EP4290018A1 - Appareil permettant d'insérer un objet allongé dans une tranchée - Google Patents

Appareil permettant d'insérer un objet allongé dans une tranchée Download PDF

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Publication number
EP4290018A1
EP4290018A1 EP22178033.1A EP22178033A EP4290018A1 EP 4290018 A1 EP4290018 A1 EP 4290018A1 EP 22178033 A EP22178033 A EP 22178033A EP 4290018 A1 EP4290018 A1 EP 4290018A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
cable
trench
support
vehicle
elongate
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP22178033.1A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Roger Paul White
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd
Original Assignee
Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd filed Critical Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd
Priority to EP22178033.1A priority Critical patent/EP4290018A1/fr
Priority to PCT/EP2023/065543 priority patent/WO2023237763A1/fr
Publication of EP4290018A1 publication Critical patent/EP4290018A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
    • E02F5/00—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes
    • E02F5/02—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches
    • E02F5/10—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables
    • E02F5/101—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables forming during digging, e.g. underground canalisations or conduits, by bending or twisting a strip of pliable material; by extrusion
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
    • E02F5/00—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes
    • E02F5/02—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches
    • E02F5/10—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables
    • E02F5/104—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables for burying conduits or cables in trenches under water
    • E02F5/105—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables for burying conduits or cables in trenches under water self-propulsed units moving on the underwater bottom
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
    • E02F5/00—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes
    • E02F5/02—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches
    • E02F5/10—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables
    • E02F5/104—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables for burying conduits or cables in trenches under water
    • E02F5/106—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables for burying conduits or cables in trenches under water using ploughs, coulters, rippers
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
    • E02F5/00—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes
    • E02F5/02—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches
    • E02F5/10—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables
    • E02F5/104—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables for burying conduits or cables in trenches under water
    • E02F5/107—Dredgers or soil-shifting machines for special purposes for digging trenches or ditches with arrangements for reinforcing trenches or ditches; with arrangements for making or assembling conduits or for laying conduits or cables for burying conduits or cables in trenches under water using blowing-effect devices, e.g. jets

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to an apparatus for inserting an elongate object into a trench, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, apparatus for inserting a cable into a trench in a floor of a body of water, such as the seabed.
  • Lowering a cable into a trench formed by a trenching vehicle is achieved either passively (by means of reliance on the self-weight of the cable) or actively, i.e. by positively inserting the cable into the trench by means of a mechanical arm, known as a depressor, attached to the trenching vehicle.
  • Self-weight lowering has advantages over use of an active depressor in that there is no physical contact between a cable and a depressor, which therefore reduces the risk of damage to the cable.
  • the cable is subjected to reduced bending compared with passage around a depressor, where it can be forced into an 's' bend, which can damage the cable.
  • Another advantage of self-weight lowering is the elimination of radial loading on the cable, which can cause significant risk of damage to the cable.
  • some power cables are sensitive to radial loading, i.e. forces acting perpendicularly to the axis of the cable. Cable manufacturers often specify a loading limit which must not be exceeded during the laying and burial process. For this reason, the amount of downforce applied by a depressor onto a cable must be quantified and limited. In some instances, the depressor acts only as a sensor in order to determine cable position, i.e. burial depth.
  • self-weight lowering can involve an increase in the number of trenching passes necessary to lower the cable to the required depth. Each pass lowers the cable a distance dependent upon cable weight, cable diameter, soil strength and composition, how effectively the trench is jetted (to fluidise debris in the trench), cable tension and trenching speed.
  • the depth of burial is more difficult to measure. Cable depth could be measured using onboard survey equipment, typically using cable sensors or sonar. However, post-lay survey is often carried out to confirm the actual burial depth.
  • the total force acting on a conventional depressor is normally measured by means of a shear-pin load cell typically fitted in-line with a raise/lower actuator (a hydraulic cylinder) for raising and lowering the depressor.
  • the force acting on the depressor is the combined cable force and soil forces, which are generated by friction and soil surcharge, i.e. the interaction between the depressor and the cut soil generated during the trenching process.
  • the load cell measures force in the direction of its shear planes, which are set in a single orientation. These shear planes tend to suit a narrow range of depressor heights, as a result of which measuring the full range of height is more difficult as it would rely on the load cell rotating in line with the actuator.
  • Preferred embodiments seek to overcome this disadvantage.
  • an object engaging apparatus for engaging an elongate object being inserted into a trench, the apparatus comprising:
  • the object engaging means may comprise an object engaging surface, wherein the restraining means is located adjacent said object engaging surface.
  • This provides the advantage of more effectively reacting forces applied to the object engaging means in an axial direction of the elongate object so that movement of the object engaging means relative to the support is substantially caused by forces between the object engaging means and the elongate object transverse to the axial direction. This in turn enables a simple determination of transverse forces applied to the elongate object.
  • the restraining means may comprise at least one protrusion adapted to be located on one of the object engaging means and the support and adapted to engage the other of the object engaging means and the support.
  • the force measuring means may comprise at least one load cell.
  • the apparatus may further comprise proximity detection means for detecting proximity of the elongate object.
  • This provides the advantage of enabling the trajectory of the object to be determined, thereby reducing the risk of its minimal bend radius being exceeded, and enables the absence of an elongate object in the trench to be determined.
  • an object inserting apparatus for inserting an elongate object into a trench, the apparatus comprising:
  • the object inserting apparatus may comprise a plurality of said object engaging apparatus.
  • This provides the advantage of distributing the forces applied to the elongate object over a larger area, thereby minimising the risk of damage to the elongate object, and enabling the trajectory of the elongate object to be determined.
  • the object inserting apparatus may further comprise actuator means for moving the support relative to the vehicle body.
  • This provides the advantage of enabling the contact force between the object engaging means and the elongate object, caused by the weight of the object inserting apparatus, to be reduced by means of actuation of the actuator means, therefore further reducing the risk of damage to the elongate object.
  • the support may be adapted to be pivotably mounted to the vehicle body.
  • a vehicle comprising a vehicle body and an object inserting apparatus as defined above.
  • the vehicle may further comprise trench forming means.
  • the vehicle may further comprise movement means for moving the vehicle relative to a trench.
  • a cable burying vehicle 2 for burying a cable 4 in a trench 6 in the sea bed 8 has a vehicle body 10, trench forming means in the form of jetter swords 12 mounted to the vehicle body 10, and moving means in the form of tracks 14 for moving the vehicle 2 relative to the trench 6.
  • An object inserting apparatus in the form of a depressor 16 for inserting the cable 4 into the trench 6 comprises a support 18 pivotably mounted to the vehicle body 10 and which is raised or lowered relative to the vehicle body 10 by means of actuator means in the form of a hydraulic actuator 20.
  • the depressor 16 includes object engaging apparatus in the form of a plurality of cable shoes 22 mounted at a lower part of the support 18.
  • the cable shoes 22 have object engaging means in the form of cable shoe contact surfaces 24 and are positioned such that the cable shoe contact surfaces form an arc, the radius of which is equal to or greater than the minimum allowable bend radius of the cable 4.
  • Each cable shoe contact surface 24 may also be profiled to the minimum bend radius of the cable 4.
  • the cable shoes 22 can be provided with proximity detection means in the form of proximity sensors 26 ( Figure 3 ) for detecting the presence of the cable 4. In this case, the cable shoes 22 are manufactured from a material which is not detected by the proximity sensors 26.
  • Each cable shoe 22 is mounted on the support 18 by means of force measuring means in the form of a shear pin load cell 28, and rotation of each cable shoe 22 about the corresponding load cell 28 (equivalent to movement of the cable shoe 22 relative to the support 18 in an axial direction of the cable 4) is limited by restraining means in the form of one or more locating pins 30 located approximately in line with the corresponding cable shoe contact surface 24. Clearance between locating pin 30 and cable shoe 22 allows limited movement of cable shoe 22 in a second direction transverse to the first direction.
  • the shoe proximity sensors 26 and the load cells 28 are monitored separately, and therefore contact locations are defined and load pin forces measured at specific locations. This gives an indication of the shape of the cable catenary through the lay process.
  • Cable radial loading can be reduced by applying hydraulic pressure to the actuator 20 (typically on an annulus side of a lift cylinder of the actuator 20) to reduce the submerged weight of the depressor 16, and therefore reduce the cable contact force, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the cable 4.
  • the depressor 16 will then give only a limited downward force on the cable 4, the cable burial depth can still be measured.
EP22178033.1A 2022-06-09 2022-06-09 Appareil permettant d'insérer un objet allongé dans une tranchée Pending EP4290018A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP22178033.1A EP4290018A1 (fr) 2022-06-09 2022-06-09 Appareil permettant d'insérer un objet allongé dans une tranchée
PCT/EP2023/065543 WO2023237763A1 (fr) 2022-06-09 2023-06-09 Appareil d'insertion d'un objet allongé dans une tranchée

