RU2246421C2 - Complex for raising sunken ship - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: raising sunken ships.

SUBSTANCE: proposed complex includes pontoon modules interconnected in pairs and surface ships for bringing these modules to area of operation. Each pontoon module is provided with rigid framework where kingstonless reservoirs and reservoirs provided with kingston valves are located; reservoirs provided with kingston valves are also provided with elastic partitions for forming the cavity filled with ballast water and cavity filled with light fluid; they are also provided with pumps for transfer of light fluid from reservoir provided with kingston valves to kingstonless reservoirs and vice versa; excavators located in lower portion are used for making tunnels under hull of sunken ship; complex is provided with bathyscaphe for submariner crew. Pontoon modules are connected by means of strap for embracing the sunken ship after automatic coupling of locks of strainers to which respective ends of straps are connected. Besides that, pontoon modules are connected with surface ships by means of cables-ropes for supply of electric power. Such construction excludes delivery of pressure medium from surface to pontoons for forcing water out of them.

EFFECT: enhanced efficiency and reliability.

1 dwg

Description

The technical field to which the invention relates.

The invention relates to the field of development of rescue and ship-lifting equipment designed to connect to the hull of a sunken ship without divers leaving the bathyscaphe, as well as to remove water from pontoons in order to give them the necessary positive buoyancy without supplying a water displacer from surface craft.

The level of technology.

Known in marine practice, equipment for lifting sunken ships requires the supply of a large amount of compressed air from the water surface to the pontoons to displace water from them. Even at depths of up to 100 meters, it is necessary to use air pipelines that can withstand a pressure of at least 10 atmospheres. Accordingly, at depths of 400 meters, pipelines are needed for pressures of more than 40 atmospheres, and at depths of up to 1000 meters, air pressure of more than 100 atmospheres is required. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the impact on the ship with a compressor station of sea currents and wind, which creates the risk of a break in the compressed air pipeline. When applying the mechanical method of lifting sunken ships from a surface ship, a sufficient number of cables are lowered, they are fixed on a sunken ship, and then it is hoisted. The most vivid illustration of this method was the implementation of the Jennifer Fire project for lifting a submarine from a depth of 5500 meters. However, the unreliability of the hydraulic grips and the uneven suction of the boat to the ground led to the fact that it was possible to raise only part of the submarine. The creators of rescue equipment have developed a number of other methods of lifting wrecks: from pumping polyurethane or polystyrene into their hulls to displacing water from the hull of the sunken ship or from pontoons attached to the hull, using hydrogen compressed to very high pressure and produced in equipment lowered to the seafloor. Methods of lifting wrecks based on the principle of blowing pontoons with gaseous nitrogen, which is formed inside tubular heat exchangers when liquefied nitrogen is fed into them at a temperature of minus 180 degrees Celsius, are proposed. The description of the USSR author's certificate No. 1785948, A1, В 63 С 7/06, published on January 7, 93 in Bulletin No. 1, states that 4,583 tons of nitrogen will be required to lift a ship weighing 10,000 tons from a depth of 2,000 meters. One of the most significant drawbacks of this method is the need to connect a rescue vehicle with heat exchangers with a thermally insulated cryogen pipeline, through which cryogenic liquid is pumped. In addition, the authors of this method themselves noted the danger of freezing silt deposits in which the hull of the sunken ship is immersed, which necessitates hanging the casing with tubular heat exchangers with a gap above the seabed. In the case of a sufficiently deep immersion of the ship's hull in mud deposits, a situation may arise when tubular heat exchangers freeze not with the hull of the ship, but with deck superstructures, which will be torn off the hull when lifting the sunken ship.

