Sea sled for entrenching pipe
First Claim
1. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus including:
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
a jet pump associated with said suction tube and comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, the first nozzle projecting through a side of said suction tube into the bent portion in the direction of the outlet of the eductor tube section, the second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the first nozzle such that said first nozzle is intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation, and means for supplying high pressure water to said second nozzle to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced during the trenching operation to flow through the suction tube to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube section.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The sea sled includes a pair of pontoons mounting depending rollers for straddling a pipeline disposed on the sea bottom. Water jets fluidize the sea bottom to form a trench in which the pipeline settles. The slurry formed by the water jets is removed from the trench by the eductor system which includes a pair of conduits each having a suction inlet at its lower end for location within the trench, a discharge at its upper end, a pair of pump nozzles each having an inlet external to the associated conduit and an outlet within the conduit directed toward the corresponding discharge, and a pair of primary nozzles, the outlet ends of which respectively project into the inlet ends of the pump nozzles. A high pressure, low volume, fluid is pumped from the surface through the jet nozzles. Ambient fluid is entrained with the high pressure, low volume fluid emanating from the jet nozzles in the respective pump nozzles to deliver low pressure, high volume fluid to their corresponding discharges. The action of the pump nozzles in the conduits creates a suction whereby the slurry from the trench is pumped from the trench through the conduits and discharged to opposite sides of the trench.
36 Citations
63 Claims
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1. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus including:
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
a jet pump associated with said suction tube and comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, the first nozzle projecting through a side of said suction tube into the bent portion in the direction of the outlet of the eductor tube section, the second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the first nozzle such that said first nozzle is intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation, and means for supplying high pressure water to said second nozzle to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced during the trenching operation to flow through the suction tube to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
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4. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus including:
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
a jet pump associated with said suction tube and comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, the first nozzle projecting through a side of said suction tube into the bent portion substantially coaxially with the eductor tube section, the second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the first nozzle such that said first nozzle is intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation, and means for supplying high pressure water to said second nozzle to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced during the trenching operation to flow through the suction tube to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube section. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
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7. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus including:
- at least one outlet nozzle with means for receiving and emitting a supply of high pressure water for production of a trench by jetting;
at least one suction tube associated with said at least one outlet nozzle, said suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
a jet pump associated with said suction tube and comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, the first nozzle projecting through a side of said suction tube into the bent portion in the direction of the outlet of the eductor tube section, the second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the first nozzle such that said first nozzle is intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation; and
means for supplying high pressure water to said second nozzle to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced by the action of said outlet nozzle during the trenching operation to flow through the suction tube to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube section. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
- at least one outlet nozzle with means for receiving and emitting a supply of high pressure water for production of a trench by jetting;
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10. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making use a trench, said apparatus including:
- first and second outlet nozzles with means for receiving and emitting a supply of high pressure water for production of a trench by jetting;
first and second suction tubes associated with said first and second outlet nozzles, respectively, each said suction tube having a bent portion merging with an associated eductor tube section;
first and second jet pumps associated with said first and second suction tubes, respectively, each said jet pump comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, each said first nozzle projecting through a side of its associated suction tube into the bent portion substantially coaxially with the eductor tube section, each said second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the corresponding first nozzle such that said first nozzles are intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation; and
means associated with each second nozzle for receiving a high pressure supply of water to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced during a trenching operation to flow through the suction tubes to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube sections. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
- first and second outlet nozzles with means for receiving and emitting a supply of high pressure water for production of a trench by jetting;
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13. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus comprising in combination:
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a surface floating vessel;
a tow for excavating a trench for a pipeline to be laid along the sea bottom and for removing the spoil formed by the excavation, said tow having a base structure adapted to slide on the sea bottom;
means carried by said vessel for raising and lowering the tow, respectively, from and to the sea bottom;
means carried by said tow for excavating the trench and including outlet nozzles with means for receiving from the vessel a high pressure supply of water and for emitting said high pressure water supply through said nozzles for production of a trench by jetting;means carried by said tow for removing the spoil, said spoil removing means being in duplicate and being supported by the tow to be in substantially side by side relationship relative to the direction of slide of the tow, each spoil removing means comprising;
a suction tube associated with one of said outlet nozzles, each suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section at an angle of approximately 90°
;
a jet pump associated with each said suction tube, each said jet pump comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, each first nozzle projecting through a side of its associated suction tube into the bent portion substantially coaxially with the eductor tube section, each second nozzle having an outlet and located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the corresponding first nozzle such that said first nozzle is intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation; and
means associated with each second nozzle for receiving said high pressure water supply from the vessel;guide means carried by said base structure for maintaining said tow in alignment with the pipeline as the trench is excavated and adapted to straddle the pipeline;
