EP3564446B1 - Underwater excavation device and method for excavation - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an underwater mining device with a retractable working platform, which can be set down on the bottom of a body of water, a removal device for removing soil material from the bottom of the body of water, an adjusting device for adjusting and inserting the removal device into the bottom of the body of water, and a conveying line for removing Removed soil material from the removal device, according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention further relates to a method for the removal of soil material at the bottom of a body of water with an underwater mining device, in which the underwater mining device is lowered to the bottom of the water, a removal device by means of an adjusting device in the The bottom of the water is introduced and soil material is removed and the removed soil material is removed by means of a conveyor line, according to the preamble of claim 12.

Such an underwater mining device is the subject of the unpublished EP application no. 16 201 894.9 .

From the EP 2 562 346 A1 an underwater mining device according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method according to the preamble of claim 12 are known. In particular, this document shows an underwater drilling arrangement with a lowerable working platform. A drilling tool is arranged on the working platform and can be driven into the bottom of the body of water by means of a drilling drive to create a borehole. The drilling device is used to create foundation elements under water. The cuttings generated when drilling the hole are discharged upwards and discharged through an outlet into the surrounding water, where they are removed and distributed by the water flow.

From the WO 2015/178854 A1 and the WO 2015/178853 A1 underwater mining systems emerge. In this system, several mobile mining units are used, from which mined soil material is discharged to floating containers, which are arranged under water between the mining units and a supply ship.

The invention has for its object to provide an underwater mining device and a method for mining soil material at the bottom of a body of water, with which soil material can be mined particularly efficiently under water.

The object is achieved according to the invention by an underwater mining device with the features of claim 1 and a method for mining soil material at the bottom of a body of water with the features of claim 12. Preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the respective dependent claims.

The underwater mining device according to the invention is characterized in that a receptacle for a conveying container is formed on the work platform, that the conveying container is detachably mounted and held in the receptacle, that the conveying line opens into the conveying container, with soil material removed being able to be accommodated in the conveying container, and in a separation device is provided in the conveying container, which is designed to retain removed soil material with a desired particle size and to separate liquid and soil material below the desired particle size.

A basic idea of the invention is to take up and temporarily store degraded soil material directly on the work platform. The mined soil material is therefore not passed on to the environment or to a receptacle removed from the work platform. By taking up and storing the mined soil material, it is easy to convey.

Another aspect of the invention is to receive the mined soil material in a production container which is detachably mounted on the working platform of the underwater mining device. The delivery container can be detached from the work platform when it reaches a predetermined fill level and can be removed or removed Be emptied. Then an empty delivery container can be placed on the work platform again. In this way, soil material that has been degraded can be taken up reliably and without significant pollution of the environment and can preferably be removed to the water surface.

Finally, a further aspect of the invention consists in sieving the removed soil material in the conveying container by means of a separating device, so that fine-grained material is separated from the conveying container. This reduces the amount of soil material to be removed with the delivery container

The removal device can in principle be a drilling device or any other suitable removal device. It is particularly preferred according to one embodiment of the invention that the removal device is a milling cutter which has at least one milling wheel which is driven to rotate about an approximately horizontal axis of rotation. The milling machine can preferably have two rotatingly driven milling wheel pairs. The pairs of milling wheels are preferably driven in such a way that they convey milled soil material to a center, from where they are conveyed out of the milling slot via a suction pump. The router can be constructed essentially similar to a known trench wall cutter.

A further embodiment of the invention is that the adjusting device has a guide, along which the removal device is guided so as to be vertically adjustable. The adjustment device can in particular be a mast with one or more guideways. The guide can preferably also be a frame or a tubular structure in which the removal device is guided so that it can move vertically.

The tiller can be sunk due to gravity. A preferred embodiment variant of the underwater mining device according to the invention further consists in the fact that the adjusting device has a propulsion device for lifting and / or lowering the removal device. In this way, propulsive or restoring forces can be applied in a targeted manner.

