A flexible feed pipe deep-water gravel bed leveling equipment and its application method
By connecting the mother ship and the leveling frame with a flexible feeding pipe, and combining a moving mechanism and a positioning winch, the problem of existing leveling vessels being unable to operate effectively in waters up to 100 meters deep has been solved, achieving high-precision leveling of the crushed stone bed and reducing the weight of the hull and construction costs.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202410701294.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-31
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-17
- Estimated Expiration
- 2044-05-31
AI Technical Summary
Existing leveling vessels cannot operate effectively in waters up to 100 meters deep. Bottom-mounted leveling vessels have limited water depth, while jack-up rock-dropping leveling vessels require extra-long legs, which increases the weight of the vessel and makes them expensive.
A flexible feed pipe is used to connect the mother ship and the underwater leveling frame. The flexible feed hose and multiple umbilical cables are used for connection. Combined with the moving mechanism and positioning winch, high-precision positioning and movement of the rock-throwing pipe are achieved. The flexible feed hose separates the gravel and water to achieve precise feed.
Achieving high-precision crushed stone bed leveling in waters up to 100 meters deep avoids problems such as increased hull weight and excessive construction costs, making it suitable for harsh offshore environments.
Smart Images

Figure CN118461617B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of underwater engineering construction, and in particular to a deep-water gravel bed leveling equipment with a flexible material replenishment pipe and its application method. Background Technology
[0002] The installation of immersed tunnel and caisson structures used in bridge and hydraulic engineering requires the laying of a highly flat crushed stone base at the bottom of the structure. Existing leveling methods include bottom-sitting leveling vessels and self-elevating stone-throwing leveling vessels.
[0003] Bottom-mounted leveling vessels have limited operating depths; in waters exceeding 100 meters, the depth is too great to allow them to sit firmly on the bottom. The harsh environment of open ocean deep-water areas at 100 meters also causes floating leveling vessels to exhibit excessive motion response, compromising leveling accuracy. Self-elevating rock-dumping leveling vessels operating in 100-meter deep water require legs exceeding 100 meters in length. To avoid excessive leg flexibility, the bending modulus of the legs needs to be increased, leading to increased leg weight, which in turn increases the capacity of the leg lifting device and the overall hull reinforcement, significantly increasing shipbuilding costs. The harsh environment of open ocean deep-water areas also significantly impacts leveling operations. Therefore, we propose a deep-water gravel bed leveling equipment with a flexible feed pipe and its application method to address the aforementioned problems. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The technical problem to be solved by this invention is to provide a deep-water gravel bed leveling equipment with a flexible feed pipe and its usage method, which solves the problems of limited water depth for bottom-sitting leveling boats, which are too deep to sit on the bottom in water depths of 100 meters, and the need for self-elevating stone-throwing leveling boats to be equipped with pile legs of more than 100 meters in length, which increases the weight of the hull and significantly increases the cost of ship construction, thus having a significant impact on leveling operations.
[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a deep-water gravel bed leveling equipment with flexible feed pipe and its usage method, including a mother ship and a leveling frame located underwater. The mother ship and the leveling frame are connected by a flexible feed hose and multiple umbilical cables. The leveling frame is equipped with a moving mechanism, and the moving mechanism is equipped with a stone throwing pipe.
[0006] In the preferred embodiment, the mother ship includes a hull, with recovery winches and multiple positioning winches on both sides of the hull, and a power system and control room on the hull;
[0007] The hull is equipped with a trough, and a pipe rack is installed in the trough. The pipe rack has an arc-shaped structure, and an extension frame is installed on one side of the pipe rack. Both the arc of the pipe rack and the extension frame have semi-circular slots in the middle. Multiple hook frames are installed at one end of the hull.
[0008] The flexible feed hose includes a flexible hose with multiple buoyancy blocks on it.
[0009] In the preferred embodiment, one end of the extension frame is equipped with a connected crushed stone pumping system, which includes a feeding frame and a high-pressure pump. The feeding frame is connected to a flexible feeding hose, the inlet end of the high-pressure pump is connected to deep water, and the outlet end of the high-pressure pump is connected to the feeding frame.
[0010] In the preferred embodiment, the mother ship is equipped with a launching winch and a positioning frame. The positioning frame includes a tube body, a rotating frame on the tube body, a rotating sleeve on the rotating frame, an encoder on the sleeve, an umbilical cable passing through the sleeve, and a length scale on the umbilical cable.
[0011] In the preferred embodiment, the rotating frame includes a U-shaped frame, one end of which is rotatably connected to the tube body. A scale is provided on the U-shaped frame, and rotating shafts are provided at both ends of the sleeve. The rotating shafts are rotatably connected to the U-shaped frame, and rounded corners are provided at both ends of the sleeve.
