JP2008218123A - Tether cable - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tether cable capable of accurately performing nondestructive testing on the buckling or disorder of array of a power line or a tensile strength body, easy to be manufactured, and capable of being non-destructively tested for its whole length. <P>SOLUTION: The tether cable has a twisted layer 21 of a non-metallic tensile strength body in an outer coating, the tensile strength bodies 41, 42 are provided with coated bodies 50, 60, fiber bodies 51, 61 arranged in the coated bodies, filling materials 52, 62 filling gaps of the fiber bodies, and buried bodies 100 which can be detected by X rays are arranged along length directions of the tensile strength bodies in the coated bodies. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tether cable, and more particularly to a tether cable for use in, for example, an unmanned exploration system to transmit power and optical signals.

  In unmanned exploration systems used underwater or underwater, tether cables are used to transmit power and optical signals. FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional structure of the tether cable. The tether cable 1000 includes a plurality of power lines 1001, a plurality of optical fiber units 1002, strength members 1003 and 1004, and an outer covering 1005. Yes. The strength members 1003 and 1004 constitute a twisted layer, which can resist the tension in the longitudinal direction and resist the force in the twisting direction to prevent the tether cable 1000 from extending and prevent it from rotating. ing.

  By the way, in the conventional tether cable 1000, as shown in FIG. 8, in order to be able to perform nondestructive inspection using X-rays for abnormalities (buckling and disorder of arrangement) of the power line 1001 and the tensile body 1004. In addition, a contrast agent 1200 is filled in a gap between adjacent strength members 1004 and 1004.

The filling operation of the contrast agent 1200 is performed as follows. First, a gap 1201 between adjacent strength members 1004 and 1004 shown in FIG. 8A is filled with a contrast agent 1200 as shown in FIG. 8B, and a part of the contrast agent 1200 as shown in FIG. 8C. Then, a silicon rubber filler 1203 is filled as shown in FIGS. 8D and 8E. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-54651

However, when the contrast agent is filled in this way, it takes time and effort to manufacture, and it is difficult to fill the contrast agent over the entire length of the tether cable.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a tether cable that is easy to manufacture and capable of non-destructive inspection over the entire length of the tether cable in order to solve the above problems.

In order to solve the above problems, the tether cable of the present invention is a tether cable having a twisted layer of a non-metallic strength member inside the outer coating.
An embedded body that can be detected by X-rays is arranged in the tensile body along the longitudinal direction of the tensile body.

The tether cable of the present invention is preferably such that the tensile body includes a covering, a fiber body disposed in the covering body, and a filler filling the space between the fiber bodies, and the embedded body includes: It is arrange | positioned inside the said coating | covering body, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
In the tether cable of the present invention, it is preferable that the embedded body is a metal rod-like body, and is arranged near a center position of the strength member.

  The tether cable of the present invention can accurately perform non-destructive inspection for buckling and arrangement disorder of the power line and the tensile strength body, is easy to manufacture, and can perform non-destructive inspection over the entire length of the tether cable.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an unmanned exploration system in which a preferred embodiment of the tether cable of the present invention is used.

  In FIG. 1, the unmanned exploration system 1 is used for ocean development, and includes a support mother ship 2, a launcher 3, and a vehicle 4. The support mother ship 2 and the launcher 3 are connected by a tether cable 10 that is a primary cable. The launcher 3 and the vehicle 4 are connected by a secondary cable 11. The tether cable according to the embodiment of the present invention can be used as the tether cable 10 that is a primary cable or the secondary cable 11. The tether cable 10 is fed by a sheave 5 on the support mother ship 2. Both the tether cable 10 and the secondary cable 11 can send power and optical signals.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of the tether cable 10 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows an example of a cross-sectional structure of the tether cable 10.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tether cable 10 is a cable having a non-metallic strength member twisted layer 21 in an outer sheath 20. The outer coating 20 is, for example, a polyester braid. Inside the outer coating 20, there is a tensile layer twisted layer 21, an inner coating 22, three-phase power lines 23, 24, and 25, and optical fiber units 26 and 27. And a ground wire 28. The inner coating 22 is made of, for example, cross-linked polyethylene, and the three-phase power lines 23, 24, and 25 and the ground line 28 are copper wires.

  Three-phase power lines 23, 24, 25, optical fiber units 26, 27, and a ground wire 28 are built in the inner coating 22, and a gap inside the inner coating 22 is, for example, silicon rubber The filler 29 is filled.

  The twisted layer 21 includes an inner first strength layer 31 that is separated from the inner surface of the outer coating 20 and an outer second strength layer 32 that is in contact with the inner surface of the outer coating 20. The first strength body layer 31 is composed of a plurality of strength bodies 41, and the second strength body layer 32 is composed of a plurality of strength bodies 42. As shown in FIG. 2, the strength members 41 are thicker than the strength members 42 and are arranged to be inclined in the X1 direction with respect to the central axis CL. On the other hand, the tensile bodies 42 are arranged to be inclined with respect to the central axis CL in the X2 direction opposite to the X1 direction.

As a result, the first strength member layer 31 and the second strength member layer 32 can resist the tension in the longitudinal direction and resist the force in the torsional direction to prevent the tether cable 10 from extending and rotate. It is preventing.
Further, these strength members 41 and 42 are used by being hardened with resin inside the outer coating.

