The construction of growing maritime infrastructure often requires the deepening of approach channels or berths to create the access for large ships. During the excavation of hard rock (up to 100 MPa), existing cutter suction dredgers (CSD) reached their working limits. High amplitude vibrations have resulted among others to the failure of gearboxes and the pontoon's structure, low ergonomic conditions on board, reduced productions level and increased wear and tear. The current inability to evaluate the dynamic behaviour of the CSD, more specifically the excitation and dynamic response of the drivetrain and structure, restrain a potential increase of efficiency. By combining a FEM model with the CSD kinematics, a first step is made towards a better understanding of the dynamics of the entire operating system. A dynamic model of the drivetrain components is combined to verify this excitation with an operational measurement campaign. Critical areas of the CSD and influencing operation and design parameters can be subtracted from the model.
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