KR101412491B1 - Structure used for pipe laying in subsea - Google Patents

Abstract

A structure for installing a bottom pipe is disclosed. A submarine pipe installation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body; A receiving portion provided inside the body for receiving a plurality of pipes longitudinally; And a work unit for connecting the pipe accommodated in the storage portion and lowering the connected pipe in the water in the longitudinal direction.

Description

[0001] STRUCTURE USED FOR PIPE LAYING IN SUBSEA [0002]

The present invention relates to a structure for installing a bottom pipe.

The pipe installation line is moved in deep sea or deep sea, and a pipe connecting a plurality of pipes to the sea floor is laid using a pipe installation system provided on the hull. For example, S-lay, J-lay, Reel-lay, and Flex-lay are used depending on the method of installing a pipe on the sea floor.

Of these, the J-lay method uses a tower installed on a pipe installation line to vertically establish a pipe connection work of approximately 48 m in length, and then installs the pipe having the pipe connection operation installed on the sea floor. To this end, a tower is provided with a workstation for performing pipe connection work, and the work station is typically installed at the bottom of the tower. For example, the work station may be provided with facilities for performing welding work, welding inspection, coating work, etc. on the pipe connecting surface (or joint field). At this time, the welding is usually carried out in a plurality of steps from the third step to the fourth step.

However, the conventional J-lay method has been developed for deep sea installation, but the installation speed is slow due to the limitation of the tower length. That is, the facilities for performing a plurality of welding operations due to the limitation of the tower length are arranged at narrow intervals in one work station, which limits the speed and efficiency of the pipe connecting operation. In this regard, WO 2008/099355 A1 (published on Aug. 21, 2008) discloses a technique for "system usable with a pipe laying vessel".

The embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that each pipe is provided to a working unit including a plurality of work stations from a receiving section for storing pipes in a longitudinal direction to perform a pipe connecting operation, , And to provide a structure for installing an underwater pipe which improves the speed and efficiency of a subsea pipe installation work.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a structure for installing an underwater pipe for installing a pipe on a seabed, comprising: a body; A receiving portion provided inside the body and housing a plurality of pipes longitudinally; And a work unit connecting the pipe housed in the receiving portion and lowering the connected pipe in the longitudinal direction in the water.

Wherein the body is formed in a plurality of layer structures inside, the receiving portion is provided in each of the plurality of layers, and the pipe can be transferred from the plurality of layers to the working unit.

The upper part of the body may be provided with a selector for vertically extending the pipe and supplying the pipe to the inside of the body.

One or more feeding supports provided in the longitudinal direction inside the body may further include a first feeding unit for feeding the pipe supplied to the inside of the body to each layer where the receiving unit is located.

The first transfer portion may include a pair of rollers facing each other with the pipe therebetween and contacting the pipe, and a brake device for controlling the rotation of the roller.

And one or more second conveyance units that move based on a first rail provided along the inner circumferential surface of the body and accommodate the pipe conveyed by the first conveyance unit in the accommodating unit.

And one or more third transfer units moving based on a second rail provided along the outer circumferential surface of the operation unit and transferring the pipe stored in the storage unit to the operation unit.

The work unit may include a work station corresponding to each of a plurality of layers of the body, the work station performing at least one of a welding operation, a welding inspection, and a coating operation.

The storage unit may include a support plate having a recess for receiving the pipe, and a fixing clip provided at an entrance of the recess to fix the pipe.

The working unit may be located at the inner center portion of the body, and the receiving portion may be located at the peripheral portion of the central portion.

The receiving portion may be radially provided on the inner peripheral portion of the body.

The body may be provided as a semi-submerged floating body.

And one or more linkers provided on the outside of the body and connected to the ship to allow the body to be towed by the ship.

The linker may include a first linker and a second linker spaced downward from the first linker by a predetermined distance.

