Method and system for temporarily supporting a soil mass susceptible to slide
AssigneeSaipem S.P.A.
InventorsDiego Lazzarin, Massimo Fontolan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of temporarily supporting a soil mass susceptible to slide at a scarp slope bounding the soil mass includes advancing a supporting wall in an advancing direction along the scarp slope; and, in addition to the movement in the advancing direction, also moving a surface portion, in direct contact with the soil mass, of the supporting wall, so as to minimize friction between the soil mass and the supporting wall.
Claims22
A method of temporarily supporting a soil mass susceptible to slide, the method comprising:
- positioning a plurality of supporting walls at least partially below a surface of a bed of a body of water, the plurality of supporting walls including one or more support surfaces supporting a soil mass along a scarp slope within the bed;
- maintaining relative position of each of the one or more support surfaces of the plurality of support walls relative to a crawler positioned above the plurality of supporting walls and connected thereto, while advancing the crawler together with the plurality of supporting walls in an advancing direction along the scarp slope bo6unding the soil mass;
- and
- vibrating each of the plurality supporting walls in a direction crosswise to the advancing direction to reduce friction between the support surface of the supporting wall and the soil mass along the scarp slope, while advancing the crawler together with the plurality of supporting walls.
A system for temporarily supporting a soil mass of a bed of a body of water, the soil mass being susceptible to slide and being bounded by a scarp slope, the system comprising:
- one or more vehicles advancable in an advancing direction on the bed of the body of water, each of the one or more vehicles including:
- a plurality of supporting walls each having a support surface configured to support the soil mass that is bounded by the scarp slope;
- a mechanism for maintaining relative position of each of the support surfaces of the plurality of supporting walls relative to the one or more vehicles in a manner that all of the support surfaces of the plurality of supporting walls are advancable together with the one or more vehicles in the advancing direction along the scarp slope;
- a mechanism for securing the plurality of supporting walls at a predetermined depth within the bed relative to a top surface thereof, the mechanism for securing the plurality of supporting walls being connected to the each of the plurality of supporting walls and being positioned and oriented to rest on the top surface of the bed;
- and
- a vibrating device fitted directly to each of the plurality of the supporting walls and configured to vibrate the each of the plurality of supporting walls crosswise to the advancing direction.
A system for temporarily supporting a soil mass of a bed of a body of water, the soil mass being susceptible to slide and being bounded by a scarp slope, the system comprising:
- one or more vehicles advancable in an advancing direction on the bed of the body of water, each of the one or more vehicles including:
- a crawler configured to move on a top surface of the bed in the advancing direction;
- plurality of panels connected to the crawler, each of the plurality of panels being positioned below the crawler and having a face sized and configured to support the soil mass that is bounded by the scarp slope, each face being maintained at a fixed position relative to the crawler;
- and
- a vibrating mechanism connected to at least one of the one or more panels, the vibrating mechanism being configured to vibrate the at least one panel crosswise to the advancing direction during advancement thereof together with the crawler.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.