The closest analogue of the described invention can be considered a “Device for lifting a sunken ship”, known from the patent of the Russian Federation No. 2025403 C1, cl. In 63 C, dated 7/00 of 12/30/94, the complex of lifting equipment described in this patent includes, in addition to surface ships, a launching device, including a container with thrusters and a frame with arcuate grips and levers pivotally connected to each other and to pontoons. Inside the durable container are electrolyzers, as well as compressors in communication with the pontoons. The electrolysis unit is designed to produce hydrogen and oxygen, which are used to displace water from pontoons. The operating time of the electrolysis system for filling the pontoons with gases depends on the mass of the object being lifted and the performance of the electrolysis plant. On the basis of the equipment existing for the developers of the "Device for lifting a sunken ship" when lifting objects weighing 5500-10000 tons, it will take approximately 6 to 10 days. According to the calculations of the authors of “A device for lifting a sunken ship” for lifting an object weighing 5500 tons in water, ship lifting devices (without cables and cables) with a weight of about 800 tons in the air will be required, including a solid container weighing 200 tons, pontoons 400 tons, electrolysis equipment, compressors, thrusters and other equipment - 50 tons, grippers and levers - 150 tons. Negative buoyancy will be up to 10 tons. The electrolysis process will require the operation of a diesel generator with a capacity of up to 1000 kilowatts. On the rescue vessel, it is envisaged to install mechanisms for transmitting traction to the cables, which constantly influence the ends of the arched levers in order to crimp the hull of the vessel to be hoisted. Despite the elegant solution to a number of technical problems, the described method of lifting sunken ships has such a significant drawback as too long a time to generate the necessary mass of hydrogen and oxygen to displace water from the pontoons.

Disclosure of the invention.

The complex for lifting a sunken ship, including pontoon blocks pairwise interconnected while covering the hull of the sunken ship with sheets of high-strength material, as well as surface ships designed to deliver these pontoon blocks to the place of work, provides the necessary positive buoyancy of the pontoon blocks connected to the hull the vessel being lifted, due to the expulsion of water from the pontoon blocks by elastic partitions inside each kingston tank of the pontoon blocks, e pressure on the surface of the elastic partitions from the side that does not come into contact with sea water is created by pumping lightweight liquids, for example industrial oil, from tanks that do not have kingstones to oil pumping tanks of known designs into these parts of the kingston tanks. The supply of electricity to power all electrical installations of equipment that is lowered to the sunken ship is carried out via cable cables from surface ships.

A brief description of the drawings.

The complex shown in the drawing (view from the bow of the sunken ship) includes at least four pontoon blocks 1, lowered to the bottom 2 in pairs to the left and right sides 3 of the sunken ship 4. The pontoon blocks 1 are connected to surface ships 5 cable- ropes 6. At the bottom of each pontoon unit 1 there are devices of known design, for example scraper excavators 7, designed to loosen the bottom soil under the bottom of a sunken ship, as well as to remove loosened soil from the tunnels 8 under the bottoms m 9 of a sunken ship 4. In each tunnel 8, at the time of completion of their penetration, the couplers 10 are in contact with each other and designed for the spatial orientation of the locks 11. Locks 11 of known structures, for example, such as docking units of spaceships, after automatic transition in the closed position at the time of completion of each tunnel 8 under the bottom of the sunken ship 4, together with the ties 10 and the panels 12 attached to the ties, ensure continuity of coverage of the hull, under otavlivaemogo to rise. Due to the fact that the couplers 10 are placed on the construction of the rigid frame 13 of each pontoon unit 1 in that part where the head part of the scraper excavator 7 is located, the panels 12 do not touch the bottom 9 and the sides of the sunken ship 4 to the level at which the top of the side surface of the rigid frame 13, pressed by the panel 12 to the side of the vessel 4 when lifting it. The placement of each panel 12 inside the rigid frame 13 of the pontoon unit 1 can prevent damage to it by the sharp edges of the torn metal of the sides and bottom. Kingston tanks 14 are located in the lower tier of the rigid frame 13 of each pontoon block 1. In the upper part of the rigid frame 13 of each pontoon block 1 there are tankless tanks 15. In the sealed dome 16 of each pontoon block 1 there are pumps 17 for pumping liquid from the tanks 14 to the tanks 15 and vice versa, as well as bathyscaphes 18 for submarine crews with reservoirs 19 for the respiratory mixture. Kingstones 20 are located at the bottom of the tanks 14. They are designed to release ballast water. In the cavity of each tank 14 at the axial section level, elastic partitions 21 are fixed. They are designed to separate the entire internal volume of the tank into a lower part filled with water and an upper part into which light liquid is pumped from the tank 15. There are rechargeable batteries 22 inside the bathyscaphes 18 designed to power on-board systems with electricity, as well as electrical equipment for converting electricity received from a surface ship 5 via cable 6.