The submarine pipe installation structure according to the embodiment of the present invention performs the pipe connection operation by providing the respective pipes from the storage section storing the pipe in the longitudinal direction to the operation unit including the plurality of work stations, By installing the pipe on the seabed, it is possible to increase the speed and efficiency of the installation work of the bottom pipe.

FIG. 1 shows a structure for installing an undersea pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an internal perspective view of the bottom pipe installation structure of FIG. 1. FIG.
3 is a plan view of the bottom pipe installation structure of FIG. 1;
4 shows a receiving portion of the bottom pipe mounting structure of Fig. 1. Fig.
FIG. 5 illustrates a process of installing a pipe by using the structure for installing a bottom pipe of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 shows a structure in which the linker is installed on the bottom of the structure for installing the bottom pipe of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 shows a structure in which the structure for installing a bottom pipe of FIG. 1 is fastened to a ship by a linker to perform a pipe installation operation.
FIG. 8 shows a structure in which the bottom pipe installation structure of FIG. 1 is pulled by a ship after performing a pipe installation operation.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a structure for installing an undersea pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention. And FIG. 2 is an internal perspective view of the bottom pipe installation structure of FIG. 1. And FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bottom pipe installation structure of FIG. 1. 4 shows a receiving portion of the bottom pipe installation structure shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a structure (hereinafter, referred to as a 'structure') 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs a pipe connection operation and a pipe (line) P is installed on a seabed. For example, the structure 100 may be provided as a semi-submerged floating body in the form of a spar, and a pipe P may be installed in the seabed in a J-lay manner. The structure 100 is provided with a pipe P mounted on the loading unit 15 and a collector 12 for transferring the pipe P to the inside of the structure 100 through the transfer path 14 . As another example, when the pipe P is conveyed to the inside of the structure 100 by the conveying means such as a crane, the electret 12 may be omitted.

The structure 100 can transfer a pipe P having a plurality of jointed (pipe) connections to the inside of the structure 100. For example, the pipe P conveyed to the inside of the structure 100 may be made of four joints. For this purpose, although not shown in the drawing, facilities for welding a pipe (pipe) may be provided on the structure 100. At this time, when a pipe P having been jointly welded in advance through a facility provided on the ground or a ship is transferred to be housed inside the structure 100, the facilities for joint welding work and the above- May be omitted from the memory 100. In this manner, the structure 100 in which the pipe P is housed is pulled by the ship to perform the pipe installation work.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a structure 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body 110, a storage unit 120, a work unit 130, and a control unit. Here, the control unit does not limit the installation position, so it is not shown in the drawing.

The body 110 is provided in a plurality of layer structures. For example, the body 110 may have a two-layer structure of an upper layer 110a and a lower layer 110b. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and in other embodiments, the body 110 may be provided in various forms of multi-layer structure. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to an example in which a pipe P composed of four joints is housed in a body 110 having a two-layer structure of an upper layer 110a and a lower layer 110b .

The body 110 includes a receiving unit 120 and a working unit 130, which will be described later. Here, the working unit 130 may be located at the inner center of the body 110, and the receiving unit 120 may be provided at the inner periphery of the body 110. Such a body 110 may be provided as a cylindrical semi-submerged floating body.

In addition, the body 110 includes a transfer support 11 installed longitudinally on the inner lateral side. The transfer support 11 may be provided on both sides of the pipe P to be transferred to the inside of the body 110. The transfer support 11 is provided with a first transfer unit 13 for transferring the pipe P transferred to the inside of the body 110 to the respective layers 110a and 110b in which the storage unit 120 is located. At this time, the first conveying unit 13 may be provided on the conveying support 11 in the form of being in contact with the pipe P on both sides thereof.