It is particularly advantageous that the propulsion device has at least one actuating cylinder or a winch. The actuating cylinder is preferably a hydraulic cylinder for lifting and / or lowering. In the same way, a jacking or a Lifting can also be realized by a winch arrangement with one or more winch cables with corresponding deflection devices.

A particularly expedient embodiment of the invention is achieved in that the guide is designed as a guide frame, at the upper end of which the receptacle for the conveying container is provided. The guide frame can be tubular with an inner space in which the removal device is guided vertically movable. The conveying container can be placed and positioned on an upper side of the guide frame.

It is particularly advantageous that the receptacle has a funnel-shaped centering section and that the conveying container has a conical insertion section on its underside, which is designed to fit the conveying container into the centering section of the receptacle. The receptacle is funnel-shaped, and a correspondingly suitable conical insertion section on the underside of the conveying container can be easily received and centered by lowering. When receiving the delivery container, a connection to the delivery line for introducing the removed soil material can be established at the same time.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention consists in that a first coupling element of the conveying line is provided on the receptacle for the conveying container and that a second coupling element is arranged on an underside of the conveying container, which can be connected to the first coupling element in order to establish a line connection. The two coupling elements can also be suitably funnel-shaped or conical to produce a lighter connection. In this way, the mined soil material can be introduced into the feed container from below via the feed line.

A preferred development of the invention consists in the fact that a riser pipe is arranged within the conveying container, which extends from the second coupling device through the conveying container upwards to an opening through which the removed soil material is introduced into the conveying container from above. Thus, the mined soil material first flows through the riser in the delivery container and is only at the top of the delivery container. This introduction of the degraded soil material, which is generally mixed with the surrounding water, makes it possible for a sedimentation process to take place within the delivery container. The solid soil material can sediment on the bottom area of the delivery container, while the appropriately clarified water can escape again at an upper side of the delivery container. This improves the filling of the conveyor container with the removed soil material as the actual payload.

A particularly environmentally friendly decoupling of the delivery container from the work platform is achieved according to a development of the invention in that a shut-off valve is arranged on the first coupling device and / or the second coupling device, the shut-off valve is open for filling the delivery container and that the shut-off valve is closed, when the delivery container is removed from the receptacle. The check valve or the check valves can be actuated by a corresponding control. However, the valve can also be designed as an automatic valve with mechanical elements, so that it is automatically opened when the delivery container is placed in place and automatically closed when the delivery container is removed.

According to an embodiment variant of the invention, it is also advantageous that a locking device is arranged on the receptacle, which locks and fixes a receptacle in its position. This ensures that the delivery container remains reliably in its position even with strong currents. In addition, the delivery container can also be used to transport the underwater mining device. The conveying container is preferably connected to a lifting device, in particular a lifting rope. With the lifting rope, the conveying container can be brought to an emptying position, in particular a watercraft, in particular a ship. If the delivery container is firmly locked to the work platform, the underwater excavation device can be transported with the delivery container through the lifting device.

A pump device is preferably provided for conveying the removed soil material from the removal device to the conveying container. The pump device can be integrated in the removal device or can be arranged as a separate component on the work platform.

For an exact adjustment of the underwater mining device on a body of water, it is expedient that adjustable support feet are provided on the work platform for aligning the work platform on the bottom of the water. The support feet can be provided with actuating cylinders or other adjusting devices in order to compensate for a height offset from one another. This means that the work platform can also be aligned horizontally on uneven terrain. A total of three support feet are preferably arranged distributed around the circumference of the work platform.

A preferred embodiment of the invention consists in the separating device having a sieve element with sieve holes which are designed in accordance with the desired particle size. Liquid and smaller particles can escape through the sieve holes and be discharged from the delivery container. Depending on the desired application, the diameters of the preferably circular sieve holes are selected and can have a size of preferably between 1 cm and 5 cm.