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP22178033.1A EP4290018A1 (fr) 2022-06-09 2022-06-09 Appareil permettant d'insérer un objet allongé dans une tranchée

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP4290018A1 true EP4290018A1 (fr) 2023-12-13

Family

ID=82016589

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP22178033.1A Pending EP4290018A1 (fr) 2022-06-09 2022-06-09 Appareil permettant d'insérer un objet allongé dans une tranchée

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP4290018A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2023237763A1 (fr)

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3546888A (en) * 1968-10-30 1970-12-15 Shell Oil Co Heading control system for a pipelaying vessel
US3893404A (en) * 1974-03-25 1975-07-08 Skagit Corp Pull-ahead winch control system
GB2242788A (en) * 1990-03-29 1991-10-09 Eca System for laying cables or pipes on the sea bed
US5639185A (en) * 1994-01-13 1997-06-17 Saxon; Saint Elmo Underwater trenching system
US6524030B1 (en) * 1998-07-22 2003-02-25 Saipem S.P.A. Underwater pipe-laying
US20200080283A1 (en) * 2018-09-07 2020-03-12 Korea Institute Of Ocean Science & Technology Underwater trencher having submarine cable burying apparatus
GB2583953A (en) * 2019-05-15 2020-11-18 Subsea 7 Do Brasil Servicos Ltda Monitoring squeeze pressure of track tensioners

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5626438A (en) * 1993-01-15 1997-05-06 Pipeline Rehab, Inc. System for excavating and rehabilitating underground pipelines

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3546888A (en) * 1968-10-30 1970-12-15 Shell Oil Co Heading control system for a pipelaying vessel
US3893404A (en) * 1974-03-25 1975-07-08 Skagit Corp Pull-ahead winch control system
GB2242788A (en) * 1990-03-29 1991-10-09 Eca System for laying cables or pipes on the sea bed
US5639185A (en) * 1994-01-13 1997-06-17 Saxon; Saint Elmo Underwater trenching system
US6524030B1 (en) * 1998-07-22 2003-02-25 Saipem S.P.A. Underwater pipe-laying
US20200080283A1 (en) * 2018-09-07 2020-03-12 Korea Institute Of Ocean Science & Technology Underwater trencher having submarine cable burying apparatus
GB2583953A (en) * 2019-05-15 2020-11-18 Subsea 7 Do Brasil Servicos Ltda Monitoring squeeze pressure of track tensioners

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2023237763A1 (fr) 2023-12-14

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