KR100841706B1 - Chamber structure for underwater working - Google Patents

Abstract

A chamber structure for underwater working is provided to secure working space for every kind of underwater work by injecting air into a working chamber. A chamber structure(100) for underwater working includes a main body(10), a movable suction unit(20), a sealing unit(30), and a buoyancy control unit(40). The main body contains a hollow and rectangular in shape. The movable suction unit detachably attaches the main body to a surface of working object. The sealing unit is installed on an upper part of the main body and seals the main body and the surface of the working object. The buoyancy control unit is installed on the main body and controls buoyancy of the main body.

Description

Chamber Structure for Underwater Working

1 is a perspective view of a chamber structure for underwater operation according to one embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the underwater working chamber structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing seal portion of an uneven shape which is installed on an upper end of the main body of the underwater working chamber structure of FIG. 1 and is in watertight contact with the surface of the workpiece;

4 is a perspective view of a lifting cylinder fixed to a main body surface of the underwater working chamber structure of FIG. 1 and a vacuum adsorption part connected thereto to closely contact the underwater working chamber structure main body to the surface of the work object;

5 is a cross-sectional view of the vacuum adsorption portion of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a buoyancy control unit (ballast) secured to the body surface of the underwater working chamber structure of FIG. 1 to facilitate movement and provisional attachment of the chamber structure;

7 is a side cross-sectional view showing an example of a shelf that is not flooded by the pressure of air even when the chamber structure body for underwater operation is flooded;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which the submerged chamber structure of FIG. 1 is attached to the bottom of a ship for work; FIG.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a state in which an underwater chamber chamber structure of an embodiment different from FIG. 1 is attached to the bottom side of a ship for work.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: chamber body for underwater operation

11: crane hook

13: tow collar

15: footrest

17a: air supply

19: observation window

20: movable adsorption unit

20a: vacuum suction unit

20b: connection load

20c: cylinder actuator

30: sealing part

30a: seal body

30b: seal head

30c: head side

31: recess

33: hollow hole

40: buoyancy control unit

43: exhaust valve

45: air supply valve

47: water supply drain

49: observation window

50: shelf

60: lighting unit

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2000-41003

The present invention relates to an underwater work method used for the installation or repair work of large underwater structures, such as ships, artificial islands, and more particularly, underwater gas welding or electricity performed during the precision installation work or precision repair work of large underwater structures Almost all underwater operations, such as underwater special welding operations such as welding and underwater radiographic inspection and precise ultrasonic inspection which require a high degree of water tightness, completely block the underwater working environment from water and provide the same working environment as on the ground. The present invention relates to an underwater working chamber which can be easily carried out at low cost while providing the underwater worker with the quality or performance of the underwater work as if performed on land.

Among the underwater methods that require a high degree of water tightness when working on underwater structures, the underwater water method (aka cofferdam) and the underwater work chamber (aka: Habitat) method are used to create the underwater working environment similar to the land environment. have.

Underwater water blocking method (copper dam) is a method of installing a dam-type water blocking structure, draining water, and then working on the underwater structure, which is used in the shipbuilding industry, which is manufactured outside a dock when a large ship is built.

However, due to the complexity of manufacturing or installation and enormous input costs, it is practically impossible to apply this method as it is for general ship repairs.

On the other hand, the underwater work chamber method (underwater habitat method) is mainly used for the replacement and repair of subsea oil pipelines, or the pier replacement of offshore oil drilling platforms, and the repair of underwater structures directly under water using an underwater work chamber. It is a construction method to perform work.

However, as described above, the conventional Habitat method is a structure specialized for replacing and repairing a subsea oil pipeline, and it is structurally difficult to directly apply it to a floating offshore floating structure, a large barge and a barge connection work, or a ship repair and repair work.

For example, such a Habitat method, a chamber system for underwater welding of a bottom plate of a floating structure, which is designed for use in very few offshore projects, such as bottom joint welding of a large offshore structure such as an artificial island, is described in the above-mentioned prior art document. You can look.