The implementation of the invention.

The complex for lifting wrecks can be used both on the shelf and in waters with great depths.

The equipment included in the complex is delivered to the location of the sunken ship by special ships that have devices for launching pontoon blocks 1. Before each pontoon block 1 is launched from ship 5, tanks 14 are filled to half their volume with concentrated sodium chloride solution by entering it through kingstones 20. In this case, the elastic partitions 21 occupy a horizontal position. After that, with closed Kingston 20 and open isolation valves of the pipelines connecting the tanks 14 and 15, light liquid, for example industrial oil, is filled with the upper half of the volume of the tanks 14 and the lower half of the tanks 15. After completion of the oil injection operation, the filler neck of the tanks 15 are closed and sealed for hydraulic testing. The compressor station of the ship 5 provides the injection of air into the upper half of the volume of the tanks 15 to achieve a pressure exceeding the water pressure at the level of the seabed by the sunken ship more than twice. At the end of the hydraulic tests of all systems of each pontoon unit 1, compressed air is left in the upper parts of the tanks 15. In this equipped state, the pontoon units 1 are lowered from the ship 5 to the sea surface to check their buoyancy and stability. After that, the breathing mixture is injected into the reservoirs 19 to ensure the life of the crew members of each bathyscaphe 18. At the final stage of preparation of the pontoon blocks 1 for launching to the seabed, cables 6 are used to transmit electricity from ship 5, as well as control and measurement cables receiving telemetry from the bathyscaphe 18 and sending control signals from the ship 5 to the bathyscaphe 18. The crew members of each pontoon unit 1 carry out continuous monitoring of the progress of all operations preparing their pontoon unit for launching to the seabed and participate in the preparation of documentation provided for by the rules for rescue operations at sea. After completing the preparation of the next pair of pontoon blocks 1 and connecting them with a cloth 12, the crew members of both pontoon blocks take their places in the bathyscaphes 18, seal them from the inside, check the connection with the neighboring pontoon block and the command post on ship 5, and then proceed with the agreed program descent of pontoon blocks to the sunken ship. Reception of ballast water into tanks 14 via kingstones 20 becomes possible only after closed isolation valves in pipelines connecting tanks 14 and 15 (not shown in the drawing to avoid dimming it), the crews of pontoon units 1 will transfer control commands from bathyscaphes 18 to in the form of electrical pulses to start the operation of the pumps 17 for pumping oil from the upper part of the tanks 14 into the cavity of the tanks 15. The decreasing volume of oil in the tanks 14 will allow the elastic partition 21 to change position so that t The same volume of sea water through kingstones 20 fell into the lower part of the tanks 14. By changing the volume of oil in the tanks 14, the value of negative buoyancy when immersing the pontoon blocks can be adjusted. If it is necessary to stop the immersion process, it is enough to switch the pumps 17 to transfer oil from the tanks 15 to the tanks 14, so that due to the increase in the volume of oil in the tanks 14, the same volume of ballast water is displaced from the lower part of the tanks through kingstones 20 to achieve zero buoyancy of the pontoon block 1. In the same way, you can create a positive buoyancy of pontoon blocks, if necessary, their ascent closer to the sea surface. By turning the power of the control screw motors on and off, the crew of each pontoon unit provides horizontal movement for docking with the side of the sunken ship at the calculated point. Before landing the pontoon block on the seabed, the crew unwinds the mechanism of the scraper excavator 7 in order to create an energy reserve of rotating masses, which is necessary to overcome the soil resistance in the initial period of tunnel 8 under the bottom 9 of the sunken ship 4. As tunnel 8 is drilled, the crew of the pontoon block 1 turns on the power of the control screw motors to move the rigid frame 13 of the pontoon block towards the side of the sunken ship in order to promote the construction of the rigid frame 13, in which The head of the scraper excavator 7 is located, as well as ties 10 and locks 11 deep into the tunnel 8. On the opposite side of the sunken ship 4, the crew of another pontoon unit 1 also digs its part of the tunnel 8 and introduces the rigid frame 13 structures into it, in which the head part of the scraper excavator 7, couplers 10 and locks 11. At the moment of contact of the docking nodes of the locks 11, moved in the tunnel 8 towards each other from opposite sides of the sunken ship 4 of the pontoon blocks 1, automatically the clutch 11 locks, whereby the hull 4, is covered throughout the cross section perimeter. After the operations of covering the sunken ship’s hull with 4 sheets 12 of all pairs of pontoon blocks, their crews begin to transfer oil from tanks 15 to tanks 14 according to the plan agreed with the command center. The increasing volume of oil in the upper part of the tanks 14 displaces ballast water from the lower part of the tanks 14 through kingstones 20. As the amount of oil in the tanks 15 decreases, the compressed air contained in them takes up a larger volume, as a result of which the lifting force of the pontoon blocks increases. The separation of the bottom 9 of the vessel 4 from the seabed 2 is facilitated by the fact that the concentrated salt solution displaced through kingstones 20 from the lower parts of the tanks 14 tends to occupy the position near the seabed itself, since it has a higher density than water. The lower part of the hull of the vessel to be lifted 4 is for some time in the bath of brine, which, due to its higher density, pushes the hull of the vessel to be lifted stronger than the bottom layers of sea water. After pumping the entire volume of oil into tanks 14 from tanks 15, the latter turn into pontoons of maximum load capacity. The total lifting force of the tanks 15 and the oil-filled tanks 14 ensures the separation of the bottom 9 of the vessel 4 from the seabed 2. When the pontoon blocks 1 emerge together with the vessel 4, excessive positive buoyancy is eliminated by the inlet of the necessary amount of ballast water through the kingstones of 20 tanks 14 after pumping 17 parts of the oil by pumps from the upper cavity of the tanks 14 to the cavity of the tanks 15. The same methods are used to control the heel and trim of the pop-up vessel 4. As the pop-up vessel 4 approaches the sea surface, buoyancy in its complex is brought to zero. To bring vessel 4 to the level of the waterline, an additional increase in the lifting force of all pontoon blocks is carried out by pumping oil from tanks 14 with closed Kingstones 20 in a tank on ships 5 or in tankers. After taking measures to restore the own buoyancy of the raised vessel, all the equipment used to lift the vessel can be disconnected from it and relocated to the ships 5.