[0012] In the preferred embodiment, the leveling frame includes a circular tube frame, with multiple telescopic outriggers on both sides of the circular tube frame, float boxes and hydraulic pump stations at both ends of the circular tube frame, multiple hooks on the sides and ends of the circular tube frame, multiple arc-shaped hooks at the tail of the circular tube frame, and horizontal grooves on both sides of the circular tube frame.
[0013] In the preferred embodiment, the moving mechanism includes a slide with a U-shaped structure, a first motor and a second motor. The slide has protrusions at both ends, and the protrusions of the slide abut against the horizontal groove. The slide has a first lead screw seat, and one end of the first motor has a first lead screw, which is threadedly connected to the slide. The second motor has a second lead screw, and the slide has multiple horizontal grooves.
[0014] In the preferred embodiment, the stone-throwing pipe includes a separating cylinder, a rotating joint, and a slider. The separating cylinder is rotatably connected to the rotating joint. The slider has a U-shaped structure and slides against the transverse groove of the slide frame. The slider is provided with a threaded hole, which is connected to a second lead screw. The bottom of the rotating joint is provided with a connected material cylinder.
[0015] In the preferred embodiment, the top of the separator is open, and a feed pipe connected to a flexible hose is provided on one side of the separator. The feed pipe is inclined upward. An inclined grid plate is provided inside the separator. A rotating ring is provided at one end of the separator. The rotating ring is rotatably connected to the rotating joint. The material cylinder passes through the slider and the slide.
[0016] A flexible feed pipe deep-water gravel bed leveling equipment and its usage method, the method is as follows: S1, rough positioning of the mother ship: hold the mother ship towed with the leveling frame and anchor it for positioning. According to the position information provided by the shipborne GNSS, use the positioning winch to wind up and unwind the cable to adjust the overall orientation.
[0017] S2. Sinking and fine-tuning the leveling frame: Connect the flexible feed hose and umbilical cable between the mother ship and the leveling frame, open the valve of the buoy to start ballast sinking, continuously extend the flexible hose during sinking, release the umbilical cable at the same time, and adjust the orientation of the leveling frame by using the horizontal thruster.
[0018] S3. Preload and level the telescopic outriggers: When the leveling frame is about to touch the bottom, open the vertical thruster to control the bottoming process; after the leveling frame touches the bottom, ballast the pontoon again to preload the telescopic outriggers; after the preload is completed, adjust the hydraulic cylinders of each telescopic outrigger according to the reading of the dual-axis tilt sensor to level the leveling frame.
[0019] S4. Elevation Adjustment: Based on the measured elevation of the leveling frame, synchronously adjust the cylinder stroke of each telescopic outrigger to ensure that the end of the straight pipe cylinder is at the design elevation.
[0020] S5. The leveling frame is calibrated by the scale on the positioning frame: the winch is wound up and down to make the umbilical cable straight, the scale is the horizontal rotation angle of the rotating frame relative to the tube body, the encoder displays the vertical rotation angle of the sleeve relative to the rotating frame, and the length scale on the umbilical cable is the distance between the leveling frame and the end of the hull.
[0021] The position of the leveling frame measured by the positioning frame is calibrated with the position of the leveling frame in S1~S4;
[0022] S6. Feeding and Leveling: Turn on the crushed stone pumping system, and the crushed stone falls into the material cylinder of the straight pipe. Drive the moving mechanism to level it, and monitor the material level according to the material level gauge on the material cylinder of the straight pipe to control the moving speed of the stone throwing pipe and keep the material level stable.
[0023] S7. Shifting: After completing one station, compressed air is introduced into the pontoon to release the load, so that the leveling frame is in a slightly negative buoyancy state. The propeller is turned on to control the leveling frame to move to the next station. During the shift, the positioning winch is started to make the translation of the mother ship and the leveling frame roughly synchronized.
[0024] S8. After construction is completed, the pontoon is loaded to a positive buoyancy state and floats to the surface. The recovery winch and the leveling winch are opened to retrieve the leveling frame, and the flexible hose is disassembled simultaneously.
[0025] This invention provides a deep-water gravel bed leveling device with a flexible feed hose and its usage method. A positioning winch equipped with anchor cables and a high-holding-force anchor provides the vessel with the ability to move and position itself. The recovery winch is located at the stern, and a leveling frame that has surfaced is pulled to the stern via a steel wire rope and secured to a hook frame. A pipe rack is used to extend and dismantle the flexible feed hose. The pipe rack has an arc-shaped structure to control the curvature of the hose during submersion, preventing damage to the flexible feed hose due to excessive bending.