4A and 4B show an example of a cross-sectional structure of the strength member 41, and FIGS. 4C and 4D show an example of a cross-sectional structure of the strength body 42.
As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the tensile body 41 includes a covering body 50, a plurality of fiber bodies 51 arranged inside the covering body 50, and a space between these fiber bodies 51. And a filler 52 to be filled. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D, the tensile body 42 includes a covering body 60, a plurality of fiber bodies 61 disposed inside the covering body 60, and these fiber bodies. And a filler 62 that fills between 61. The coverings 50 and 60 are made of, for example, polyethylene resin, and the fillers 52 and 62 are, for example, vinyl ester.

  The fiber bodies 51 and 61 are PPTA: polyparaphenylene terephthalamide which is an aramid fiber. The reason why the aramid fibers are used as the fiber bodies 51 and 61 is to reduce the cable weight and to obtain high strength.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 (A) to 4 (D), embedded bodies 100 that can be detected by X-rays are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the tensile bodies inside the tensile bodies 41 and 42, respectively. . In the illustrated example, the embedded body 100 is preferably disposed at the center position of the strength members 41 and 42, and the embedded body 100 is made of a material such as metal that can be detected by X-rays, such as a copper wire or a piano wire.

  Accordingly, the non-destructive inspection of the buckling and the disorder of the arrangement of the power line and the strength members 41 and 42 can be accurately performed using the embedded body 100, and the manufacturing is simpler than the case where the contrast medium is filled. In addition, since the embedded body 100 can be easily arranged over the entire length of the strength members 41 and 42, a nondestructive inspection can be performed over the entire length of the tether cable 10 using the embedded body 100.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which an abnormality in the tether cable of the present invention is detected by X-rays, and FIG. 5A shows a normal state in which no buckling of the power lines and the tensile members and the arrangement are not disturbed. FIG. 5B shows an example in which the power line and the tensile body are buckled and the arrangement is disturbed.
In FIG. 5A, it is detected that each embedded body 100 is parallel and in a straight state, but in FIG. 5B, the power line and the tensile body are buckled and the arrangement is disturbed in the portion P. , It is detected that the shape of each embedded body 100 has changed.

  In this manner, by disposing the embedded body 100 inside each strength member instead of the contrast medium, it is possible to easily detect abnormalities in the power line and the strength body by non-destructive inspection using X-rays over the entire length of the tether cable 10. You can be sure.

  Further, each strength member has a high strength against pulling, but the strength in the bending direction is not so strong, and there is a problem that it is easily broken. By disposing the embedded body 100, it is possible not only to easily detect the abnormality of the power line and the tensile body by non-destructive inspection by X-rays, but also to strengthen the strength of each tensile body in the bending direction. It is possible to suppress breakage of the strength member.

  Furthermore, since the embedded body 100 is arranged at the center position of the strength members 41 and 42, the distance between the adjacent strength members 41 and 42 can be made uniform, and the power line and the strength member can be easily grasped. It is possible to more reliably detect abnormalities in the wire and the tensile body. In addition, the bending can be suppressed evenly with respect to the external force in the bending direction from any direction.

  Thus, in the tether cable of the present invention, it is possible to accurately perform non-destructive inspection of the buckling and arrangement disorder of the power line and the tensile body, and the manufacturing is simple and the non-destructive inspection is possible over the entire length of the tether cable.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the strength member of the tether cable of the present invention. FIG. 9A shows an example of a cross-sectional structure of the strength member 41, and FIG. 6C shows an example of a cross-sectional structure of the strength member 42. The strength members 41 and 42 shown in FIG. 6 are different from the example of the strength member shown in FIG. 4 in that there is no covering, but the other structures are the same. A body 100 is arranged. By adopting such a structure of the strength members 41 and 42, the structure of the tether cable can be simplified.

By the way, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various modified example is employable.
For example, the tether cable of the embodiment of the present invention can be used not only as an unmanned exploration system but also as a seabed laying cable laid on the seabed.
The tether cable of the embodiment of the present invention can be used as the secondary cable 11 as well as the tether cable 10 which is a primary cable.
The twisted layer 21 includes the first strength layer 31 and the second strength layer 32. However, the twist layer 21 is not limited thereto, and may include three or more strength layers.
The cross-sectional shape of the embedded body 100 is not particularly limited, such as a circle, an ellipse, or a rectangle, but is preferably a circle from the viewpoint of manufacturability and prevention of breakage.

1 is a perspective view showing an unmanned exploration system in which a preferred embodiment of the tether cable of the present invention is used. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows embodiment of the tether cable of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows embodiment of the tether cable of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the example of the tension body arrange | positioned at the tether cable of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example which detected the abnormality in the tether cable of this invention by the X-ray. It is sectional drawing which shows another example of the tension body of the tether cable of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional tether cable. It is a figure which shows the filling operation | work of the contrast agent in the conventional tether cable.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Unmanned exploration system 3 Launcher 4 Vehicle 10 Tether cable 21 Strength member twisted layer 22 Inner coating 23, 24, 25 Power line 26, 27 Optical fiber unit 28 Ground wire 31 First strength layer 32 Second strength layer 41 Tensile body 42 Tensile body 50 Cover body 60 Cover body 51 Fiber body 61 Fiber body 52 Filler material 62 Filler material 100 Embedded body

Claims (3)

In a tether cable having a twisted layer of a non-metallic strength body inside the outer coating,
An embedded body that can be detected by X-rays is disposed in the tensile body along the longitudinal direction of the tensile body. The tensile body is
A covering,
A fibrous body disposed within the covering;
A filler for filling between the fibrous bodies,
The tether cable according to claim 2, wherein the embedded body is disposed inside the covering body. 3. The tether cable according to claim 1, wherein the embedded body is a metal rod-like body and is disposed at a central position of the strength member.

Images