How to select marine airbags?

Marine airbags are considered to be versatile tools for various marine projects such as ship launching & disembarking, marine salvage, heavy transportation, etc. The most popular usage of these airbags is ship launching and a survey indicates that about 80% of new ships with DWT below 60,000 are launched by marine airbags. But do you know how to select appropriate marine airbags for a specific project.

Several marine airbags are inflated waiting for ship launching

Here are some suggestions given by our company, a professional airbag manufacturer and engineer.

Length:

• For single row arrangement, the length of them should no less than the maximum width of the item you want to move.
• For two rows of airbags, the total length of marine airbags can be estimated to be the effective length plus the diameter of marine airbags. For example, if the effective length of airbags is 14m and the diameter is 1.3m, then its total length is 15.3m.

Diameter:

• The diameter of marine airbags is determined by the height of block beams which are used to support the items you want to move. For example, you can choose marine airbags with diameters no less than 1.5m when the support block is 1m in height.
• For marine salvage airbags, the most important thing you need to concern is buoyancy, which determine the diameter and length of rubber body. (Note: If marine salvage airbags are going to be used in deep water, the pressure of airbag should be taken into consideration to make sure that the rubber body can withstand high hydraulic pressure.)
• For heavy lifting airbags, the diameter is determined by component plies. Normally, mid-pressure airbags are suitable to lift light items such as vessels whose launch weight is below 2000 tons. High pressure airbags are designed for heavy duty work. Normally, airbags with 6 piles are suitable for almost all types of lifting work, but for some rugged applications, airbags with 7 or 8 piles are needed. For instance, when lifting heavy structures with limited contact surface, airbags with higher pressure and more piles are the best choice for providing higher safety.
• Beside above suggestions, some references such as CB/T 3795 - 2009 and CB/T 3837 - 1998 will allow people to know approximate quantity and specifications for their marine projects. If you want a design for you specific structures, please contact us. Our professional engineer team will give you the best solution.