[0026] The pontoon is a watertight box structure that controls the buoyancy of the leveling frame. Telescopic outriggers adjust the parallelism of the leveling frame. Pressure sensors are installed in the cylinders of the telescopic outriggers to determine whether the outriggers are on the ground based on the pressure readings. The leveling frame clamps the rock-throwing pipe, enabling planar movement in the X and Y directions. The leveling frame has thrusters in the vertical and horizontal directions, driving the leveling frame to rise and move short distances, respectively. A rotating joint allows the flexible feeding hose to rotate 360° around the feed cylinder to accommodate the planar movement of the rock-throwing pipe. The separation cylinder is a top-open cylindrical structure with flexible hoses connected to the sides. A grid plate is installed inside the cylinder, perpendicular to the flexible hose, to separate the gravel. Water containing gravel passes through the grid plate; the gravel is blocked and sinks, while the water moves upward and is discharged through the top.
[0027] The overall system comprises a mother ship, an underwater leveling frame, and a flexible feeding hose, avoiding the impact of the harsh environment of deep-sea areas on leveling accuracy and enabling its application in waters up to 100 meters deep. The flexible hose provides precise underwater feeding. The mother ship and leveling frame are movable for high-precision positioning, and the positioning frame verifies the positioning information to further enhance accuracy. The moving mechanism on the leveling frame ensures even feeding of crushed stone, maintaining a stable material level. The stone-throwing pipe separates crushed stone and water from the flexible feeding hose, while also adapting to the rotation and movement angles of the leveling frame. This integrated system avoids the problem of bottom-sitting leveling vessels failing to sit on the bottom in deep waters up to 100 meters, and also avoids the increased leg weight and subsequent hull reinforcement weight of self-elevating stone-throwing leveling vessels used in 100-meter deep water, which significantly increases shipbuilding costs. Therefore, this system is suitable for widespread application. Attached Figure Description
[0028] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments:
[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;
[0030] Figure 2 This is a top view of the mother ship of the present invention;
[0031] Figure 3 For the present invention Figure 1 A magnified view of A in the middle;
[0032] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the pipe rack of the present invention;
[0033] Figure 5 This is a top view of the leveling frame of the present invention;
[0034] Figure 6 This is a front view of the leveling frame of the present invention;
[0035] Figure 7 For the present invention Figure 6 A magnified view of B in the middle;
[0036] Figure 8 This is a partial view of the stone-throwing tube of the present invention;
[0037] Figure 9 For the present invention Figure 8 A partial view;
[0038] Figure 10 This is an axonometric view of the positioning frame of the present invention;
[0039] Figure 11 This is an exploded view of the positioning frame of the present invention;
[0040] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the construction steps of the present invention. Figure 1 and two part;
[0041] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the construction steps of the present invention. Figure 3 and Four part;
[0042] In the diagram: Mother ship 1; Hull 101; Ship trough 1011; Hook frame 1012; Positioning winch 102; Recovery winch 103; Extension frame 104; Pipe rack 105; Crushed stone pumping system 106; High-pressure pump 1061; Power system 107; Retrieval winch 108; Control room 109; Flexible feed hose 2; Flexible hose 201; Buoyancy block 202; Leveling frame 3; Circular pipe rack 301; Telescopic outrigger 302; Horizontal trough 303; Thruster 304; Float box 305; Hook 306; Hydraulic pump station 30 7; Umbilical cable 4; Positioning frame 5; Tube body 501; Rotating frame 502; U-shaped frame 5021; Scale 5022; Sleeve 503; Rotating shaft 5031; Rounded corner 5032; Encoder 504; Moving mechanism 6; Slide 601; First motor 602; First lead screw 603; Second motor 604; Second lead screw 605; Stone throwing tube 7; Separating cylinder 701; Rotating ring 7011; Feed pipe 7012; Rotating joint 702; Material cylinder 703; Slider 704; Threaded hole 7041; Grating plate 705. Detailed Implementation
[0043] Example 1:
[0044] like Figures 1-13A deep-water gravel bed leveling device with flexible feed pipe and its usage method are disclosed. The device includes a mother ship 1 and a leveling frame 3 located underwater. The mother ship 1 and the leveling frame 3 are connected by a flexible feed hose 2 and multiple umbilical cables 4. The leveling frame 3 is equipped with a moving mechanism 6, and the moving mechanism 6 is equipped with a stone-throwing pipe 7. With this structure, the hull 101 accommodates an extension frame 104 and a pipe rack 105 within a hull trough 1011, with the length of the pipe rack 105 not exceeding the space of the hull trough 1011. A positioning winch 102, equipped with anchor cables and a high-holding-force anchor, provides the mother ship 1 with the ability to move and position itself. A recovery winch 103 is located at the stern and uses a steel wire rope to pull the leveling frame 3, which is above water, to the stern and secure it to a hook frame 1012. The pipe rack 105 is used to extend and dismantle the flexible feed hose 2. The pipe rack 105 has an arc-shaped structure to control the curvature of the hose during submersion, preventing damage to the flexible feed hose 2 due to excessive bending. One end of the flexible feed hose 2 is connected to the high-pressure pump 1061 of the mother ship 1, and the other end is connected to the rock-throwing pipe 7 of the underwater leveling frame 3. The flexible hose 201 hangs naturally in a catenary shape.
