What are Pontoons?
Pontoons are floating devices. Pontoons consist of hollow and airtight barrels used to add buoyancy to the structure. This makes pontoons water-resistant and virtually unsinkable.
They are flat-decked. Pontoons are drum-type, donut pontoons, heavy-duty pontoons, poly pontoons, or metal-tank pontoons, or they can also be customized as per the needs of the customers.
Pontoons are of various types. There are different types of mining pump pontoons, pontoons for manufacturing industries, pontoons for mine site dewatering or modular industrial pontoons, etc. There are some important points that must be taken into consideration when designing them for your project.
What are the applications of Pontoons?
There are many different uses of Pontoons.
- They can be used for mine site dewatering.
- Pontoons can be used as walkways for mining and in times of flood situations during mining operations.
- There are various mining and water infrastructure industries that make use of pontoons and floating walkways to support heavy pumping equipment or machinery.
- For desludging and pumping effluent water from holding ponds, a floating pontoon equipped with heavy pumping equipment is useful.
- The mining companies make use of mining pump pontoons to manage mining tailings by draining excess water from the tailings dam.
- There are different types of modular industrial pontoons that play important roles in mining industries, manufacturing industries, etc.
- Pontoons can also be used as a walkway in marine applications. They prove to be effective and durable in adverse marine environments such as the high presence of solids, salt water, etc.
- Pontoon boats make use of pontoons. They are flat-decked. People make use of these boats for personal purposes, such as, for a weekend trip or for a party.
Types of Pontoons
At Perennial, we build pontoons for industrial applications and floating walkways. As every pontoon is different, each type of pontoon can be used for different purposes. You can find out what type of pontoon best works according to your needs. However, there are some critical points that must be determined and considered when designing various pontoons for your project.
We, at Perennial, provide Drum Types, and Metal tank pontoons. At Perennial, we have these different types of the barge for sale. We also sell customized pontoons as per the needs of the customer.
There are many pontoon manufacturers in India who provide pontoons for sale. They come in different sizes and styles, so you can find which one suits your business the best.
Which Type of Pontoon is Best Suited for Your Business Needs?
How will you decide which type of pontoon is best suited for your business needs? What are the various factors that you will consider while choosing the best Pontoon for you?
There are several key factors that you must consider when choosing a pontoon for your project or application.
Listed below are some of the factors you should consider while selecting a pontoon:-
- Load, buoyancy, and operating water level :- You should consider the weight of the object that you want to attach to the pontoon or to the floating work platform before performing any floatation activity. It is important because the weight of the load determines and calculates the buoyant force, which is the upward force exerted by the body of water on the object. The buoyant force is calculated to determine whether the floating platform or barge will sink or float when fully or impartially submerged in a body of water. Hence, calculating this force is of critical importance.
- Durability:- Pontoons should be such that even after years of heavy use they should be in good working condition. Choose a floating walkway built and designed in such a way.
- Maintenance :- Sometimes it can be the case that deployed pontoons can only be accessed by access walkways. Then, such walkways would need maintenance, especially on moving parts such as bearings, pins, joints, and other mechanical parts needing replacement or lubrication. To maintain the walkway’s visibility, periodic cycles of surface upkeep and paint-touch-ups may also be required.
- Modular and straightforward :- Always try to choose modular and straightforward pontoons as they are easy to assemble, reassemble, or take apart. Such modular builds of pontoons offer flexibility in mining operations, whenever there is a need to add or remove more pump floats units.
- Portable :- Choose Pontoons that are portable. Pontoons should be portable and easy to transport whenever there is such a business requirement. They should be easily loaded on shipping and freight containers.
- Site limitations :- The design of the pontoon should be such that it must be appropriate for the site location and power availability. For example, most mining operations are located in remote areas which means power sources are not readily available in such areas. Hence, it is important to choose the right pontoon that should be able to carry a load of generators for power generation, load banks for testing, etc.
- Pontoon restraint :- Pontoons should be engineered with suitable controls to withstand wind and current water loading, before deploying them on-site.
Conclusion
Thus, choose your pontoon taking into consideration all the above-mentioned points. We, at Perennial, also provide a genset on hire, a load bank for sale, along with a pontoon for sale!!
You can visit our website for more information on pontoons.