The first transfer section 13 includes a roller 13a rotating in contact with the pipe P and a brake device 13b controlling the driving of the roller 13a. The roller 13a rotates on both sides of the pipe P and feeds the pipe P to the respective layers 110a and 110b where the storage portion 120 is located. The brake device 13b stops the rotation of the rollers 13a on both sides of the pipe P when the pipe P arrives at the layer in which the accommodating portion 120 is located and stops the rotation of the pipe 13b between the pipe P and the roller 13a So that the pipe P is held by the frictional force. As another example, the first transfer unit 13 may be provided in the form of a transfer robot like the second transfer unit 23 described later.

One or more storage compartments 120 are provided for each of the layers 110a and 110b of the body 110, and a plurality of pipes P are accommodated. At this time, the pipe P conveyed by the first conveyance unit 13 is accommodated in the storage unit 120 by the second conveyance unit 23. Here, the second transfer part 23 includes a hand part 23a for clamping the pipe P and a transfer robot type part 23b for supporting the hand part 23a and having a joint 23b including at least one of a rotating joint and a translating joint, . The second transfer part 23 moves on the basis of the first rail 21 provided along the inner circumferential surface of the body 110. At least one first rail 21 may be provided for each of the layers 110a and 110b and at least one second conveying unit 23 may be provided for each first rail 21. [

The above-described storage part 120 is supported by a receiving support 28 provided in the longitudinal direction and may be radially provided on the inner periphery of the body 110. [ The pipe P accommodated in the storage unit 120 can be supported by a pipe support 26 provided under the storage unit 120. [

4 (a) and 4 (b), the receiving portion 120 includes a receiving plate 22 having a concave portion 25 for receiving the pipe P and a pipe (not shown) accommodated in the concave portion 25 P) of the fastening clip (24). For example, the housing plate 22 may be provided with a recess 25 in one or both directions to house the pipe P. The fixing clip 24 may be provided on both sides of the recess 25. The fixing clip 24 may be provided in a latch shape to fix the pipe P when the pipe P is received in the recess 25 while applying a constant force.

2 and 3, the operation unit 130 performs a pipe connection operation to the pipe P transferred from the storage unit 120 and installs the pipe P on which the pipe connection operation has been performed on the underside do. At this time, the pipe P stored in the storage part 120 by the above-described second transfer part 23 can be transferred to the operation unit 130 by the third transfer part 33. The third transfer part 33, The pipes P accommodated in the receiving portions 120 of the respective layers 110a and 110b are provided to work stations 38 and 39 to be described later provided corresponding to the respective layers 110a and 110b. 33 may be provided in the form of a transfer robot having a hand portion 33a for clamping the pipe P and a joint 33b for supporting the hand portion 33a and including at least one of a rotating joint and a translating joint The third transfer part 33 can be moved based on the second rail 31 provided along the outer circumferential surface of the operation unit 130. One or more second rails 31 can be installed for each of the layers 110a and 110b And at least one third conveying unit 33 may be provided for each second rail 31. [

The above-described work unit 130 includes a first work station 38 and a second work station 39 that perform a pipe connection operation. The work stations 38 and 39 include facilities for performing pipe connection operations, and pipe connection operations may include at least one of a welding operation, a welding inspection and a coating operation. The work stations 38 and 39 are installed in correspondence with the respective layers 110a and 110b of the body 110. The work stations 38 and 39 may also include an alignment unit (not shown) for aligning the pipes P transferred from the storage unit 120 of each of the layers 110a and 110b. The pipe P to which the pipe connection operation is performed by the work stations 38 and 39 is lowered at a constant speed by one or more tensioners 35 provided in the operation unit 130, (16).

The control unit controls each of the devices provided in the structure 100. The control unit can control each of the devices provided in the structure 100 based on at least one of a set value, an algorithm, and externally received control information. Here, the set value may include data for a pipe connection work process, an operation control command, and the like.

For example, the control unit controls the selector 12 on the basis of the set values described above to transmit the pipe P to the inside of the structure 100, and transmits the pipe P through the first conveying unit 13 to the respective layers 110a, and 110b, respectively. The control unit controls the second transfer unit 23 based on the set value to store the pipe P in the storage unit 120 and controls the third transfer unit 33 to control the operation of each of the work stations 38 and 39 A pipe P can be provided.