[0045] The pontoon 305 is a watertight box structure with several compartments. The ballast water volume within the pontoon 305 is adjusted using compressed air to control the buoyancy of the leveling frame 3. The telescopic outriggers 302 have built-in hydraulic cylinders that adjust the parallelism of the leveling frame 3 based on readings from a dual-axis tilt sensor. Pressure sensors are installed in the hydraulic cylinders of the telescopic outriggers 302 to determine whether the outriggers are on the ground based on pressure values. The leveling frame 3 clamps the rock-throwing pipe 7, enabling planar movement in the X and Y directions. The leveling frame 3 has thrusters 304 in the vertical and horizontal directions, driving the leveling frame 3 to float and perform short-distance translation, respectively. The separation cylinder 701 is connected to the flexible hose 201. A rotating joint 702 is located between the separation cylinder 701 and the feed cylinder 703. The rotating joint 702 allows the flexible feed hose 2 to rotate 360° around the feed cylinder 703 to accommodate the planar movement of the rock-throwing pipe 7. The separation cylinder 701 is a cylindrical structure with an open top and a flexible hose 201 connected to the side. A grid plate 705 is installed inside the cylinder perpendicular to the flexible hose 201 to separate gravel. When water containing gravel passes through the grid plate 705, the gravel is blocked and sinks downward, while the water moves upward and is discharged through the top.
[0046] The overall system comprises a mother ship 1, an underwater leveling frame 3, and a flexible feeding hose 2. This design avoids the impact of the harsh environment of deep-sea areas on leveling accuracy, enabling the system to be applied in waters up to 100 meters deep. The flexible feeding hose 201 provides precise underwater feeding. The mother ship 1 and leveling frame 3 are movable for high-precision positioning. The positioning frame 5 verifies the positioning information of the leveling frame 3, further enhancing positioning accuracy. The moving mechanism 6 on the leveling frame 3 ensures uniform stone feeding and maintains a stable material level. The stone-throwing pipe 7 separates the stone and water in the flexible feeding hose 2, and also adapts to the rotation and movement angles of the leveling frame 3. This overall system avoids the problem of bottom-sitting leveling vessels being unable to sit on the bottom in deep waters up to 100 meters. It also avoids the increased weight of the pile legs and consequently the increased hull weight of self-elevating stone-throwing leveling vessels used in deep waters up to 100 meters, which would significantly increase shipbuilding costs.
[0047] In the preferred embodiment, the mother ship 1 includes a hull 101, with recovery winches 103 and multiple positioning winches 102 on both sides of the hull 101, and a power system 107 and a control room 109 on the hull 101.
[0048] The hull 101 is provided with a trough 1011, and a pipe rack 105 is provided at the trough 1011. The pipe rack 105 has an arc-shaped structure. A connecting frame 104 is provided on one side of the pipe rack 105. A semi-circular slot is provided in the middle of the arc of the pipe rack 105 and the connecting frame 104. A number of hook frames 1012 are provided at one end of the hull 101.
[0049] The flexible feed hose 2 includes a flexible hose 201, on which multiple buoyancy blocks 202 are provided. With this structure, one end of the flexible feed hose 2 is connected to the gravel pumping system 106 of the mother ship 1, and the other end is connected to the stone-throwing pipe 7 on the leveling frame 3. The flexible feed hose 2 is composed of sections of fixed-length flanged flexible hoses 201. Buoyancy blocks 202 are arranged at fixed intervals on each section of flexible hose 201. The buoyancy blocks 202 provide buoyancy to reduce the wet weight of the hose. Furthermore, the outer diameter of the buoyancy blocks 202 is larger than the outer diameter of the flange of the flexible hose 201, allowing the flexible hose 201 to pass smoothly through the grooves of the extension frame 104 and the pipe rack 105.
