Trelleborg tackles noise and vibration on the Mississippi

Trelleborg, Sweden – Trelleborg has spotlighted the role of its technology in dampening noise and vibration on towboats using up to 11,000 horsepower to transport huge barges on the Mississippi river.

The powerful vessels commonly tow over a dozen barges: transporting grain, corn, soybeans, iron, rubber, coal and other bulk commodities along the 2,350-mile US waterway.

The engine power involved creates a lot of noise and vibration that can be highly bothersome and unhealthy for crews – there can typically be around ten people on board a towboat for a month at a time.

According to Trelleborg, the rubber mounts and steel springs most Mississippi towboats use cannot isolate a crew’s sleeping quarters sufficiently from the noise and vibration of operating machinery.

Trelleborg's Towair solution, which has been used in Europe for decades, places the accommodation on air springs, along with movement-limitation components during barging.

A pneumatic system regulates the compressed air in the air springs and maintains the deckhouse at a constant, stable height, regardless of the load placed on the air springs.

The set-up, added Trelleborg, is able to achieve optimum vibration isolation from a towboat’s deck to the accommodation, eliminating all vibrations from four hertz upward. 

Towair was introduced to the US some years ago, but the industry there has been slow to change from older systems due to aging vessels and cost concerns, said the supplier.

Early adopters of Towair on the Mississippi River, it added, include New Orleans-based Canal Barge Co., which is using the system “to great effect” on a flagship tow boat.

Trelleborg expects US uptake to rise significantly in the coming years: citing the likely introduction of stricter noise legislation and major growth potential within the replacement market.