Counteracting the heel
The heeling of a ship is often attributed to high winds, uneven cargo load, and hard turns. The anti-heeling system automatically compensates for list and trim of the ship.
Especially with container ships and ferries, they prevent critical ship orientations caused by the cargo. With cruise ships they are primarily applied for the comfort of the passengers, while on research vessels they assure a steady platform in the groundswell. To counter the various causes of heeling, ballast tanks and accessory ballast tanks are connected to each other by means of pipeline systems. Butterfly valves provide fast opening or closing of the connecting lines. Depending on the orientation of the ship, the tanks are either blown out or flooded by means of compressed air blowers or pumps.
Level detection with VEGASWING 61
In order to prevent overfilling of the ballast tanks, the pumps or blowers have to be switched off quickly. The VEGASWING 61 vibrating level switch is a wear- and maintenance-free sensor and is the ideal solution for adjustment-free level detection in the ballast tanks.
Millimeter-precise level measurement with VEGAWELL 52
In order to be able to correct the ship’s orientation, the ballast tank contents must be precisely measured. Even with a heel of only 2.5°, the track connections of a ferry can be torn apart. Quick reaction, high precision and long-term stability characterise this level measurement.
Large ferries are able to transfer up to 7500 tons of ballast water per hour. The pressure transmitter VEGAWELL 52 is the ideal solution for this application. With its ceramic-capacitive CERTEC® measuring cell it can withstand extreme pressure shocks up to 20 times higher than the nominal measuring range, and guarantees excellent long-term stability as well.