[0050] In the preferred embodiment, one end of the extension frame 104 is provided with a connected crushed stone pumping system 106. The crushed stone pumping system 106 includes a feeding frame and a high-pressure pump 1061. The feeding frame is connected to the flexible feeding hose 2. The inlet end of the high-pressure pump 1061 is connected to the deep water, and the outlet end of the high-pressure pump 1061 is connected to the feeding frame.
[0051] In the preferred embodiment, the mother ship 1 is equipped with a launching winch 108 and a positioning frame 5. The positioning frame 5 includes a tube body 501, a rotating frame 502 on the tube body 501, a rotating sleeve 503 on the rotating frame 502, an encoder 504 on the sleeve 503, and an umbilical cable 4 passing through the sleeve 503. The umbilical cable 4 has length markings. With this structure, the hull 101 has a trough-shaped space at the stern, which accommodates the tube frame 105, and the length of the tube frame 105 does not exceed the length of the trough-shaped space. The positioning winch 102 is equipped with an anchor cable and a high-holding-force anchor, providing the mother ship 1 with the ability to move and position itself. The recovery winch 103 is located on both sides of the stern, and pulls the leveling frame 3 that has emerged from the water to the stern via steel wire ropes and secures it to the hook frame 1012 on the ship. The hose extension frame 104 is a steel frame structure with a semi-circular groove on the top plane. Located between the pipe rack 105 and the crushed stone pumping system 106, the extension frame 104 is used to extend and dismantle the flexible feed hose 2. The pipe rack 105 has an arc-shaped structure to control the curvature of the flexible feed hose 2 in the water, preventing damage due to excessive bending. The extension frame 104 is a steel frame structure with a semi-circular groove on the top plane. The crushed stone pumping system 106 uses water power to transport crushed stone to the flexible feed hose 2. The power system 107 provides power to the entire system. The control room 109 is connected to the leveling frame 3 via an umbilical cable 4, which provides power, control signals, and compressed air to the leveling frame 3. The winch 108 is used to retrieve and deploy the umbilical cable 4. The hose storage area is used to store dismantled flexible feed hoses 2.
[0052] In the preferred embodiment, the rotating frame 502 includes a U-shaped frame 5021, one end of which is rotatably connected to the tube body 501. A scale 5022 is provided on the U-shaped frame 5021. A rotating shaft 5031 is provided at both ends of the sleeve 503, rotatably connected to the U-shaped frame 5021. Rounded corners 5032 are provided at both ends of the sleeve 503. With this structure, the umbilical cable 4 passes through the sleeve 503. After the positions of the mother ship 1 and the leveling frame 3 are determined, the winding winch 108 is driven to straighten the umbilical cable 4. The rotating frame 502 rotates relative to the tube body 501 at a certain angle, and the angle of the scale 5022 is the horizontal angle between the mother ship 1 and the leveling frame 3. The sleeve 503 and the U-shaped frame 5021 rotate at a certain angle, and the encoder 504 measures the vertical angle between the mother ship 1 and the leveling frame 3. The length scale of the umbilical cable 4 is the distance between the mother ship 1 and the leveling frame 3. The relative position of the leveling frame 3 and the mother ship 1 is calibrated by the triangle calculation formula. The relative position of the leveling frame 3 is calibrated by the position information provided by the GNSS on the mother ship 1.
[0053] In the preferred embodiment, the leveling frame 3 includes a circular tube frame 301. Multiple telescopic outriggers 302 are provided on both sides of the circular tube frame 301. Float boxes 305 and hydraulic pump stations 307 are provided at both ends of the circular tube frame 301. Multiple hooks 306 are provided on the sides and ends of the circular tube frame 301, and multiple arc-shaped hooks 306 are provided at the tail of the circular tube frame 301. Horizontal grooves 303 are provided on both sides of the circular tube frame 301. With this structure, the tube body 501 is mounted on the hull 101, and a shipborne GNSS is installed on the hull 101. A dual-axis tilt sensor is installed on the leveling frame 3.
[0054] The pontoon 305 is a watertight box structure with several compartments. The ballast water volume within the pontoon 305 is adjusted using compressed air to control the buoyancy of the leveling frame 3. The telescopic outriggers 302 have built-in hydraulic cylinders that adjust the parallelism of the leveling frame 3 based on readings from a dual-axis tilt sensor. Pressure sensors are installed in the hydraulic cylinders of the telescopic outriggers 302 to determine whether the outriggers are on the ground based on the pressure values. The leveling frame 3 clamps the rock-throwing tube 7 to achieve planar movement in the X and Y directions. The leveling frame 3 is equipped with thrusters 304 in the vertical and horizontal directions to drive the leveling frame 3 to float and perform short-distance translation, respectively.