a frame for supporting said trenching means, said spoil removal means and said guide means; and
means for adjusting the elevation of said frame relative to said base structure thereby to adjust the elevation of said nozzles, said suction tube inlets and said guide means relative to said base structure;each of said suction tube inlets having an aperture opening in a lateral inward direction relative to the longitudinal sides of the tow, with said apertures lying in substantial lateral register one with the other; and means mounting each of said first and second nozzles for movement into selected position axially relative to one another. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus including:
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
a jet pump associated with said suction tube and comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, the first nozzle projecting through a side of said suction tube into the bent portion in the direction of the outlet of the eductor tube section, the second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the first nozzle such that said first nozzle is intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation, and means for supplying high pressure water to said second nozzle to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced during the trenching operation to flow through the suction tube to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube section;
wherein the inlet section of the first nozzle is bell-shaped, the curvature of the bell-shape being defined by a radius R, the smaller end of the bell being contiguous with the main body of the first nozzle such that the smaller end of the bell has an opening which is the same size as the internal dimensions of the main body of the first nozzle, the smaller end of the bell lying in a plane which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first nozzle and which contains the axis of rotation of radius R, said bell-shaped inlet section having a length A between its smaller and larger ends; and
wherein the outlet end of the second nozzle is located a distance B from the smaller end of the bell-shaped inlet section, where 0<
B<
A. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
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34. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus including:
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
a jet pump associated with said suction tube and comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, the first nozzle projecting through a side of said suction tube into the bent portion substantially coaxially with the eductor tube section, the second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the first nozzle such that said first nozzle is intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation, and means for supplying high pressure water to said second nozzle to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced during the trenching operation to flow through the suction tube to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube section;
wherein the inlet section of the first nozzle is bell-shaped, the curvature of the bell-shape being defined by a radius R, the smaller end of the bell being contiguous with the main body of the first nozzle such that the smaller end of the bell has an opening which is the same size as the internal dimensions of the main body of the first nozzle, the smaller end of the bell lying in a plane which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first nozzle and which contains the axis of rotation of radius R, said bell-shaped inlet section having a length A between its smaller and larger ends; and
wherein the outlet end of the second nozzle is located a distance B from the smaller end of the bell-shaped inlet section, where 0<
B<
A. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
- at least one suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
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44. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus including:
- at least one outlet nozzle with means for receiving and emitting a supply of high pressure water for production of a trench by jetting;
at least one suction tube associated with said at least one outlet nozzle, said suction tube having a bent portion merging with an eductor tube section;
a jet pump associated with said suction tube and comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, the first nozzle projecting through a side of said suction tube into the bent portion in the direction of the outlet of the eductor tube section, the second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the first nozzle such that said first nozzle is intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation; and
means for supplying high pressure water to said second nozzle to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced by the action of said outlet nozzle during the trenching operation to flow through the suction tube to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube section;
wherein the inlet section of the first nozzle is bell-shaped, the curvature of the bell-shape being defined by a radius R, the smaller end of the bell being contiguous with the main body of the first nozzle such that the smaller end of the bell has an opening which is the same size as the internal dimensions of the main body of the first nozzle, the smaller end of the bell lying in a plane which perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first nozzle and which contains the axis of rotation of radius R, said bell-shaped inlet section having a length A between its smaller and larger ends; and
wherein the outlet end of the second nozzle is located a distance B from the smaller end of the bell-shaped inlet section, wherein 0<
B<
A. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
- at least one outlet nozzle with means for receiving and emitting a supply of high pressure water for production of a trench by jetting;
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54. Apparatus for use in making a trench in a sea bottom and for removing spoil formed during making such a trench, said apparatus including:
- first and second outlet nozzles with means for receiving and emitting a supply of high pressure water for production of a trench by jetting;
first and second suction tubes associated with said first and second outlet nozzles, respectively, each said suction tube having a bent portion merging with an associated eductor tube section;
first and second jet pumps associated with said first and second suction tubes, respectively, each said jet pump comprising first and second nozzles which are arranged substantially coaxially in tandem, each said first nozzle projecting through a side of its associated suction tube into the bent portion substantially coaxially with the eductor tube section, each said second nozzle having an outlet end located within and radially spaced from an inlet section of the corresponding first nozzle such that said first nozzles are intended to be in communication with ambient water during a trenching operation; and
means associated with each second nozzle for receiving a high pressure supply of water to cause said water supply to flow through said nozzles to entrain ambient water and to cause spoil produced during a trenching operation to flow through the suction tubes to be entrained with said water supply and ambient water and discharged through the eductor tube section;
wherein the inlet section of each first nozzle is bell-shaped, the curvature of the bell-shape being defined by a radius R, the smaller end of the bell being contiguous with the main body of the first nozzle such that the smaller end of the bell has an opening which is the same size as the internal dimensions of the main body of the first nozzle, the smaller end of the bell lying in a plane which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first nozzle and which contains the axis of rotation of radius R, said bell-shaped inlet section having a length A between its smaller and larger ends; and
wherein the outlet end of each second nozzle is located a distance B from the smaller end of the bell-shaped inlet section, where 0<
B<
A. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
- first and second outlet nozzles with means for receiving and emitting a supply of high pressure water for production of a trench by jetting;
Specification