In addition, the control unit operates the respective work stations 38 and 39 to perform the pipe connection operation based on the set values, and moves the pipe P having completed the pipe connection operation down by a predetermined distance through the tensioner 35 A pipe (P) can be installed on the seabed. In this way, the control unit can control each of the devices included in the structure 100 so that the process of installing the pipe P on the seabed can be performed. Such a control unit may be composed of a kind of 'module'. A "module" refers to a hardware component such as software or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the module performs certain roles. However, a module is not limited to software or hardware. A module may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and may be configured to execute one or more processors.

Hereinafter, a process of installing a pipe on the seabed using the structure 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 based on the above description with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process of installing a pipe by using the structure for installing a bottom pipe of FIG. 1.

First, when the pipe P set up in the longitudinal direction by the selector 12 is transmitted to the inside of the structure 100 through the conveying path 14, the first conveying part 13 conveys the pipe P to the receiving part 120 To each of the layers 110a and 110b. At this time, when the pipe P is stored in the order of the lower layer 110b to the upper layer 110a, the first transfer unit 13 transfers the pipe P to the lower layer 110b first. When the pipe P is stored in the storage unit 120 located in the lower layer 110b, the first transfer unit 13 transfers the pipe P transferred to the inside of the structure 100 through the transfer path 14 And can be transferred to the upper layer 110a.

Next, the second transfer section 23 stores the pipe P transferred by the first transfer section 13 into the storage section 120 of each of the layers 110a and 110b. Here, in the case where a plurality of pipes P are transferred to the inside of the structure 100 through the facilities provided on the ground or the ship and are already stored, the process of transferring and storing the pipes P described above may be omitted.

The third transfer unit 33 transfers the pipes P stored in the storage units 120 of the layers 110a and 110b to the work stations 38 and 39 provided corresponding to the respective layers 110a and 110b. . That is, the pipe P1 housed in the upper layer 110a housing part 120 and the pipe P2 housed in the housing part 120 of the lower layer 110b are connected to the working stations 38, 39, respectively.

Next, the work stations 38 and 39 perform pipe connection operations to the respective pipes P1 and P2. Here, the work stations 38 and 39 are pivoted to the connection face of the pipe P1 and the pipe P2 and to the pipe P2 and the work stations 38 and 39, The pipe connecting operation can be collectively performed on the connection surface of the pipe P3 that has been performed. In this case, prior to the process, the alignment operation on the pipes P1 and P2 transferred to the work stations 38 and 39 by the aligning unit (not shown) may be performed before the pipe connecting operation.

Next, the pipes P1 and P2 on which the pipe connection operation has been performed are lowered based on the predetermined distance. Here, the work unit 130 can lower the pipes P1 and P2, which have been subjected to the pipe connection operation, using the tensioner 35 at a constant speed through the openings 16 provided in the lower portion of the body 110. [ At this time, for the next pipe connection operation, the work unit 130 uses the tensioner 35 to connect the rear end of the pipe P1 located on the rear side of the pipe to the second work station 39 on the lower side The pipes P1 and P2 can be lowered.

Thereafter, the above-described processes are repeated and pipes (lines) are installed on the seabed. At this time, the pipe P can be continuously supplied to the receiving portion 120 of the upper layer 110a or the lower layer 110b through the process of feeding and storing the pipe P described above. The pipe (P) on which the pipe connection operation has been performed can be installed in a J-lay manner on the seabed.

FIG. 6 shows a structure in which the linker is installed on the bottom of the structure for installing the bottom pipe of FIG. 1. 7 is a view illustrating a structure in which the bottom pipe installation structure of FIG. 1 is fastened to a ship by a linker to perform pipe installation work. 8 is a view illustrating a structure in which the bottom pipe installation structure of FIG. 1 performs a pipe installation operation and then is pulled by a ship.

