Underwater explosive welding
AssigneeVickers, Incorporated
InventorsTerence Sim, Keith Allen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
First and second underwater tubular members are assembled together so that the outer surface of the first tubular member and the inner surface of the second tubular member are spaced apart to form an annular cavity. The cavity is sealed, cleaned and dried and filled with a gas at a pressure greater than the surrounding water pressure. The pressure in the cavity is reduced prior to detonating an explosive charge within the first tubular member to weld the members together. The cavity may be subdivided into a plurality of zones by further seals, the pressure in the zones being separably adjustable so as to be able to control the pressure difference across each seal.
Claims3
A method of explosively welding together an inner first tubular member and an outer second tubular member underwater which comprises inserting the first tubular member into the second tubular member so that the outer surface of the first tubular member and the inner surface of the second tubular member are spaced apart to form an annular cavity, sealing the cavity to prevent ingress of water, cleaning and drying the cavity, introducing gas into the cavity at a pressure greater than the surrounding water pressure, and reducing the pressure in the cavity prior to detonating an explosive charge within the first tubular member to cause the outer surface of the first member to be urged across the cavity and into collision with the inner surface of the second member and become welded thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.