The chamber system uses a detachable structure that uses electromagnets or electromagnetic force to secure the chamber to the floating structure.

However, electromagnets or electromagnets used to fix the chamber are likely to adversely affect the quality of welding by forming a magnetic field in the floating structure, so it is difficult to expect good quality welding.

In addition, it is difficult to move the chamber system itself in water or attach it to the bottom of the ship, and after emptying the water inside the working chamber and performing watertightness, after completing the welding of a certain part, the water is filled again inside the chamber and the chamber is moved again. The process is very slow because the tricky process of emptying and welding has to be repeated.

This method requires the movement of the habitat (chamber) by using a rail and a guide, among other things, and the installation is complicated and there is a problem that such a structure must be arranged in a predetermined working position.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, realizing the perfect water tightness in the water to implement a work environment such as the land, underwater non-destructive inspection, such as underwater gas welding, radiographic inspection or ultrasonic exploration inspection, or underwater painting The purpose of the present invention is to provide an underwater working chamber structure that can improve the quality of the underwater work in the underwater work, and the quick detachment process and the convenient movement function in the water to maximize the work efficiency and reduce the cost. do.

In addition, the present invention provides an underwater working chamber structure that can be flexibly applied without being constrained in the form of offshore structures, such as super-large marine floats, ship barge joint construction, or repair and repair of extra-large vessels that cannot be placed on dry docks. It aims to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a hollow body that is vertically open, provided with an air supply port arranged to supply air in the main body, and a perforated scaffold having an opening and closing door at the bottom, the crane hook is at the top side The main body is disposed at regular intervals, the main body having a main traction ring is arranged on the outer surface of the main body, a sealing seal portion provided on the upper end of the main body in sealing contact with the work object, and the winch is fixed to the outer surface of the main body fixed at regular intervals A movable cylinder unit comprising a descending cylinder actuator and a vacuum suction unit connected to the upper end of the cylinder actuator to detachably attach the main body to the surface of the workpiece, and a buoyancy force provided at a predetermined interval on the main body surface to adjust the buoyancy of the main body. An underwater working chamber structure is provided that includes a regulating unit.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the hollow body is characterized in that the hollow polygonal tubular.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the hollow body is characterized in that the hollow cylindrical.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the upper side of the main body is characterized in that the viewing window which can further check the state in the main body.

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According to one embodiment of the invention, the body further comprises a lighting unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the main body further comprises a shelf.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the sealing seal portion is made of a flexible elastic material, and has a seal body formed with a recess fitted in the upper edge of the main body, and a seal head in close contact with the surface of the workpiece as the upper end of the main body. The seal head may include a head surface and a hollow hole inside the head surface having one or more protrusions formed at predetermined intervals.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the elevating cylinder actuator is characterized in that it is driven by any one of the drive source of hydraulic and pneumatic.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum adsorption unit is connected to the lifting cylinder actuator and the hinge shaft-joint is characterized in that the lifting and lowering.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum adsorption unit is connected to a vacuum source.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the buoyancy control unit is a plurality of compartments in communication with each other, an air supply valve for supplying air in the compartment, an exhaust valve for discharging the air in the compartment, the air supply to the water in and out of the compartment It is characterized in that it has a drainage hole, and a viewing window that can check the state of the water supply and drainage in the compartment.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the top of the body is characterized in that the horizontal profile.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the top of the body is characterized in that the curved profile.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the chamber structure for underwater work of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of an underwater working chamber structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the underwater working chamber structure of FIG.

Referring to these drawings, the underwater working chamber structure 100 according to the present invention is a water-tight and detachable rectangular cylindrical hollow body 10 and the hollow body 10 to be detachable to the work surface of the workpiece in water. The movable adsorption unit 20 to attach, the sealing seal part 30 provided in the upper end of the said main body 10, and sealing contact with the surface of a workpiece, and the buoyancy adjustment attached to the main body 10 and adjusting the buoyancy of a main body Unit 40.

