Deep-sea mining tailwater discharge plume suppression device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for suppressing the plume of deep - sea mining tail - water discharge, which comprises a mineral tail - water drain pipe, a plume - suppressing pipeline cover, and damping sheets. The tail - water inlet of the plume - suppressing pipeline cover is fixedly connected to the mineral tail - water drain pipe. A plurality of the damping sheets are fixedly connected inside the plume - suppressing pipeline cover, and the size of the damping sheets gradually increases from the tail - water inlet to the outlet direction. The device for suppressing the plume of deep - sea mining tail - water discharge of the present invention effectively reduces the flow velocity of the discharged tail - water through its unique damping structure (since the effective discharge cross - sectional area of the suppression device exceeds the cross - sectional area of the tail - water drainage pipeline by at least 30%, the efficiency of tail - water discharge will not be affected), significantly reduces the diffusion velocity of the plume sediment, and thus controls the impact of the tail - water discharge particulate matter on the seabed organisms and the marine environment to the minimum extent.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for suppressing the diffusion of particulate matter in a plume, and in particular to a device for suppressing the plume-like particulate matter in the tail water discharged after ore mining in the deep sea. Background Art

[0002] Currently, during the deep-sea mining process, after mineral processing, the tail water and tailings are directly discharged near the seabed through a return pipeline. Limited by the size of the discharge pipeline, the discharge speed of the tail water often reaches the order of 10 m / s. The consequences of such direct high-speed discharge are as follows: 1) The tail water plume spreads widely, causing serious damage to the marine environment; 2) After the tail water is discharged into the sea water, it reaches the seabed after a certain period of time, causing tail water reflection, disturbing the seabed particulate matter and also causing secondary diffusion of the tail water. Therefore, reducing the tail water discharge speed is the most effective and cost-effective means to reduce the impact of the tail water plume on the deep-sea ecosystem. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a device that can effectively suppress the diffusion of plume sediments in the tail water discharge during deep-sea mining. The unique damping structure design of this device can effectively reduce the discharge speed of the tail water, thereby significantly reducing the amplitude of the diffusion of plume sediments and controlling the impact of the tail water diffusion on the deep-sea ecosystem to the minimum extent.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the present invention is: a plume suppression device for deep-sea mining tail water discharge, including a mineral tail water discharge pipe, a plume suppression pipeline cover, and damping sheets. The tail water inlet of the plume suppression pipeline cover is fixedly connected to the mineral tail water discharge pipe. A plurality of the damping sheets are fixedly connected inside the plume suppression pipeline cover, and the size of the damping sheets gradually increases from the tail water inlet to the outlet direction.

[0005] Further, the mesh holes of every two of the damping sheets are placed in a staggered manner to increase the damping effect.

[0006] Further, the damping sheets are of a porous plate-like structure, and the shape of their holes is circular or square or any other shape except for round holes and squares.

[0007] Further, the discharge effective area of the damping sheet close to the mineral tail water discharge pipe exceeds the cross-sectional area of the tail water discharge pipeline by at least 30%.

[0008] Further, the plume suppression pipeline cover is formed by fixing two half pipeline covers together through a bolt assembly.

[0009] Further, a sealing ring is provided between the plume suppression pipeline cover and the mineral tail water discharge pipe to prevent the tail water from flowing out between the plume suppression pipeline cover and the tail water discharge.

[0010] Further, the plume suppression pipeline cover gradually increases in size from the plume inlet to the plume outlet direction, and its cross-sectional shape is trapezoidal or trumpet-shaped or any other shape except trapezoidal or trumpet-shaped.

[0011] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0012] The deep-sea mining tailwater discharge plume suppression device of the present invention effectively reduces the flow velocity of the discharged tailwater through its unique damping structure (since the effective discharge cross-sectional area of the suppression device exceeds the cross-sectional area of the tailwater drainage pipeline by at least 30%, the efficiency of tailwater discharge will not be affected), significantly reduces the speed of plume sediment diffusion, and thus controls the impact of tailwater discharge particulate matter on seabed organisms and the marine environment to a minimum extent. Description of the Drawings

[0013] Figure 1 is the positive triaxial isometric view of the deep-sea mining tailwater discharge plume suppression device;

[0014] Figure 2 is the semi-sectioned positive triaxial isometric view of the deep-sea mining tailwater discharge plume suppression device;

[0015] Figure 3 is the positive triaxial isometric view of the damping sheet;

[0016] Figure 4 is the positive triaxial isometric view of the plume suppression pipeline cover;

