Subsea buoyancy systems
AssigneeAcergy France SAS
InventorsVincent Loentgen, Blaise Seguin, Marcel M. Landwehr
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of providing buoyancy to a subsea structure such as a pipeline bundle includes attaching to the structure a rigid elongate buoyancy tube that defines a floodable envelope. The envelope is arranged to contain a mass of buoyant macrospheres. Multiple openings penetrate a tubular wall of the buoyancy tube, in fluid communication with a void that extends between the macrospheres inside the tube. The void floods via the openings when the buoyancy tube is submerged, whereupon the macrospheres apply buoyant upthrust to the surrounding buoyancy tube and hence to the subsea structure to which the tube is rigidly attached.
Claims26
A buoyant element, comprising a rigid elongate buoyancy tube defining a floodable envelope that holds a mass of buoyant macrospheres within, the buoyancy tube having a void that extends between and around the mass of macrospheres inside the buoyancy tube and having multiple openings that penetrate a tubular wall of the buoyancy tube and are in fluid communication with the void, wherein each opening has a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the macrospheres so as to retain the macrospheres in the buoyancy tube, and wherein the void is flooded with water.
A buoyant element, comprising a rigid elongate buoyancy tube defining a floodable envelope that holds a mass of buoyant macrospheres within and has at least one opening in fluid communication with a void that extends between the macrospheres, wherein the macrospheres are contained in the buoyancy tube within one or more floodable auxiliary containers, the or each floodable auxiliary container being a foraminous bag defining holes that are smaller than the macrospheres contained within.
A method of providing buoyancy to a subsea structure, the method comprising:
- attaching to the structure a rigid elongate buoyancy tube defining a floodable envelope containing a mass of buoyant macrospheres;
- and
- immersing the buoyancy tube containing the mass of buoyant macrospheres while flooding a void through multiple openings that penetrate a tubular wall of the buoyancy tube, which void extends between and surrounds the mass of macrospheres within the buoyancy tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.