Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
  • B63B59/00—Hull protection specially adapted for vessels; Cleaning devices specially adapted for vessels
  • B63B59/06—Cleaning devices for hulls
  • B63B59/08—Cleaning devices for hulls of underwater surfaces while afloat
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
  • B05B17/00—Apparatus for spraying or atomising liquids or other fluent materials, not covered by the preceding groups

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a field of surface covering, more precisely the present invention consern a new method and an apparatus for surface covering an underwater object, preferably by polycomponent paint or coating material like sprayable polyuretan surface coating material.
• Underwater surface coating is nowadays a procedure which is possible to carry out but with plenty of difficulties, because a surface coating of a damp or wet object will produce not even a satisfactory result, so surface covering of an underwater object without exeption presupposes that a part to be surface covered is capsuled or lifted up from water, whereby surface covering is possible to execute onto a dry surface.
• the main object of the present invention is hence to accomplish an apparatus, by which it would become possible to execute an underwater surface covering in underwater circumstances without need of capsuling or lifting the object up from water.
• the present invention is based on that new and genious idea, that onto the object to be surface covered is placed a protection cover, open from the side towards the object, and the surface under the protection cover is first dried by means of an arc, whereafter onto the dried surface under the protection cover is sprayed the coating material, and finally the coating material is solidified by means of cooling before it gets contact with water.
• FIG. 1 presents a partial section wiev of an apparatus for surface covering of an underwater, electrically conductive metal surface according to the first advantageous embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 2 presents two electrode existing in the apparatus according to the second advantageous embodiment of the invention, which apparatus is ment for surface covering an underwater, electrically unconductive surface, for example concrete.
• the apparatus according to the first advantageous embodiment of the invention presented in figure 1 include a protection cover 1, which is open at its end 3 ment to be directed towards the object 2 to be surface covered and which is ment to be placed said open end ahead over the object 2 to be surface covered.
• the apparatus according to the figure 1 include a set of unconsumable electrode means 5, for example volfram-electodes, which are connected to one, i.e. in the embodiment according to the figure 1 positive, pole of a current source 4, and which are adapted inside the protection cover 1 for creating an arc between the tips thereof and the object 2 to surface covered, which is connected the other, i.e. according to the embodiment of the figure 1 necative, pole of the current source.
• a set of unconsumable electrode means 5, for example volfram-electodes which are connected to one, i.e. in the embodiment according to the figure 1 positive, pole of a current source 4, and which are adapted inside the protection cover 1 for creating an arc between the tips thereof and the object 2 to surface covered, which is connected the other, i.e. according to the embodiment of the figure 1 necative, pole of the current source.
• the wolfram-electrodes 5 are supported in a circumferential way beside the wall defing the opening of the open end of the protection cover 1 so, that the free ends, i.e. tips, of the wolfram-electrodes 5 extend parallel in respect to each other and with equal distances therebetween t a same level or to a little distance from the front surface of the open end 3 of the protection cover 1.
• the individual electrodes fastened, for example at their arm part by a threaded joint to a common electrically conductive carrier part 6, advantageously a metal ring, which is connected to the current source 4 by a current conductor 7 extending through the wall of the protection cover 1, acting hence as current transmission means.
• the apparatus include at least one spray nozzle unit 8 adapted inside both the manttle wall of the protection cover 1 and the ring composed of wolfram-electrodes 5.
• the spray nozzle unit 8 is equipped with a feed-pipe 14 for liquid surface coating material extending through the wall of the protection cover 1 into a container for surface coating material (not illustrated) and is eqwuipped with a feed pump (not illustrated) for maintaining a pressure exceeding hydraulic pressure of water and hence to certify flowing of surface coating material into the sparu nozzle unit 8.
• the apparatus according to the invention include as formed at the protection cover 1 first, inner channel means 9 for spreading cooling agent onto the layer of the surface coating material immediately after spraying of the surface coating material.
• inner channel means 9 for spreading cooling agent onto the layer of the surface coating material immediately after spraying of the surface coating material.
• dry ice one suitable cooling agent, which is fed to cool the produced layer of the surface coating material by oxygen gas under high pressure which acts as a carrier agent.
• the apparatus include as formed at the ptotection cover 1 second, outer channel means 10 for mainting a continious liquid flow between the front surface of the open end 3 of the protection cover 1 and surface of the object 2 facing thereto away from the interior of the. protection cover 1.
• outer channel means 10 for mainting a continious liquid flow between the front surface of the open end 3 of the protection cover 1 and surface of the object 2 facing thereto away from the interior of the. protection cover 1.
• the protection cover 1 consists of three shells, whereby the individual shell elements 11,12,13 are supported to a distance from each other by intermediate bodies (not illustrated).
• the first channel means 9 are composed of an intermediate space definie by the innermost shell element 11 and the middle shell elemen 12 therebetween, which intermediate space is open from the front surface of the protection cover 1 between the protectio cover 1 and the counter surface of the object 2 to surface covered, and into which intermediate space is in flow connection a feed-pipe 15 for the mixture of dry ice/oxygen gas.
• the second channel means 10 are composed of an intermediate space definied by the middle shell element 12 an the outermost shell element 13 therebetween, which intermediate space is open from the front surface of protection cover 1 between the protection cover 1 and the counter surface of the object 2 to surface covered, and into which intermediate space stays in a flow connection a feed ⁇ pipe 16 for sweet water.
• FIG 2 is illustrated the second advantageous embodiment of the invention, which embodiment is ment especially for surface covering of electrically unconductive objects 2'.
• This second embodiment is identical with the first embodiment of the invention with the exeption of support of electrode means and current conducting thereto for drying the object 2' to surface covered by means of arc created by the electrode means.
• electrode means are used as above unconsumable wolfram- electrodes 5, which are supported in pairs to an oblique angle free ends towards each other to form a circumferential electrode ring close by the wall defining the opening of the open end 3 of the protection cover 1.
• one electrode of the electrode pair is connected to the positive pole of the current source and the second electrode to the negative pole of the current source 4, whereby the arc is created between the tips of the pair of the electroodes above the surface of the object to surface covered.

Landscapes

• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Coating By Spraying Or Casting (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=8526965

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (5)

Citations (3)

• 1988
  • 1988-08-29 FI FI883979A patent/FI883979A/fi not_active Application Discontinuation
• 1989
  • 1989-08-29 WO PCT/FI1989/000161 patent/WO1990001995A1/en unknown
  • 1989-08-29 AU AU42039/89A patent/AU4203989A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (3)

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