A rubber fender, also known as a rubber armor, is installed on a dock or ship to absorb the collision energy between the ship and the dock or when the ship is docked or moored, and to protect the ship and the dock from damage.
Rubber fender's classification: rubber fenders can be divided into two categories based on structure generally,: solid rubber fenders (non-leafing type) and
floating rubber fenders. Solid rubber fenders (non-floating type) are dock ship anti-collision equipment with an early history of application and wide application. According to the stress condition of the rubber fender, it can be divided into shear type, rotary type and compression type; According to the structure of the fender, the solid rubber fender can be divided into D type, cone type, drum type, fan type, rectangular type, cylinder Fender and so on.
The floating rubber fenders are free to float on the surface of the water. According to their difference of internal buffering media, they can be divided into: inflatable rubber fenders and filled rubber fenders. Inflatable rubber fenders use compressed air as the medium and consume energy by compressing air to do work. Foam-filled fenders are also called solid polyurethane fenders. The internal buffering media are mainly closed-cell foam materials, such as foamed EVA. , foamed polyurethane and foam rubber and so on.
Characteristics and Application of Rubber Fenders: Solid rubber fenders have high energy absorption and reaction force and they also have the advantages of low cost, long service life, and simple installation and maintenance. It is a protective device installed widely on docks and ships. The floating rubber fender is a relatively new type of fender equipment. Compared with the solid rubber fender, its main features are: large compression deformation, large energy absorption, small reaction force, self-floating, and easy installation and so on. It's usually used in ship to ship (ship to ship), ship to wharf(ship to wharf), docking and other occasions; Because of its self-floating characteristics, it is also particularly suitable for installation on quays where the tide level changes greatly. Among them, the filled rubber fenders are particularly suitable for applications in harsh environments due to their advantages of maintenance-free and long-life, such as offshore drilling platforms.
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