In the hollow body 10, the crane ring 11 is arranged at regular intervals on the upper end side thereof, and the main body traction ring 13 is disposed at regular intervals on the outer surface thereof.

The crane ring 11 is used to pull the underwater work chamber structure from the offshore structure, such as a vessel into the water, or to pull the body completed in the underwater work from the underwater to the offshore structure, the main body tow hook 13 is a crane It is a ring for pulling the main body lowered into the water by the cable to the working position.

The main body 10 includes a supply port 17a arranged to supply air in the main body and a connector 17b to which various work cables are connected.

The lower end side of the main body 10 is provided with a perforated scaffolding portion 15 having an opening and closing doorway (15a) that the operator can enter and exit.

In addition, the upper side of the main body 10 is further provided with a see-through window 19 that can check the state in the main body, by visually checking whether the environment has become a workable environment inside the main body by checking the state of the water escaped from the inside of the main body; You can check it.

In addition, the main body 10 may further include a shelf box 50 and a lighting unit 60 capable of storing work tools.

The shelf 50 has a rectangular parallelepiped structure with an open bottom, as shown in FIG. 7, and may include a shelf 53 and an illumination 55 therein, and a transparent window 51 toward the front side. By doing so, the inside can be observed.

In addition, by having a structure in which the lower part is opened, even if the main body 10 is submerged in water for work, the upper part of the shelf is not submerged in water by the air remaining in the shelf, so that the extension or the like It can be kept wet.

The main body 10 is shown in a rectangular cylindrical structure that is open up and down, but if necessary, it may have a hollow polygonal cylindrical or hollow cylindrical structure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing seal 30 having a concave-convex shape installed at an upper end of the main body 10 of the underwater working chamber structure 100 of FIG. 1 to be in watertight contact with a surface of a work object.

The sealing seal portion 30 is made of a flexible elastic material, the seal body 30a is formed with a recess 31 fitted in the upper edge of the main body 10, the seal body is in close contact with the surface of the work object as the upper end The seal head 30b is provided.

The seal head 30b includes a head surface 30c having one or more protrusions 30c 'formed at regular intervals and a hollow hole 33 inside the head surface.

Therefore, when the seal head 30b comes into contact with the surface of the work object, the head surface 30c is pressed against the work surface and is elastically pressed toward the working surface side by the hollow hole 33 inside the head surface 30c. Since the projections 30c ′ protruding from the surface 30 are more closely adhered to the working surface, the watertightness between the underwater structure chamber structure body and the workpiece is ensured.

4 is a perspective view of the movable adsorption unit 20, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the vacuum adsorption unit 20a of the movable adsorption unit 20 of FIG. 4.

Referring to these drawings, the movable adsorption unit 20 includes a lifting cylinder actuator 20c fixedly installed on the main body surface of the underwater working chamber structure 100 of FIG. 1, and a vacuum suction unit closely contacting the surface of the workpiece ( 20a and a connecting rod 20b provided between the cylinder actuator 20c and the vacuum suction unit 20a to lift and lower the vacuum suction unit 20a by the lifting and lowering driving force of the cylinder actuator 20c. .

A front cylinder fluid supply port 21c and a rear cylinder fluid supply port 23c are disposed at upper and lower portions of the cylinder actuator 20c, respectively, to provide upward or downward driving force of the cylinder actuator 20c through fluid supply to each supply port. Make it up At this time, the fluid source is a pneumatic or hydraulic source, and the cylinder actuator is operated by pneumatic or hydraulic driving force.

The upward or downward driving force of the cylinder actuator 20c is transmitted to the connecting rod 20b to raise and lower the connecting rod, so that the suction part 20a connected to the connecting rod is lifted by the cylinder actuator.

