Abstract Ballast tank sediments host organisms that pose invasion risk even if the ships are installed with ballast treatment systems. The bottom sediments also contribute to corrosion and cause cumulative deadweight loss over the years. This study presents the outcomes of the project “Conceptual Ballast Tank Design for Reducing Sediment Accumulation” (TUBITAK, Grant No: 115Y740). In the published first phase of the project, sediment accumulation pattern was determined and the center girder was found to be critical. In this study, the findings of the second and third phases are presented. In the second phase, the tank model design was revised aiming to reduce total sediment accumulation. The contribution of this revision was found to be is numerically insignificant. However, this revision drove more sediment towards the center girder. Thus, in the third phase, a pneumatic cleaning system targeting the center girder was designed to mobilize water to suspend sediment and facilitate discharge from the tank. The pneumatic cleaning system reduced the total sediment deposition in the ballast tank up to 45%. Operating the pneumatic system before de-ballasting operations on a regular basis would decrease the amount of sediment to be managed; reduce the invasion risk, tank corrosion, and cumulative deadweight loss.

中文翻译：

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减少压载舱沉积物：评估微小结构变化的影响并开发气动清洁系统

摘要 即使船舶安装了压载水处理系统，压载舱沉积物中的有机体也会造成入侵风险。底部沉积物也会导致腐蚀并导致多年来累积的无谓损失。本研究介绍了“减少沉积物堆积的概念压载舱设计”项目（TUBITAK，授权号：115Y740）的成果。在已公布的项目第一阶段，确定了沉积物堆积模式，并发现中心梁至关重要。在本研究中，介绍了第二和第三阶段的研究结果。在第二阶段，对水池模型设计进行了修改，旨在减少总沉积物的积累。发现此修订的贡献在数字上是微不足道的。然而，这次修订将更多的沉积物推向了中心梁。因此，在第三阶段，针对中心梁设计了气动清洁系统，以调动水悬浮沉积物并促进从水箱中排出。气动清洁系统将压载舱中的沉积物总量减少了 45%。在卸压载作业之前定期操作气动系统将减少需要管理的沉积物数量；降低入侵风险、罐体腐蚀和累积静重损失。定期在卸压载作业之前操作气动系统将减少需要管理的沉积物数量；降低入侵风险、罐体腐蚀和累积静重损失。定期在卸压载作业之前操作气动系统将减少需要管理的沉积物数量；降低入侵风险、罐体腐蚀和累积无谓损失。