According to a further development of the invention, it is particularly advantageous that the sieve element is sleeve-shaped and arranged within the larger-diameter conveying container, a separation space being formed for receiving a separating material that has passed through the sieve element. The sleeve-shaped sieve element can taper downwards and is preferably arranged centrally in the conveying container. The conveying container can also be designed as a sleeve body, so that an annular separating space is formed between the sieve element and the conveying container.

It is furthermore advantageous that at least one return line is provided, which runs from the separation space to the removal device for returning the separation material. A preferably lockable outlet valve can be arranged on a lower floor area of the separation chamber, through which the separated material can enter the return line from the conveying container. The separated material can be returned to the area of the removal device by means of a pump or solely due to gravity or an applied pressure difference through the return line. One or more outlet openings for the material can be provided on the removal device, for example in the vicinity of the milling wheels, so that the material enters the material during operation of the underwater mining device Hole is introduced at the bottom of the water. This effectively counteracts pollution of the surrounding water.

The method according to the invention is characterized in that the removed soil material is conveyed to a delivery container which is detachably mounted on a receptacle of the underwater mining device, that soil material removed with a desired particle size is retained in the delivery container by means of a separating device and that liquid and soil material are below the desired particle size the feed container is separated, and that when a fill level is reached, the filled feed container is detached from the receptacle and transported away.

The method according to the invention can preferably be carried out with the underwater mining device described above. The advantages described above can be achieved.

A preferred embodiment variant of the method according to the invention is that the delivery container is detachably attached to an upper side of the underwater mining device, that a lifting device engages on an upper side of the delivery container and that the transportation container is locked in the receptacle for transporting the underwater mining device. The lifting device can thus be used for the separate removal of the soil material with the delivery container when the delivery container is unlocked and released from the underwater mining device. If the conveying container is locked in the receptacle on the work platform, the underwater mining device can be conveyed and moved as a whole by means of the lifting device.

According to a further embodiment variant of the method according to the invention, it is advantageous for the separated soil material to be returned from the conveying container to the removal device. In operation, the removal device is located in the floor, so that the separated material can be returned to the floor area. This counteracts excessive contamination of the surrounding water area with turbid and suspended matter.

Fig. 1

eine Seitenansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Unterwasserabbauvorrichtung;

Fig. 2

eine vergrößerte Seitenansicht eines Förderbehälters für die Unterwasserabbauvorrichtung;

Fig. 3

eine vergrößerte Detailansicht der Aufnahme eines Förderbehälters in der Unterwasserabbauvorrichtung;

Fig. 4

eine Querschnittsansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Unterwasserabbauvorrichtung;

Fit. 5

eine vergrößerte Querschnittsansicht des unteren Bereichs der Vorrichtung von Fig. 4; und

Fig. 6

eine vergrößerte Detailansicht der Aufnahme des Förderbehälters von Fig. 4 im Querschnitt.

The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of a preferred exemplary embodiment, which is shown schematically in the drawings. The drawings show:

Fig. 1

a side view of an underwater mining device according to the invention;

Fig. 2

an enlarged side view of a conveying container for the underwater mining device;

Fig. 3

an enlarged detail view of the receptacle of a production container in the underwater mining device;

Fig. 4

a cross-sectional view of an underwater mining device according to the invention;

Fit. 5

an enlarged cross-sectional view of the lower portion of the device of FIG Fig. 4 ; and

Fig. 6

an enlarged detail view of the receptacle of the delivery container of Fig. 4 in cross section.

In an underwater mining device 10 according to the invention Fig. 1 a frame-like working platform 12 made of supports is provided, which can be set down by a water vehicle, in particular a ship, with a lifting device via a total of three vertically adjustable support feet 28 at the bottom of a body of water. With the support feet 28, the work platform 12 can be aligned horizontally.

