SUBSEA WELDING APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20150343558A1
• Filed: 05/27/2015
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Claxton Engineering Services Ltd. (KKR Matterhorn Bidco Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Proserv UK Limited (Proserv Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: O'Leary, Adam James, Smith, David Benjamin, Paculba, Nathan Alan, Munro, Kevin Grant, Gibson, David Ewen
• Granted Patent: US 9,592,568 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 20/12 the heat being generated by friction; Friction welding
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 20/129 specially adapted for particular articles or workpieces
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 20/14 Preventing or minimising gas access, or using protective gases or vacuum during welding formed by material interposed between workpieces B23K20/18
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 31/02 relating to soldering or welding dip or wave soldering in the manufacture of printed circuits H05K3/34
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 37/04 for holding or positioning work

Abstract

A subsea friction welding apparatus comprises a chuck for supporting and retaining a weld item prior to welding the weld item to a work-piece, said chuck comprises a plurality of jaws having an internal profile to grip a corresponding profiled surface on the weld item and means for radially expanding the internal profile of the jaws of the chuck, said means actuable by axial insertion of the weld item into the chuck thereby avoiding relative rotation of the chuck and the weld item during insertion of the weld item into the chuck. In operation of the method, a supply of weld items and a weld head are deployed to a subsea location and the weld items are loaded via ROV into the weld head at the subsea location.

Claims

1. A method of subsea friction welding, comprising the steps of deploying a supply of weld items to the subsea location where the friction welding operation is to be carried out, mounting a friction weld head to a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and deploying the ROV to the subsea location, operating the ROV to hold, carry, position and orientate the friction weld head and operating the ROV to load weld items into the friction weld head at the subsea location for welding each weld item to a work-piece.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the steps of isolating the friction weld location on the work-piece from the surrounding environment and purging the isolated weld location of surrounding seawater.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method further includes the step of operating the ROV to connect the friction weld head into a weld clamp mounted on the work-piece.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the method further includes the step of mounting a weld receptacle to the weld clamp over the weld location on the work-piece to isolate the weld location from the surrounding sea water within a chamber of the weld receptacle which is formed when the weld head is engaged into the weld receptacle thereby creating a space between the work-piece, the weld clamp and the weld head.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein a medium is forced under pressure into the chamber to displace the surrounding water from the weld location.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein an inert gas, gel or a liquid is forced into the chamber.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the inert gas is Nitrogen, Helium or Argon.

8. A method according to claim 4, wherein the weld receptacle is coupled to the weld head to encapsulate a loaded weld item.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the weld item is friction welded to the work-piece at the weld location through the purged chamber of the receptacle.

10. A subsea friction welding apparatus comprising a chuck for supporting and retaining a weld item prior to welding the weld item to a work-piece, said chuck comprising a plurality of jaws having an internal profile to grip a corresponding profiled surface on the weld item and means for radially expanding the internal profile of the jaws of the chuck, said means actuable by axial insertion of the weld item into the chuck thereby avoiding relative rotation of the chuck and the stud during insertion of the weld item into the chuck.

11. A welding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein at least a portion of the internal profile of the jaws is threaded.

12. A welding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for isolating a weld location at which the weld item is to be friction welded to the workpiece from the surrounding seawater.

13. A welding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for purging seawater from the isolated friction weld location

14. A welding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the apparatus comprises an actuation member which can be selectively operated to radially contract the internal profile of the jaws of the chuck.

15. A welding apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a biasing means to force the actuation member towards the rest position in which the internal profile of the jaws are in the expanded condition.

16. A welding apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the biasing means comprises a spring.

17. A welding apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said actuation member is a collar mounted around the outer surface of the chuck.

18. A welding apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said collar is axially displaceable with respect to the chuck.

19. A welding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the chuck is formed of a plurality of segments which are radially displaceable to alter the internal profile of the jaws of the chuck.

20. A welding apparatus according to claim 19, wherein biasing means are provided to bias the jaws of the chuck into the contracted condition.

21. A welding apparatus according to claim 20, wherein biasing means for the jaws comprise one or more garter springs surrounding the jaws of the chuck.

22. A welding apparatus according to claims 11, wherein the isolating means comprises a weld receptacle having an internal chamber which can be located on or adjacent to the workpiece at the weld location.