Why do you need to use frontal panel in wharf fender?

All ports and wharfs where ships are docked need a buffer device which can avoid the direct collision between the ship’s side and the wharf shore, absorb the collision energy of ships and reduce the acting force on the wharf. We call this buffer device rubber fender. A rubber fender is a kind of buffer device which is made of rubber as the main material and has a certain deformation space and absorbs the impact energy of ships through a series of technological procedures.

According to the wharf structure, berthing tonnage, tidal range, wind and waves and other conditions, we designed various rubber fenders with different shapes, characteristics and specifications, such as cylindrical type, arch type, cell type, improved D type, floating type, rotary compression type, etc., to meet the needs of various wharfs. However, with the development of water transportation, the scale of port and wharf construction is constantly expanding, which brings many new problems to the rubber fender assembly device. Thus, many new problems are raised for the rubber fender assembly device.

For example, the offshore wharf is characterized by heavy wind and waves, poor working conditions, and more and more complex ship types. When the ship presses the rubber fenders on the shore, the bending stress and shear force on the rubber fenders are large because of the large rubber friction coefficient (μ=0.6), and the reaction force generated by the compression of the rubber fenders on the hull unit area is also large, which often causes serious consequences such as hull deformation or wharf displacement.

In order to solve this problem, we designed a kind of frontal panel structure with a certain area, which was installed at the front end of SUC cell rubber fender, that is, the working face directly contacting with the ship’s side, which increased the contact area between the ship and the rubber fender and reduced the surface pressure force exerted by the fender on the ship. In addition, a layer of UHMWPE pad was installed on the frontal panel, and the friction coefficient of the veneer was very small (μ≤0.12).

Therefore, the structure type offrontal panelmakes the design of rubber fender more perfect and reasonable, which can meet the requirements of various service conditions of various wharves, different ship types and water level differences, greatly improves the service life of rubber fender, and achieves good economic and social benefits.