[0055] In the preferred embodiment, the moving mechanism 6 includes a sliding frame 601 with a U-shaped structure, a first motor 602, and a second motor 604. The sliding frame 601 has protrusions at both ends, which abut against a horizontal groove 303. A first lead screw seat is provided on the sliding frame 601. A first lead screw 603 is provided at one end of the first motor 602, and the first lead screw 603 is threadedly connected to the sliding frame 601. A second lead screw 605 is provided on the second motor 604. Multiple horizontal grooves are provided on the sliding frame 601. This structure drives the first motor 602 to rotate the first lead screw 603, causing the sliding frame 601 to move. It also drives the second motor 604 to move the second lead screw 605, causing the stone-throwing pipe 7 to move. During the crushing process, the stone-throwing pipe 7 can move along the bottom of the leveling frame 3 to discharge material. The moving stone-throwing pipe 7 levels the material, and the material level is monitored by a level gauge on the stone-throwing pipe 7. The moving speed of the stone-throwing pipe 7 is controlled to keep the material level stable.
[0056] In the preferred embodiment, the stone-throwing tube 7 includes a separating cylinder 701, a rotating joint 702, and a slider 704. The separating cylinder 701 is rotatably connected to the rotating joint 702. The slider 704 has a U-shaped structure and slides against the transverse groove of the slide frame 601. The slider 704 has a threaded hole 7041, which is connected to the second lead screw 605. The bottom of the rotating joint 702 has a connected material cylinder 703. With this structure, the separating cylinder 701 is composed of a round tube at the bottom and a rectangular structure at the top. An integrated material level sensor is installed on the material cylinder 703. The separating cylinder 701 is connected to the flexible hose 201. The rotating joint 702 is located between the separating cylinder 701 and the material cylinder 703. The rotating joint 702 allows the flexible feeding hose 2 to rotate 360° around the material cylinder 703 to accommodate the planar movement of the stone-throwing tube 7. The separation cylinder 701 is a cylindrical structure with an open top and a flexible hose 201 connected to its side. A grid plate 705 is installed inside the cylinder, perpendicular to the flexible hose 201, to separate gravel. When water containing gravel passes through the grid plate 705, the gravel is blocked and sinks downwards, while the water moves upwards and is discharged through the top. The hydraulic pump station 307 provides power to the telescopic outriggers 302, the leveling frame 3, and the thrusters 304. The air source control box distributes compressed air to the float 305 to control the discharge. The umbilical cable 4 is responsible for delivering power, control, and compressed air to the underwater powered leveling frame 3.
[0057] In the preferred embodiment, the top of the separating cylinder 701 is open, and a feed pipe 7012 communicating with the flexible hose 201 is provided on one side of the separating cylinder 701. The feed pipe 7012 is inclined upward. An inclined grid plate 705 is provided inside the separating cylinder 701. A rotating ring 7011 is provided at one end of the separating cylinder 701. The rotating ring 7011 is rotatably connected to the rotating joint 702. The material cylinder 703 passes through the slider 704 and the slide 601.
[0058] Example 2:
[0059] Further explanation based on Example 1: A deep-water gravel bed leveling equipment with flexible feed pipe and its usage method includes the following steps: S1, rough positioning of the mother ship 1: Hold the mother ship 1 and tow the leveling frame 3 to anchor and position it. According to the position information provided by the shipborne GNSS, use the positioning winch 102 to wind up and unwind the cable to adjust the overall orientation.
[0060] S2. Sink and fine-tune the leveling frame 3: Connect the flexible feed hose 2 and umbilical cable 4 between the mother ship 1 and the leveling frame 3, open the valve of the float 305 to start ballast sinking, continuously extend the flexible hose 201 during sinking, release the umbilical cable 4 at the same time, and adjust the orientation of the leveling frame 3 through the horizontal thruster 304.
[0061] S3. Pre-load and level the telescopic outriggers 302: When the leveling frame 3 is about to touch the bottom, open the vertical thruster 304 to control the bottoming process; after the leveling frame 3 touches the bottom, ballast the float box 305 again to pre-load the telescopic outriggers 302; after the pre-loading is completed, adjust the hydraulic cylinders of each telescopic outrigger 302 according to the reading of the dual-axis tilt sensor to level the leveling frame 3.
[0062] S4. Elevation Adjustment: Based on the measured elevation of the leveling frame 3, synchronously adjust the cylinder stroke of each telescopic outrigger 302 so that the end of the straight pipe cylinder 703 is at the design elevation.
[0063] S5. The leveling frame 3 is calibrated by the scale on the positioning frame 5: the winding and unwinding winch 108 is used to make the umbilical cable 4 straight. The scale 5022 is the horizontal rotation angle of the rotating frame 502 relative to the tube body 501. The encoder 504 displays the vertical rotation angle of the sleeve 503 relative to the rotating frame 502. The length scale on the umbilical cable 4 is the distance between the leveling frame 3 and the end of the hull 101.