The use of the described complex for lifting sunken ships allows for one cycle of launching pontoon blocks to carry out all the necessary operations to prepare for the raising of the vessel without divers entering the seabed, as well as to release the pontoons from ballast water without supplying compressed air or another water displacer from the sea surface. The independence of the process of squeezing ballast water from pontoons from the state of the atmosphere on the surface of the sea creates the conditions for saving crews of submarines that do not have the ability to independently ascend. Since all the preparatory work for tunneling under the bottom of the sunken ship is carried out without divers leaving the bathyscaphes, there is a real possibility of lifting the vessels from such depths where the work of divers is unacceptable. Of considerable interest are the possibilities of using the described complex for transporting and accurately lowering the structures of drilling platforms, as well as large-sized enclosing structures of malls and other structures in waters with any depth, to the seabed. Placing the equipment of the complexes at bases located close to busy sea lanes would save ships that lose buoyancy.

Sources of information

1. USSR author's certificate No. 1785948, A1, В 63 С 7/06, published on January 7, 93 in Bulletin No. 1.

2. Patent of the Russian Federation No. 2025403, C1, B 63 C 7/00, published December 30, 94 in Bulletin No. 24 (prototype).

Claims (1)

A complex for lifting a sunken ship, containing pontoon blocks pairwise interconnected, and surface ships for delivering these blocks to the place of work, characterized in that each pontoon block is made with a rigid frame, in which there are tankless tanks and tanks, each of which has kingstones and an elastic partition fixed with the formation of a cavity for filling with ballast water and a cavity for filling with light liquid, as well as with pumps for pumping light liquid from a container with kingston to bezkstonstnyh containers and vice versa, with excavators located in the lower part for tunneling under the hull of the sunken ship and with a bathyscaphe for the crew of submariners, and the pontoon blocks paired with each other with a cloth to cover the sunken ship after automatically locking the couplers locks to which the corresponding ends are connected panels, the tunnel under the bottom of the vessel, while the pontoon blocks are connected to surface ships with cable cables for supplying electricity.