[0017] In the figure: 1. Tailwater drainage pipe, 2. Bolt assembly, 3. Plume suppression pipeline cover, 4. Damping sheet, 5. Sealing ring, 6. Mesh holes of the damping sheet. Detailed Embodiment

[0018] The following further elaborates on the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

[0019] As Figures 1 to 4 shown, the deep-sea mining tailwater discharge plume suppression device of the present invention includes a mineral tailwater drainage pipe 1, a plurality of bolt assemblies 2, two plume suppression pipeline covers 3, a damping sheet 4, a sealing ring 5, etc. A plurality of damping sheets 4 are fixed between the plume suppression pipeline covers 3. From the inlet to the outlet direction of the tailwater, the size of the damping sheet 4 gradually increases. The mesh holes 6 of every two damping sheets 4 are staggeredly placed to increase the damping effect. The two plume suppression pipeline covers 3 are fixed by the bolt assemblies 2. A sealing ring 5 is arranged between the plume suppression pipeline cover 3 and the mineral tailwater drainage pipe 1 to enhance the seal and prevent the tailwater from flowing out between the plume suppression pipeline cover 3 and the tailwater drainage pipe 5.

[0020] Preferably, the mesh holes of the two damping sheets 4 are staggeredly placed to increase the damping effect.

[0021] Preferably, the damping sheet 4 is a porous plate-like structure, and the shape of its holes is circular or square or any other shape except for circular and square holes.

[0022] Preferably, for the damping sheet 4, which is the first damping sheet close to the tail water discharge pipeline, its effective discharge area should exceed the cross-sectional area of the tail water discharge pipeline by at least 30%.

[0023] Preferably, a sealing ring 5 is provided between the plume suppression pipeline cover 3 and the mineral tail water drain pipe 1 to prevent tail water from flowing out between the plume suppression pipeline cover and the tail water discharge.

[0024] Preferably, the size of the plume suppression pipeline cover 3 gradually increases from the plume inlet to the plume outlet direction, and its cross-sectional shape is trapezoidal or trumpet-shaped or any other shape except for trapezoidal or trumpet-shaped.

[0025] As Figure 2 shown, when the tail water flows from the mineral tail water drain pipe 1 into the deep-sea mining tail water discharge plume suppression device, the speed is relatively fast, and at this time, the diffusion speed of the plume-like sediment is also very fast. When the tail water reaches the first damping sheet 4, the damping sheet 4 will block the rapid flow of the tail water and reduce its flow speed. The tail water continues to flow forward through the mesh holes 6 of the damping sheet. However, since its passing area is larger than that at the inlet, it will not affect the tail water discharge efficiency while reducing the flow speed of the tail water. Similarly, each time the tail water passes through a damping sheet 4, its flow speed is reduced. When it reaches the outlet of the deep-sea mining tail water discharge plume suppression device, the flow speed of the tail water is much lower than when it enters. The present invention effectively reduces the diffusion speed of the plume-like sediment by reducing the flow speed of the tail water to achieve the suppression effect, thereby reducing the impact of the tail water plume particles generated by the operation of the ore truck on the seabed organisms and the marine environment.

Claims

1. A device for suppressing the plume of deep-sea mining tail water discharge, characterized in that: It includes a mineral tail water drain pipe, a plume suppression pipeline cover, and damping sheets. The tail water inlet of the plume suppression pipeline cover is fixedly connected to the mineral tail water drain pipe. A plurality of the damping sheets are fixedly connected inside the plume suppression pipeline cover, and the size of the damping sheets gradually increases from the inlet to the outlet direction of the tail water. The damping sheet is a porous plate-like structure, and the shape of its holes is circular or square or any other shape except for round holes and squares. The discharge effective area of the damping sheet close to the mineral tail water discharge pipe exceeds the cross-sectional area of the tail water drainage pipeline by at least 30%.

2. The deep - sea mining tail - water discharge plume suppression device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mesh holes of every two of the damping sheets are staggeredly placed to increase the damping effect.

3. The deep-sea mining tail water discharge plume suppression device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plume suppression pipeline cover is formed by fixing two half pipeline covers into one body through bolt assemblies.

4. The deep-sea mining tail water discharge plume suppression device according to claim 1, wherein: A sealing ring is arranged between the plume suppression pipeline cover and the mineral tail water drain pipe to prevent the tail water from flowing out between the plume suppression pipeline cover and the tail water drainage.

5. The deep-sea mining tailwater discharge plume suppression device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The size of the plume suppression pipeline cover gradually increases from the plume inlet to the plume outlet direction, and its cross-sectional shape is trapezoidal or trumpet-shaped or any other shape except for trapezoidal or trumpet-shaped.

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