A mast-like guide frame 14 is arranged on the work platform 12 to form an adjustment device 13. A removal device 30 is mounted vertically adjustable within the guide frame 14 along a vertical guide 16. The removal device 30 is designed as a milling machine, in particular a trench wall milling machine with two lower pairs of milling wheels 32. The milling wheels 32 are driven to rotate about horizontal axes of rotation, the milling wheels 32 rotating in such a way that they remove soil material and convey it into a central region between the two pairs of milling wheels 32.

A propulsion device 20 with lateral actuating cylinders 22 is provided for the vertical adjustment of the removal device 30. With the actuating cylinders 22, the removal device 30 can be raised or lowered step by step. The removal device 30 is guided with an elongated guide frame along the vertical guide 16 in the guide frame 14. The adjustment path of the removal device 30 can be limited to the height of the guide frame 14, so that the removal device 30 is always guided within the guide frame 14. Alternatively, the removal device 30 can also be moved out of the guide frame 13, in which case a further guidance takes place along the elongated guide frame of the removal device 30.

The soil material removed by the milling wheels 32 is conveyed upward via a central conveying line 18 and by means of a pump device 24 to a conveying container 50 which is mounted in a receptacle 40 on the upper side of the guide frame 14.

The receptacle 40 has a funnel-shaped centering section 42 for receiving a lower end of the conveying container 50 in a centered manner. On the work platform 12, a drive module 26 with various assemblies and also operating resources is arranged detachably. The drive module 26 is connected to a supply ship at the top of the water via a supply line, not shown in detail. Corresponding control of the underwater mining device 10 can also take place via the supply line.

The delivery container 50 for the underwater mining device 10 according to the invention is closer to FIG Fig. 2 shown. The conveying container 50 has an essentially cylindrical base body 52, at the lower end of which a conical insertion section 54 is provided, to which a locking shoulder 55 adjoins. Within the hollow conveying container 50, a riser 58 extends from the underside 53 to beyond the upper end of the cylindrical base body 52. From the delivery line 18 of the underwater mining device 10, the removed soil material on the underside 53 is transferred to the riser 58 in the delivery container 50, the riser 58 being diverted to the interior of the delivery container 50 via curved bends in the upper region. The manifolds open in an upper region of the cylindrical base body 52, so that the removed soil material with sucked-in water is introduced into the delivery container 50 from above. In this way, the solid constituents of the removed soil material can sediment into the lower region of the conveying container 50, while liquid can escape at the top of the conveying container 50.

Fastening elements 57 are also arranged on the upper side of the conveying container 50, to which a lifting device, not shown, in particular the hook of a crane rope, is fastened.

The conveying container 50 is detachably fastened to the receptacle 40 of the guide frame 14 via a locking device 70, as shown in more detail in FIG Fig. 3 is shown. The representation of Fig. 3 it can be seen that the conical insertion section 54 of the conveying container 50 is designed to match the funnel-shaped centering section 42 of the receptacle 40. In the inserted position, a wedge-shaped holding element 72 can be moved from a release position into a locking position by means of an actuating mechanism 74, which is actuated by an actuating cylinder, not shown Fig. 3 is shown. In the locking position, the radially retracted holding element 72 engages behind the locking shoulder 55 of larger diameter on a cylindrical end section of the conveying container 50 can be pulled up.

The Fig. 3 the connection between the delivery line 18 and the delivery container 50 is also indicated. A first coupling element 46 is formed at an upper end of the conveying line 18 and engages appropriately in a funnel-shaped second coupling element 56 on the conveying container 50. In the coupling position, a line connection is established between the delivery line 18 and the riser 58 within the delivery container 50 between the first coupling element 46 and the second coupling element 56. Via a schematically indicated shut-off valve 60, when the delivery container 50 is separated from the receptacle 40 the openings on the first coupling element 46 and the second coupling element 56 are closed. The blocking valve 60 is preferably actuated mechanically when the delivery container 50 is placed or released.