The connecting rod 20b and the suction part 20a are hingedly connected by the joint connecting parts 21b and 21a, so that the suction part 20a is brought up and down by the connecting rod 20b while being in contact with the work target surface. Even if the angle is not vertical, it can be pivoted to make vertical contact with the work surface.

The vacuum suction unit 20a is formed of a cylindrical hollow body 21a and a suction pad 23a installed in the hollow body, and the hollow body is connected to a communication port 25a connected to a vacuum source (not shown). As a result, the adsorption unit is vacuum-adsorbed to the work target surface by removing water in the body and forming a vacuum state.

To facilitate such vacuum adsorption, the suction pad 23a has a skirt end 23a 'with a front end surface.

6 is a perspective view of a buoyancy control unit (ballast) fixedly installed on the main body surface of the underwater working chamber structure of FIG. 1 to facilitate movement and provisional attachment of the chamber structure.

The buoyancy control unit 40 provides neutral buoyancy to the chamber structure to facilitate movement when the chamber structure is dropped into the working position while being dropped in water, and also works on the chamber structure moved to the working position. It is provided to provide positive buoyancy for injury when floating to the work surface to attach to the work surface.

The buoyancy control unit 40 is composed of a plurality of compartments 41 communicated with each other, an air supply valve 45 for supplying air in the compartment, an exhaust valve 43 for discharging air in the compartment, and inside and outside the compartment The water supply and drain opening 47 which allows water to enter and exits the furnace, and a see-through window 49 for checking the state of the water supply and drainage in the compartment are provided.

8 illustrates a state in which the underwater chamber chamber structure 100 of the present invention having the above configuration is attached to the bottom surface B of the ship V for underwater operation.

However, as shown in FIG. 9, the outer shape of the underwater working chamber structure of the present invention may be modified to be suitable for attaching to the inclined bottom side surface BS of the ship V. FIG.

The submerged chamber structure 100 ′ shown in FIG. 9 differs from the chamber structure 100 of FIG. 8 in that only the curved profile is configured to correspond to the shape of the bottom surface of the ship, and the rest of the configuration is different. same.

Operation of the underwater construction chamber structure of the above-described configuration and the underwater operation process using the same is as follows.

Submerged chamber structure (100, 100 ') made of a lightweight material is launched below the water surface using a crane, such as a ship, and then of the buoyancy control unit 40 installed on the outer upper portion of the main body to move to the work surface of the ship bottom By adjusting the air supply valve, it creates neutral buoyancy and moves the body to the working position without weight. At this time, the body is easily moved by pulling the towing cable connected to the towing ring.

In addition, after reaching the working position, by adjusting the air supply valve of the buoyancy control unit to give a positive buoyancy to the chamber structure body to raise the body to be temporarily attached to the work target surface, such as the bottom.

In order to completely attach the working chamber structure to the work target surface in the temporary attachment state, the vacuum suction unit is first attached by attaching the vacuum suction unit to the work target surface and evacuating with a vacuum pump.

Thereafter, the cylinder actuator fixed to the lower part of the vacuum adsorption part is adjusted, and the main body is secondarily attached by pulling the main body upward so that the sealing seal portion of the upper part of the main body is in close contact with the work target surface.

With the watertight attachment complete, the supplied air pushes the water in the chamber structure out of the body by forcing air through the air supply of the body to remove water in the working chamber structure.

When the worker determines that the proper working environment is achieved after checking the watertightness of the interior through the observation window, the worker opens the doorway installed in the lower part of the main body, enters through the doorway, and then performs underwater welding work or inspection work required on the work target surface. Can be implemented.

After the operation, the operator adjusts the cylinder actuator to finely lower the main body to fill water in the chamber structure, separate the main body from the work surface by releasing the vacuum state of the vacuum adsorption unit, and then remove the traction cable and the crane as described above. The work is terminated by returning the working chamber to the ship or the ground.

