# US 2014/0154014 A1 · Method and Apparatus for Performing Burial Assessment Surveys > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0154014 A1 - Document ID: US20140154014A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/083,095 - Filed: 2013-11-18 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-11-30 - Inventors: Michael W.N. Wilson - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140154014A1 ## CPC - E02F 5/14: Component parts for trench excavators, e.g. indicating devices {travelling gear chassis, supports, skids} - E02F 5/006: {adapted for working ground under water not otherwise provided for (E02F3/081, E02F3/4131, E02F3/8833, E02F5/104, E02F5/125, E02F7/005, E02F7/023, E02F7/065, E02F9/026, E02F9/045, E02F9/06 take precedence)} - E02F 5/027: {with coulters, ploughs, scraper plates, or the like (E02F5/102, E02F5/103, E02F5/106 take precedence)} - E02F 5/106: {using ploughs, coulters, rippers} - E02F 5/125: {underwater} - H02G 1/10: in or under water - E02F: DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING (winning peat E21C49/00) - H02G: INSTALLATION OF ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES, OR OF COMBINED OPTICAL AND ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES ## Abstract A BAS plow creates a V-trench along the linear route of a pipeline path and an instrumented bottle moving with the BAS plow collects BAS data indicative of the pitch, roll, heading, yaw, three dimensional positioning, speed and depth of the chassis, the shearing force applied to the seabed material and the applied tow force. The bottle can be swapped to collect the acquired data or an umbilical can be used to provide a real time stream of data. The Bas plow can simultaneously backfill the created trench, leaving an undisrupted seabed, or the pipeline can be laid in the BAS trench, which can also be made deeper and wider by additional trench cutting passes, significantly reducing the total time required for combined BAS and pipeline laying processes. The BAS plow can be released and retrieved over-the-stem of a towing vessel. ## Claims ### Claim 1 For performing burial assessment surveys (BAS) along offshore pipeline and cable paths, a BAS plow comprising: a chassis; a skid mounted on a leading end of said chassis; an anchor-type plow share mounted proximate a trailing end of said chassis; and a bottle aligned parallel to and mounted for simultaneous motion with said chassis, said bottle containing instrumentation acquiring electronic logging data indicative of at least one of pitch, roll, heading, yaw, three dimensional positioning, speed and depth of said chassis. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1 further comprising a sensor mounted on a tip of said plow share, said sensor acquiring data indicative of a shearing force applied by said plow tip to the seabed. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) A BAS plow according to claim 2, said sensor further providing a continuous readout of said acquired data. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1 further comprising load cells mounted on said skid providing data indicative of tow force applied to said chassis. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1, said bottle being mounted externally on said chassis. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1, said bottle being mounted internally within said chassis. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1 further comprising: a T-shaped extension having a leg mounted on and extending rearward from said trailing end of said chassis and arms extending outward from a trailing end of said leg; and moldboards extending outward and forward from distal ends of said arms, bottom surfaces of said leg, said arms and said moldboards being in a common plane. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) A BAS plow according to claim 7, an elevation of said moldboards in relation to said arms being adjustable. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1 further comprising: a T-shaped extension having a leg mounted on and extending rearward and upward from said trailing end of said chassis and arms extending outward and downward from a trailing end of said leg; and moldboards extending forward from distal ends of said arms, bottom surfaces of said leg and said arms defining an arch between said moldboards. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) A BAS plow according to claim 9, an elevation of said moldboards in relation to said arms being adjustable. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1, said instrumentation including a gyro measuring electronic logging data indicative of at least one of pitch, roll, heading, yaw, three dimensional positioning and speed of the plow. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1 further comprising a data transmission umbilical providing a real time stream of data. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) A BAS plow according to claim 1 further comprising a hydro-acoustic link. ### Claim 14 A method of performing burial assessment surveys (BAS) along offshore pipeline and cable paths comprising the simultaneous steps of creating a V-shaped trench and continuously acquiring BAS data along the trench being created. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) A method according to claim 14, said step of creating a V-shaped trench comprising towing a BAS plow having an anchor-type plow share on the seabed. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) A method according to claim 15, said step of continuously acquiring data comprising towing the BAS plow with a bottle mounted thereon, the bottle containing instruments adapted to collect selected types of BAS data. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) A method according to claim 16, the selected types of BAS data comprising at least one of the following: the plow speed; the trench depth; the pitch and roll of the plow; and the heading and yaw of the plow. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) A method according to claim 16, said step of continuously acquiring data comprising towing the BAS plow with a sensor mounted on a tip of a plow share thereof, the sensor being adapted to collect selected other types of BAS data. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) A method according to claim 18, the other selected types of BAS data comprising at least the tip resistance of the plow share. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) A method according to claim 18, said step of continuously acquiring data comprising towing the BAS plow with load cells located to monitor at least one of the tow tension and tow force applied to the plow. ### Claim 21 (depends on 14) A method according to claim 14 further comprising the simultaneous step of backfilling the created trench. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) A method according to claim 21, said step of backfilling comprising towing the BAS plow with moldboards extending outward and forward therefrom and trailing the plow share to collect and deposit spoil into the created trench. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) A method according to claim 22, the moldboards being connected to the trailing end of the BAS plow by a T-shaped extension extending rearward therefrom, arms of the extension extending outward to the proximal ends of the moldboards, bottom surfaces of the extension and the moldboards being in a common plane. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) A method according to claim 21, said step of backfilling comprising towing the BAS plow with moldboards extending outward and forward therefrom and trailing the plow share to collect and deposit spoil and boulders into the created trench. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) A method according to claim 24, the moldboards being connected to the trailing end of the BAS plow by a T-shaped extension extending rearward and upward therefrom, arms of the extension extending outward and then downward to the proximal ends of the moldboards to deposit spoil and boulders into the created trench, bottom surfaces of the extension and arms defining an arch between the moldboards to permit the deposit of spoil and boulders to extend above the created trench within the perimeter of the arch. ### Claim 26 (depends on 14) A method according to claim 14 followed by the step of laying at least one of a pipeline, a cable and an umbilical in the created trench. ### Claim 27 (depends on 14) A method according to claim 14 followed by the steps of deepening and widening the created V-shaped trench by at least one additional trench cutting pass; and laying at least one of a pipeline, a cable and an umbilical in the deepened and widened trench. ### Claim 28 (depends on 14) A method according to claim 14 preceded by the steps of: propelling the plow on the deck of a vessel toward and across a fulcrum on a stern of the vessel; allowing the plow to rotate about the fulcrum as the plow crosses the fulcrum and is released from the fulcrum into the sea; and lowering the released plow at tow-line end toward the seabed. ### Claim 29 (depends on 14) A method according to claim 14 followed by the steps of: raising the plow at tow-line end toward a fulcrum on a stern of a vessel at another end of the tow line; and pulling the plow across the fulcrum onto a deck of the vessel.