Ship maintenance is a crucial aspect of vessel operations; regular maintenance extends the service life of equipment, minimizes breakdowns and damage, prolongs the vessel's overall lifespan, ensures equipment remains in optimal working condition, and enhances operational efficiency. Maintenance activities include: regularly inspecting various ship systems (mechanical, electrical, etc.); maintaining surface cleanliness and paintwork integrity; lubricating and servicing machinery and equipment; and ensuring the timely replenishment and replacement of spare parts.
Maintaining surface cleanliness and paintwork integrity is vital for the anti-corrosion protection of the hull in marine environments. Ships are constantly exposed to water, wind, tides, and humidity, making surface rust inevitable. This rusting is primarily caused by chemical reactions between the metal surface and the salt and oxygen present in seawater-a process known as corrosion. Rust not only detracts from the vessel's appearance but can also severely compromise its structural integrity and safety. If left untreated, rust can lead to damage and perforation of metal components, thereby endangering navigational safety; consequently, rust removal and recoating of the hull surface are essential.
Manual rust removal: This typically involves the use of hammers, scrapers, and wire brushes. It is labor-intensive, inefficient, and yields inconsistent quality. Furthermore, the failure to promptly clear away rust residue results in environmental pollution.
Electric grinding/rust removal: This method involves using a handheld electric angle grinder equipped with high-speed rotating abrasive discs, rubber grinding wheels, or wire wheels to grind, cut, descale, and polish metal components. However, the process generates significant dust and noise pollution, and performing such work at heights entails safety risks.
Abrasive Blasting (Sandblasting): This is a manual process using dry compressed air (at 0.4–0.6 MPa). An operator manually maneuvers a spray gun, transporting dry abrasive media-such as copper slag-from a pressurized vessel to the gun. The media impacts the steel surface at speeds of tens of meters per second, rapidly removing rust. However, this method causes significant pollution, entails high costs, and poses health risks to workers.
High-Pressure Water Jetting: High-pressure water jetting utilizes a high-pressure pump to generate multiple water jets at various angles and intensities. These jets travel at extremely high velocities and possess immense impact energy, enabling the rapid removal of contaminants such as oil, rust, marine growth, and old paint from the ship's hull. This method delivers excellent cleaning results without generating dust pollution. Furthermore, with technological advancements, the integration of high-pressure water jetting systems with wall-climbing robots offers a highly efficient, eco-friendly, and safe solution for ship descaling and rust removal.