The underwater mining device 10 according to the invention is provided for the removal of soil material on a body of water, in particular for the taking of samples or for the mining of near-surface mineral resources.

A modified embodiment of a mining device 10 according to the invention is in connection with the Figures 4 to 6 shown. The underwater mining device 10 according to Fig. 4 has the same basic structure as the underwater mining device 10 according to the Figures 1 to 3 with a work platform 12, support feet 28, a guide frame 14 for a removal device 30 with cutting wheels 32 and a transport container 50 which is detachably arranged at the top. Reference is made to the previous explanations.

According to Fig. 4 a cross section through a conveying container 50 with an internal separating device 80 is shown. The conveying container 50 has an essentially cylindrical base body 52, at the lower end of which a conical insertion section 54 is provided. As explained in more detail in the previous exemplary embodiment, this has a locking shoulder, not shown here, for releasable locking with the work platform 12.

From the delivery line 18 of the underwater mining device 10, the soil material removed by the removal device 30 is transferred to an upper riser 58 and introduced into the delivery container 50 from above. The removed soil material with sucked-in liquid first flows into a sleeve-shaped sieve element 82, which is coaxial in accordance with the shape of the surrounding conveying container 50, but smaller in diameter. The sleeve-shaped sieve element 82 has a plurality of sieve holes 84 with a predetermined diameter, so that solid soil material with a particle size larger than the sieve holes is retained in the sieve element 82, while liquid and smaller soil material essentially radially outwards through the sieve holes 84 annular separating space 86 of the delivery container 50 can emerge.

The soil material separated in this way reaches the lower region of the conveying container from the annular separating space 86 and can be discharged from the conveying container 50 via one or more outlet openings 68 with an outlet (not shown in more detail) to a plurality of return lines 15 running downwards. Via the return lines 15, the separated material returns to the area of the removal device 30 and can be discharged there into the floor area via outlet openings (not shown).

In addition, the underwater mining device 10 detects Fig. 4 At the lower end of the working platform 12 in the area of the removal device 30, guide walls 38 which can still be folded out, by means of which an additional guide function and also a protective function for the removal device 30 are fulfilled.

As from the enlarged detailed view of Fig. 5 It can be seen that the soil material removed by the milling wheels 32 of the removal device 30 is sucked in together with the surrounding liquid by means of a pump device 24 via an approximately centrally arranged suction opening 17 and pumped upwards to the delivery container 50 via the delivery line 18. The separated soil material from the conveying container 50 is pumped back down to the cutting wheels 32 of the removal device 30 via two return lines 15. Via separated outlet openings, the separated material, together with liquid, can re-enter the ground in the area of the milling slot.

In this way, the quantity to be conveyed in the conveying container 50 is reduced, as a result of which the number of lifting operations of the conveying container 50 is correspondingly reduced. In addition, soil material that is not required can remain directly in the soil.

According to Fig. 6 the connection between the conveying container 50 and the work platform 12 is shown in an enlarged view. In this case, a conical centering section 42 is formed at the upper end of the conveying line 18, which is designed to match an appropriately conical insertion section 54 on the conveying container 50. In this way, a line connection is formed between the delivery line 18 and the riser 58 in the delivery container 50.

It is further Fig. 6 it can be seen that at the lower end of the annular separating space 86 in the delivery container 50 there is a preferably closable drain opening 68 is formed, with which the annular separating space 86 of the conveying container 50 is in line connection with two return lines 15 in order to discharge the soil material separated from the conveying container 50 by means of the separating device 80 downwards with an excessively small particle size.