6, the structure 100 is spaced apart from the rear of the vessel 1 and includes one or more linkers 19 on the outside of the body 110 so as to be towed by the vessel 1 . At this time, the linker 19 may be provided on both sides of the body 110. One end of the linker 19 may be coupled to the hinge 17 to the body 110. The other end of the linker 19 is provided with a protruding fastener 18 and can be fastened to the fastening means 3 of the ship 1.

Further, the linker 19 may be connected to the collection line 9 with negative (B). This makes it possible for the ship 1 to easily fasten (fix) the linker 19 to the hull 1 a through the collection line 9. After the linker 19 has been fastened, the withdrawal line 9 can be released to remove the negativel (B). The linker 19 may include a first linker 19a and a second linker 19b spaced downward from the first linker 19a by a predetermined distance.

7, the first linker 19a and the second linker 19b described above are installed so that the ship 1 can stably pull the structure 100 and install the pipe on the seabed during the underwater pipe installation work And can be all fixed to the hull 1a.

8, when the subsea pipe installation work is completed, the second linker 19b is disengaged to allow the ship 1 to tow the structure 100 more efficiently, and the first linker 19a is disengaged, It can be fixed to the hull 1a only.

The foregoing has shown and described specific embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the technical idea of the present invention described in the following claims It will be possible.

1: ship 12: reflector
13: first transfer unit 19: linker
23: second transfer part 33: third transfer part
38, 39: Work station 100: Subsea pipe installation structure
110: body 120:
130: Operation unit

Claims (14)

A subsea pipe installation structure for installing a pipe in a seabed,
Body;
A receiving portion provided inside the body and housing a plurality of pipes longitudinally; And
And a work unit connecting the pipes stored in the storage unit and lowering the connected pipes in the water in the longitudinal direction,
Wherein the body is a semi-submerged floating body. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the body has a plurality of layer structures inside,
Wherein the accommodating portion is provided in each of the plurality of layers,
Wherein the pipe is transported from the plurality of layers to the working unit. The method according to claim 1,
And an upper portion of the body is provided with a pipe extending in a longitudinal direction to supply the pipe to the inside of the body. The method of claim 3,
Further comprising at least one feed support provided in the longitudinal direction inside the body, and a first conveying part for conveying the pipe supplied to the inside of the body to each layer where the receiving part is located. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the first conveying portion includes a pair of rollers facing each other with the pipe interposed therebetween and rotating in contact with the pipe, and a brake device controlling the rotation of the roller. 5. The method of claim 4,
Further comprising at least one second conveying unit that moves along a first rail installed on the inner circumferential surface of the body and receives the pipe conveyed by the first conveying unit and stores the pipe in the accommodating unit. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising at least one third conveying unit that moves along a second rail installed on an outer circumferential surface of the working unit and conveys the pipe housed in the receiving unit to the working unit. The method according to claim 1,
The working unit
And a work station for performing at least one of a welding operation, a welding inspection, and a coating operation correspondingly to a plurality of layers of the body. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The storage unit
A support plate having a concave portion for receiving the pipe;
And a fixing clip which is provided at an entrance of the concave portion and fixes the received pipe. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the working unit is located at the inside center of the body,
Wherein the accommodating portion is located at a peripheral portion of the center portion. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the accommodating portion is radially provided on an inner peripheral portion of the body. delete A subsea pipe installation structure for installing a pipe in a seabed,
Body;
A receiving portion provided inside the body and housing a plurality of pipes longitudinally; And
And a working unit connecting the pipes stored in the storage unit and lowering the connected pipes in the water in the longitudinal direction,
And at least one linker fastened to the ship outside the body so that the body is pulled by the ship. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the linker includes a first linker and a second linker spaced apart from the first linker by a predetermined distance downward.

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