Back to results
US 8,939,678 B2Granted
Method and system of laying underwater pipelines in the bed of a body of water
AssigneeSaipem S.P.A.
InventorsDiego Lazzarin, Massimo Fontolan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of laying underwater pipelines in the bed of a body of water, the method including laying an underwater pipeline along a given path on the bed of the body of water; breaking up a ground mass along the path to a given depth in the bed; and fluidifying the broken ground mass beneath the underwater pipeline to sink the underwater pipeline into the fluidified ground mass.
Claims21
A method of laying underwater pipelines in a bed of a body of water, the method comprising the steps of:
- laying an underwater pipeline along a given path on the bed of the body of water;
- breaking up a ground mass in the bed along said path by using two ground-working tools;
- and
- fluidifying the broken ground mass beneath the underwater pipeline to sink the underwater pipeline into the fluidified ground mass;
- wherein the broken ground mass comprises adjacent ground particles, and
- wherein the step of fluidifying the broken ground mass comprises maintaining hydrodynamic suspension of said adjacent ground particles in the water in a first area beneath the underwater pipeline;
- wherein the maintaining hydrodynamic suspension of said adjacent ground particles in the water in the first area beneath the underwater pipeline comprises:
- spraying a number of jets of water into the broken ground mass in the first area beneath the underwater pipeline;
- hydraulically sucking part of the broken ground mass from the first area beneath the underwater pipeline;
- transferring said part of the broken ground mass to a second area over the underwater pipeline and the first area to assist burying the underwater pipeline under a ground layer;
- and
- wherein a majority of the broken ground mass is not raised above the bed of the body of water.
9 more elements
A system for laying an underwater pipeline in a bed of a body of water along a given path, the system comprising:
- two ground-working tools for breaking up a ground mass in the bed along said path beneath the pipeline;
- and
- a burying vehicle comprising:
- at least one pump;
- and
- a fluidifier for fluidifying the broken ground mass beneath the underwater pipeline to sink the underwater pipeline into the fluidified ground mass, the fluidifier comprising
- nozzles for directing jets of water into the broken ground mass in a first area beneath the underwater pipeline, and
- at least two tubes positioned on opposite sides of the underwater pipeline and having bent outlets directed downward and towards the underwater pipeline, each tube being configured to suck part of the broken ground mass from the first area beneath the underwater pipeline, and transfer said part of the broken ground mass to a second area over the underwater pipeline and the first area;
- wherein the broken ground mass comprises adjacent ground particles;
- and
- wherein the fluidifier is configured for maintaining hydrodynamic suspension of said adjacent ground particles in the water in the first area beneath the underwater pipeline and configured such that a majority of the broken ground mass is not raised above the bed of the body of water.
8 more elements
A system for laying an underwater pipeline in a bed of a body along a given path, the system comprising:
- a burying vehicle comprising:
- at least one pump;
- and
- a fluidifier comprising nozzles for directing jets of water into a broken ground mass in a first area beneath the underwater pipeline and at least two tubes positioned on opposite sides of the underwater pipeline and having bent top ends directed towards the underwater pipeline and towards an opposing tube of the at least two tubes, each tube being configured to suck part of the broken ground mass from the first area beneath the underwater pipeline, and transfer said part of the broken ground mass to a second area over the underwater pipeline and the first area for fluidifying the broken ground mass beneath the underwater pipeline to sink the underwater pipeline into the fluidified ground mass;
- wherein a majority of the broken ground mass is not raised above the bed of the body of water.
2 more elements
A system for laying an underwater pipeline in a bed of a body along a given path, the system comprising:
- a burying vehicle comprising:
- at least one pump;
- and
- a fluidifier comprising:
- nozzles for directing jets of water into a broken ground mass in a first area beneath the underwater pipeline;
- and
- a first set of tubes and a second set of tubes positioned on an opposite side of the underwater pipeline from the first set of tubes, each tube of the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes having a bottom end for sucking part of the broken ground mass from the first area beneath the underwater pipeline, and transferring said part of the broken ground mass to a second area over the underwater pipeline and the first area through a top end bent downward and towards the underwater pipeline into a U for fluidifying the broken ground mass beneath the underwater pipeline and sinking the underwater pipeline into the fluidified ground mass.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.