[0064] The position of the leveling frame 3 measured by the positioning frame 5 is calibrated with the position of the leveling frame 3 in S1~S4;
[0065] S6. Feeding and leveling: Turn on the crushed stone pumping system 106, and the crushed stone falls into the material cylinder 703 of the straight pipe. Drive the moving mechanism 6 to level, and monitor the material level according to the material level gauge on the material cylinder 703 of the straight pipe, and control the moving speed of the stone throwing pipe 7 to keep the material level stable.
[0066] S7. Shifting: After completing one workstation, compressed air is introduced into the pontoon 305 to release the load, so that the leveling frame 3 is in a slightly negative buoyancy state. The propeller 304 is turned on to control the leveling frame 3 to move to the next workstation. During the shifting, the positioning winch 102 is started to make the translation of the mother ship 1 and the leveling frame 3 roughly synchronized.
[0067] S8. After the construction is completed, the pontoon 305 is loaded to a positive buoyancy state and floats to the surface. The recovery winch 103 and the launch winch 108 are opened to retrieve the leveling frame 3, and the flexible hose 201 is disassembled at the same time.
[0068] The above embodiments are merely preferred technical solutions of the present invention and should not be considered as limitations on the present invention. The embodiments and features described in these embodiments can be arbitrarily combined without conflict. The scope of protection of the present invention should be limited to the technical solutions described in the claims, including equivalent substitutions of the technical features described in the claims. That is, equivalent substitutions and improvements within this scope are also within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A flexible hose for a deep water rock mattress leveling apparatus, characterized by: The application relates to a rock-throwing device, which comprises a mother ship (1) and a leveling frame (3) located underwater, the mother ship (1) and the leveling frame (3) are connected through a flexible feeding hose (2) and a plurality of umbilical cables (4), the leveling frame (3) is provided with a moving mechanism (6), and the moving mechanism (6) is provided with a rock-throwing pipe (7); The mother ship (1) is provided with a winding and unwinding winch (108) and a positioning frame (5), the positioning frame (5) comprises a pipe body (501), the pipe body (501) is provided with a rotating rotating frame (502), the rotating frame (502) is provided with a rotating sleeve (503), the sleeve (503) is provided with an encoder (504), the umbilical cable (4) penetrates through the sleeve (503), and the umbilical cable (4) is provided with a length scale; The rotating frame (502) comprises a U-shaped frame (5021), one end of the U-shaped frame (5021) is rotationally connected with the pipe body (501), the U-shaped frame (5021) is provided with a scale (5022), both ends of the sleeve (503) are provided with rotating shafts (5031), the rotating shafts (5031) are rotationally connected with the U-shaped frame (5021), and both ends of the sleeve (503) are provided with round corners (5032).
2. The flexible pipe reamer apparatus of claim 1, wherein: The mother ship (1) comprises a ship body (101), the ship body (101) is provided with a plurality of positioning winches (102) and a recovery winch (103) on both sides, and the ship body (101) is provided with a power system (107) and a control room (109); The ship body (101) is provided with a ship groove (1011), the ship groove (1011) is provided with a pipe frame (105), the pipe frame (105) is in a circular arc structure, the pipe frame (105) is provided with a lengthening frame (104) on one side, and semicircular notches are arranged in the middle of the circular arc of the pipe frame (105) and the lengthening frame (104); and one end of the ship body (101) is provided with a plurality of hook frames (1012). The flexible feeding hose (2) comprises a flexible hose (201), and a plurality of buoyancy blocks (202) are arranged on the flexible hose (201).
3. The flexible pipe reamer apparatus of claim 2, wherein: One end of the lengthening frame (104) is provided with a communicating rock-pumping system (106), the rock-pumping system (106) comprises a feeding frame and a high-pressure pump (1061), the feeding frame is communicated with the flexible feeding hose (2), the inlet end of the high-pressure pump (1061) is communicated with deep water, and the outlet end of the high-pressure pump (1061) is communicated with the feeding frame.
4. The flexible pipe reamer apparatus of claim 3, wherein: The leveling frame (3) comprises a circular pipe frame (301), a plurality of telescopic legs (302) are arranged on both sides of the circular pipe frame (301), a floating box (305) and a hydraulic pump station (307) are arranged at both ends of the circular pipe frame (301), a plurality of hooks (306) are arranged on the side and the end of the circular pipe frame (301), a plurality of arc-shaped hooks (306) are arranged at the tail of the circular pipe frame (301), and horizontal grooves (303) are arranged on both sides of the circular pipe frame (301).
