Inflatable fenders are widely used for buffering and protection of ships, offshore facilities, offshore platforms, ports, yachts, etc. It uses compressed air as a medium to absorb the impact of ships and has a small reaction force on ships. Compared with conventional solid rubber fenders, it has the advantages of light weight, floatability, quick deployment, economy and practicality.
As an effective berthing protection device in the transportation of offshore oil or other chemicals, inflatable fenders are widely used in various special environments. Due to the special nature of the environment, the highest level of safety must be guaranteed during the berthing process.
However, how to judge whether it meets the required performance to ensure safe berthing?
Inflatable fenders need to fully comply with ISO17357-1:2014 standard requirements from source materials to design and manufacturing, to testing and quality assurance
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is required for the polymerized rubber compound materials of the inner and outer layers to ensure the properties and quality of the rubber. To verify the design, the fender can be tested for angle compression, durability, compression recovery, puncture resistance, fatigue and thermal radiation. It is also tested for dimensions, hydrostatic pressure and air leakage to ensure that it maintains reliable performance during its service life.
There is a huge difference in performance between inflatable fenders made using regular molds and inflatable fenders produced using airbag technology.
The mold-made inflatable fender allows the alternating overlapping rubber sheets and vulcanized fabric to be tightly assembled in the best proportion. The manual roller on the mold exhausts the air and ensures the stable connection between the fender body and the flange. While ensuring the performance strength of each part of the fender, the fender also has a more consistent and good appearance.
Due to its own limitations, the inflatable fender made by the airbag process cannot achieve the rigidity of the components, and the surface is uneven, and the design size of the fender is different from the actual size.
Inflatable fenders made of wire rings and flanging can evenly distribute the load to the entire body under the action of compression and shear force, thereby reducing the stress in the fender flange area. All fenders with a diameter of more than 2.5 meters should be equipped with a properly designed safety valve. The all-stainless steel design ensures that excess pressure is safely released when the fender is over-compressed or under abnormal berthing conditions.
With excellent design and manufacturing technology, the inflatable fenders ensure stable energy absorption, reaction force and low hull surface pressure, with a recommended service life of 15 years, in line with the requirements of OCIMF guidelines. High-quality materials have better resistance to UV radiation, sunlight, ozone, oxygen, heat and weathering, playing a key role in extending the product's service life.
