WO2015132617A2

WO2015132617A2 - Bubble chamber for underwater maintenance for ships

Info

Publication number: WO2015132617A2
Application number: PCT/IB2014/000248
Authority: WO
Original assignee: ALHARTHI, Saleh, Naser, Husain
Priority date: 2014-03-06
Filing date: 2014-03-06
Publication date: 2015-09-11

Description

DESCRI PTION

Prior Art

When exposed ships as well as offshore platforms malfunction, you need to withdraw the ships to dry-docks making it a giant high cost project. Moreover, it is extensively time consuming to get a maintenance access to the dry-docks.

The other way to solve the issue is to use skilled divers and undertake underwater welding and repair works.

Problem and defect in the prior art:

There are also many disadvantages for repairs and maintenance work under water:

^β Need for high skill and experience.

• Difficult to conduct this type in any location because of water currents and other conditions.

• Diver may be exposed to some dangers when using electrical current when voltage changes.

• Poor work due to the cracks in the welding area and also because of the lack of clarity of vision under the sea etc.

• They cannot replace the damaged part with a new one .

• Cannot reapply the anti-rust materials and paint on the damaged hull area of the ship.

• Very expensive and less productivity and also you may lose some of the equipment on the sea floor, during the handling underwater. The Invention

Title: Bubble chamber for underwater maintenance of ships.

Use: For Maintenance and repair of the ship's hull for the processes of cleaning and removing marine biological shearing, welding, repainting and the removal and replacement of worn-out parts of the body below the sea level.

Ships and naval equipment are exposed to damage as a result of the delicacy of ships at sea or any exposures of body scratch under water, forcing the team to call a specialist to perform the acts of welding under the sea by divers. Thereafter, the ship must enter a dry dock in order to be coated with stainless steel paint as welding cannot resist rust without dielectric coating; also dry-docking is for resistant coatings for marine life. In both cases, we must resort to the dry dock and the consequential large sums of money, not to mention what may be suffered by the diver who does maintenance work underwater operations when the voltage changes and the lack of quality of work because of the difficulty of movement underwater.

After using this equipment, it will no longer be needed to send ships to the dry dock, except in limited conditions. The new product will do processes of cleaning operations, cutting, welding and repainting the hull and different kinds of installations. And the ship becomes ready to resume sailing without having to go to the dry dock, expect in the case of overall scheduling of regular maintenance, where there is enough time and necessary expenditure for maintenance. We find that the product does integrated service at the same time and place, which saves the cost of entering the dry dock and waiting resulting in unjustified costs.

In short: To conduct repair work on ships we must take the vessel to dry dock (Workshop ship repair), but by this product, we will move the workshop to the ship under the line of the sea, which performs maintenance work in the same location with less effort, time, cost, and with more safety and where the work environment is devoid of water, making it easier to move and increase the quality of the work. New in the invention:

The invention is one of the best solutions in the field of ships maintenance and offshore platforms where they can use it to get better results and without the previous problems and in a very little time compared to prior art.

Features:

Perform maintenance under sea water, but in safe environment it can save a lot of time and can reduce the cost considerably, in the same time also it can create better workmanship and avoid disruption of business to minimum.

It can do a proper maintenance by being able to clean the hull from rust and cuts by using proper equipment's.

Easy to replace any part rather than repairing, if there is an option available. Protect the ship's hull with rust resistant paints and anti-aquatic coatings. Repainting can be done if requested by the end user.

It can create a safe working environment for the workers as well as provide high quality repair work.

Methodology of operation:

First, the diver dives into the water and attaches the floating bubble chamber to the repairing area of the ship, by operating the pneumatic control valves for regulating the air pressure inside the 4 pneumatic tanks supplied by an air pump. After locating the bubble chamber to the ship hull, the diver sucks the air out from the tertiary vacuam tank using a vacuam pump to allow for complete adhesion of the ship surface and the bubble chamber.

Once the bubble chamber is attached to the hull using vacuam, the flexible corridor pipe is attached at the entrance of the bubble chamber.

Then a water pump is used to suck out the water from the main chamber and the flexible pipe corridor and the technician can enter through the pipe corridor with his equipment.

Claims

Claims: Required protection of the following elements:

1. The idea in itself.

• Maintenance underwater room (bubble chamber).

• Movement process using flotation tanks.

• sucking by suction air from the external vacuam tank.

2. The claim is not limited by the size or shape or the material used for bubble chamber.