5. The flexible pipe reamer for use in deep water rubble bed leveling according to claim 1, characterized in that: The moving mechanism (6) comprises a meandering slide (601), a first motor (602) and a second motor (604), the slide (601) is provided with protrusions at both ends, the protrusions of the slide (601) abut against the horizontal groove (303), the slide (601) is provided with a first screw rod seat, the first motor (602) is provided with a first screw rod (603) at one end, the first screw rod (603) is threadedly connected with the slide (601); the second motor (604) is provided with a second screw rod (605), and the slide (601) is provided with a plurality of transverse grooves.
6. The flexible pipe reamer apparatus of claim 4, wherein: The riprapping pipe (7) comprises a separation cylinder (701), a rotating joint (702) and a sliding block (704), the separation cylinder (701) is rotationally connected with the rotating joint (702), the sliding block (704) is in a U-shaped structure, the sliding block (704) slides against the transverse groove of the slide (601), the sliding block (704) is provided with a threaded hole (7041), the threaded hole (7041) is connected with the second screw rod (605), and the rotating joint (702) is provided with a communicating material cylinder (703) at the bottom.
7. The flexible pipe reamer apparatus of claim 6, wherein: The top of the separation cylinder (701) is open, one side of the separation cylinder (701) is provided with a feeding pipe (7012) in communication with the flexible hose (201), the feeding pipe (7012) is inclined upward, the inside of the separation cylinder (701) is provided with an inclined grid plate (705), one end of the separation cylinder (701) is provided with a rotating ring (7011), the rotating ring (7011) is rotationally connected with the rotating joint (702), and the material cylinder (703) penetrates through the sliding block (704) and the slide (601).
8. The method for using the flexible supplemental pipe deep water riprapping bed leveling equipment according to claim 6, wherein the method comprises the following steps: S1, coarsely positioning the mother ship (1); the mother ship (1) drags the leveling frame (3) to anchor and position, according to the position information provided by the ship-borne GNSS, the overall orientation is adjusted by using the positioning winch (102) to wind or unwind the cable; S2, sinking and finely positioning the leveling frame (3); the flexible supplemental hose (2) connected between the mother ship (1) and the leveling frame (3) and the umbilical cable (4) are opened, the valve of the float box (305) is opened to start the ballast sinking, the flexible hose (201) is continuously lengthened during the sinking process, the umbilical cable (4) is synchronously released, and the orientation of the leveling frame (3) is adjusted by the horizontal thruster (304); S3, pre-pressing and leveling the telescopic legs (302); when the leveling frame (3) is about to touch the bottom, the vertical thruster (304) is opened to control the touching bottom process; after the leveling frame (3) touches the bottom, the float box (305) is ballasted again to pre-press the telescopic legs (302); after the pre-pressing is completed, the telescopic legs (302) are adjusted according to the readings of the double-axis inclination sensor to level the leveling frame (3); S4, adjusting the elevation; according to the measured elevation of the leveling frame (3), the oil cylinder strokes of the telescopic legs (302) are synchronously adjusted to make the straight pipe material cylinder (703) end at the designed elevation. S5, position calibration of the leveling frame (3) by the scale on the positioning frame (5): winding and unwinding the winch (108) to make the umbilical cable (4) straight, the scale (5022) shows the horizontal rotation angle of the rotating frame (502) relative to the pipe body (501), the encoder (504) shows the vertical rotation angle of the sleeve (503) relative to the rotating frame (502), and the length scale on the umbilical cable (4) shows the distance between the leveling frame (3) and the end of the ship body (101); The position of the leveling frame (3) measured by the positioning frame (5) is calibrated with the position of the leveling frame (3) in S1-S4; S6, feeding and leveling: opening the gravel pumping system (106), gravel falls into the straight pipe barrel (703), driving the moving mechanism (6) to level, and monitoring the material level according to the material level meter on the straight pipe barrel (703), controlling the moving speed of the riprap pipe (7) to keep the material level stable; S7, shifting: after completing a work station, the air tank (305) is filled with compressed air to unload, so that the leveling frame (3) is in a slightly negative buoyancy state, the propeller (304) is started, and the leveling frame (3) is controlled to move to the next work station. During the shifting, the positioning winch (102) is started to make the translation of the water mother ship (1) and the leveling frame (3) roughly synchronous; S8, after the construction is completed, the air tank (305) is unloaded to the positive buoyancy state and floats out of the water, the recovery winch (103) and the winding and unwinding winch (108) are opened to recover the leveling frame (3), and the flexible hose (201) is simultaneously disassembled.
Citation Information
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