Claims (14)

1. Underwater mining device having

   - a submersible working platform (12) which can be placed onto a bed of a body of water,

   - a stripping means (30) for stripping ground material from the bed of the body of water,

   - an adjustment means (13) for adjusting and introducing the stripping means (30) into the bed of the body of water and

   - a conveying line (18) for conveying stripped ground material away from the stripping means (30),
   characterized in that

   - on the working platform (12) a receiving part (40) for a conveying container (50) is designed,

   - the conveying container (50) is supported and held in a releasable manner in the receiving part (40), and

   - the conveying line (18) leads into the conveying container (50), wherein stripped ground material can be received in the conveying container (50), and

   - in the conveying container (50) a separating means (80) is provided which is designed for retaining stripped ground material of a desired particle size and for separating liquid and ground material below the desired particle size.
2. Underwater mining device according to claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the stripping means (30) is a cutter having at least one cutting wheel (32) which is driven in a rotating manner about an approximately horizontal axis of rotation.
3. Underwater mining device according to claim 1 or 2,
   characterized in that
   the adjustment means (13) has a guide (16), along which the stripping means (30) is guided in a vertically adjustable manner.
4. Underwater mining device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
   characterized in that
   the adjustment means (13) has an advancing means (20) for lifting and/or lowering the stripping means (30).
5. Underwater mining device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
   characterized in that
   the receiving part (40) has a funnel-shaped centering section (42) and
   in that on its underside the conveying container (50) has a conical inserting section (54) which is designed to fit for insertion of the conveying container (50) into the centering section (42) of the receiving part (40).
6. Underwater mining device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
   characterized in that
   on the receiving part (40) for the conveying container (50) a first coupling element (46) of the conveying line (18) is provided and
   in that on an underside (53) of the conveying container (50) a second coupling element (56) is arranged which can be connected to the first coupling element (46) to establish a line connection.
7. Underwater mining device according to claim 6,
   characterized in that
   inside the conveying container (50) a riser (58) is arranged which extends from the second coupling means (56) through the conveying container (50) in the upward direction to an outlet, through which the conveyed stripped ground material is fed from above into the conveying container (50).
8. Underwater mining device according to any one of claims 6 or 7,
   characterized in that
   on the first coupling means (46) and/or the second coupling means (56) a stop valve (60) is arranged,
   in that for the filling of the conveying container (50) the stop valve (60) is open and in that the stop valve (60) is closed when the conveying container (50) is removed from the receiving part (40).
9. Underwater mining device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
   characterized in that
   the separating means (80) has a screen element (82) with screen holes (84) which are designed according to the desired particle size.
10. Underwater mining device according to claim 9,
    characterized in that
    the screen element (82) is of sleeve-shaped design and arranged inside the larger-diameter conveying container (50), wherein a separating space (86) is formed for receiving separating material that has passed through the screen element (82).
11. Underwater mining device according to claim 10,
    characterized in that
    at least one return line (15) is provided which, for the purpose of returning the separating material, runs from the separating space (86) to the stripping means (30).
12. Method for mining ground material on the bed of a body of water with an underwater mining device (10), in particular according to any one of claims 1 to 11, in which

    - the underwater mining device (10) is lowered onto the bed of the body of water,

    - a stripping means (30) is introduced into the bed of the body of water by means of an adjustment means (13) and, in doing so, ground material is stripped and

    - the stripped ground material is conveyed away by means of a conveying line (18),
    characterized in that

    - the stripped ground material is conveyed to a conveying container (50) which is supported in a releasable manner on a receiving part (40) of the underwater mining device (10),

    - by means of a separating means (80) stripped ground material of a desired particle size is retained in the conveying container (50) and liquid as well as ground material below the desired particle size is separated from the conveying container (50), and

    - on reaching a filling level the filled conveying container (50) is released from the receiving part (40) and transported away.
13. Method according to claim 12,
    characterized in that
    the conveying container (50) is fastened in a releasable manner on an upper side of the underwater mining device (10),
    in that a lifting means engages on an upper side of the conveying container (50) and for the transport of the underwater mining device (10) the conveying container (50) is locked in the receiving part (40).
14. Method according to claim 12 or 13,
    characterized in that
    the separated ground material is fed from the conveying container (50) back to the stripping means (30).

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