling and monitoring the sealing system. The Cutter Gear Bulkhead seal is installed on large cutter shafts and is mounted on the bulkhead of the cutter gear machine room. Because the cutter shaft generally exists of several flange coupled shafts, the seal is made fully split.

The “floating” seal will follow the radial shaft movement by means of a segment with an integrated white metal slide bearing. This way, conditions for proper static alignment and run-out are met automatically. All oil and grease connections are made on the inboard side of the seal; no extra passages through the bulkhead are needed.