According to the above-described configuration and operation, the present invention has an open structure of the top or side of the main body as necessary, and after attaching it to the working surface, the air is injected into the working chamber to secure the underwater working space by pushing water, thereby flat To provide a multi-purpose underwater working chamber structure applicable to all types of working surfaces, such as the bottom surface of ships, such as ships consisting of the bottom or curved surface of the marine floating body, or the surface portion such as submarines.

In addition, the submerged chamber structure of the present invention implements the working space as a perfect watertight space by using a sealing seal and a vacuum adsorption unit, so that the repair method or the welding part of the water is not possible in the direct gouging method. It is also possible to apply pre-heating or after-heating method to prevent rapid cooling by means of the same method, so that the same welding strength as onshore welding can be obtained, and special non-destructive inspection such as special welding using gas, underwater radiation penetration inspection, ultrasonic inspection, etc. It is also possible to extend the life and repair cost of offshore structures or ships through perfect construction.

In addition, the submerged chamber structure of the present invention can be applied to a submarine sunk in the seabed, so that the welding of the same strength as on land, so when applied, as a flotation method used in the meantime, digging into the bottom surface of the submarine The method of installing the flotation mechanism by connecting the wire may be replaced by simply welding the connector through underwater welding and then connecting the flotation mechanism to support the flotation.

In addition, the underwater working chamber structure of the present invention can be detached very quickly and easily, regardless of the shape or angle of the work surface by using the movable adsorption unit to shorten the working time, by providing a working environment as on the ground It is possible to expect high-quality work results as on the ground, and most of all, it is possible to repair and repair a large vessel that cannot be lifted by a large dock or construction work of a ship dock barge or a dry dock. It can also be applied to the lifting of a submarine, which saves huge construction costs and maintenance and repair costs.

Claims (14)

delete delete delete A chamber structure for underwater work, A hollow body, which is opened up and down, has an air supply port arranged to supply air in the body, and a perforated scaffold having a opening / closing entrance at a lower portion thereof, and a crane ring at a predetermined interval at an upper end thereof. Such bodies with body traction rings disposed at intervals; A sealing seal portion provided at an upper end of the main body and in sealing contact with a work object; A movable suction unit comprising a lifting cylinder actuator fixed to the outer surface of the main body at a predetermined interval and a vacuum suction unit connected to the upper end of the cylinder actuator to detachably attach the main body to the surface of the workpiece; The chamber structure for underwater work comprising a buoyancy control unit provided on the body surface at regular intervals to adjust the buoyancy of the body. According to claim 4, The upper side of the main body chamber structure for underwater work is further provided with a viewing window that can check the state in the main body. The chamber structure of claim 4, further comprising a lighting unit in the body. The chamber structure of claim 4, further comprising a shelf in the body. 5. The seal according to claim 4, wherein the sealing seal portion is made of a flexible elastic material, and has a seal body formed with a recess fitted to an upper edge of the main body, and a seal head in close contact with the surface of the workpiece as the upper end of the main body. The head is a chamber structure for underwater operation, wherein the head surface has a hollow hole in the head surface and the head surface formed at regular intervals. The chamber structure of claim 4, wherein the elevating cylinder actuator is driven by a drive source of either hydraulic or pneumatic. The chamber structure of claim 9, wherein the vacuum suction unit is pivotally lowered in connection with a hinge shaft-joint connected to the elevating cylinder actuator. The chamber structure of claim 10, wherein the vacuum suction unit is connected to a vacuum source. The method of claim 4, wherein the buoyancy control unit comprises a plurality of compartments in communication with each other, an air supply valve for supplying air into the compartment, an exhaust valve for discharging the air in the compartment, a water supply and drain port for introducing water into and out of the compartment, Underwater working chamber structure that is provided with a viewing window to check the state of the water supply and drainage. The chamber structure of claim 4, wherein the top of the body is a horizontal profile. The chamber structure of claim 4, wherein the top of the body is a curved profile.

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