Suction anchor reinforcement device, suction anchor and suction anchor installation method

Abstract

The present invention provides a suction anchor reinforcement device, a suction anchor and a suction anchor installation method, which belong to the field of marine engineering. The suction anchor reinforcement device includes: a base, which is arranged on the side wall of the suction anchor; a control mechanism, which is arranged in the base; and an anchor claw, which is slidably connected to the base and movably connected to the control mechanism; wherein, by manipulating the control mechanism, the anchor claw can be made to form a preset angle with the base. At the same time, the present invention also discloses a suction anchor including the aforementioned reinforcement device. The suction anchor and its reinforcement device provided by the present invention are easy to deploy and have a small additional penetration resistance, which is not only beneficial to improving the vertical and pull-out bearing capacity of the suction anchor, but also beneficial to improving the installation efficiency of the suction anchor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of marine engineering, and in particular to a suction anchor and a reinforcement device thereof. Background Art

[0002] Offshore oil exploration and development are gradually moving towards deepwater and ultra-deepwater. Suction anchors will be more and more widely used in deepwater oil and gas field development because they can withstand vertical tension, have high installation positioning accuracy, low installation cost, and can be recycled and reused. The suction anchor is an inverted barrel or inverted cup with a closed top and an open bottom. It is installed by sinking it using the negative pressure principle; after the anchor is sunk, the "negative pressure" disappears. At this time, the suction anchor is actually like a conventional buried short pile, relying on the resistance of the surrounding soil to provide anchoring capacity. In actual applications, the anchoring force provided by traditional suction anchors is limited, especially under soft soil foundations and unfavorable geological conditions, there are problems of insufficient vertical bearing capacity and pull-out resistance.

[0003] The invention patent "Reinforcement device of suction anchor, suction anchor and installation method of reinforcement device" with authorization announcement number CN107031792B discloses a reinforcement device of a suction anchor, a suction anchor and an installation method of a reinforcement device, the suction anchor includes an anchor tube; the reinforcement device includes: a base, the base is detachably fixed to the anchor tube, and a recess is provided on the base; a web, the web is rotatably fixedly connected to the base; a protrusion is provided on the web, and the protrusion abuts against the base when the web rotates and opens in a direction away from the base; the opening angle of the web is less than or equal to 90 degrees; a first limiter, the first limiter is fixed to the anchor tube, the end size of the first limiter is adapted to the size of the recess, and the first limiter can be inserted into the recess. The reinforcement device of the invention is provided with a web rotatably connected to the base. When installing, the suction anchor is lifted to open the web so as to provide a greater restraining force to the suction anchor when the reinforcement device enters the seabed. However, in actual application, the web expansion operation is difficult and not easy to achieve, and it also affects the installation accuracy of the suction anchor. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the problems in the prior art and provide a suction anchor and a reinforcement device thereof.

[0005] The object of the present invention is achieved by comprising:

[0006] A base body, arranged on the side wall of the suction anchor;

[0007] a control mechanism disposed in the base; and

[0008] A fluke, slidably connected to the base and movably connected to the control mechanism;

[0009] Wherein, by manipulating the control mechanism, the fluke can be set at a preset angle with the base.

[0010] Furthermore, the control mechanism comprises:

[0011] A driving mechanism, a first end of which is disposed on the top of the base body and a second end of which is slidably disposed inside the base body; and

[0012] The retracting and extending mechanism has a top portion fixedly connected to the second end of the driving mechanism and a middle portion slidably connected to the fluke.

[0013] Furthermore, the driving mechanism is a screw module.

[0014] Furthermore, the collection and development mechanism includes:

[0015] A first slideway, fixed on the side wall of the base body, and provided with a first slide rail;

[0016] A second slideway, fixed on the side wall of the base body, and provided with a second slide rail;

[0017] A first cam groove plate, the top of which is fixedly connected to the second end of the driving mechanism and the side of which is provided with a sliding groove; and

[0018] A sliding pin, one end of which is fixedly connected to the root of the fluke, and the other end of which is slidably connected to the sliding groove of the slider;

[0019] The anchor claw slides in the first slide rail, the first cam slot plate slides in the second slide rail, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0020] Furthermore, the collection and development mechanism includes:

[0021] A third slideway, fixed on the base body, and provided with a third slide rail;

[0022] a slide, the top of which is fixedly connected to the second end of the driving mechanism and is slidably connected to the third slide rail;

[0023] A second cam groove plate is fixed on the base body and has a sliding groove on its side;

[0024] A cam connecting rod has one end rotatably connected to the root of the fluke, and the other end slidably connected to the sliding groove of the second cam groove plate.

[0025] Furthermore, the retracting and extending mechanism further comprises a stopper connecting rod and a stopper;

[0026] One end of the stopper connecting rod is rotatably connected to the bottom of the slider, and the other end is rotatably connected to the stopper;

[0027] There are at least two stopper connecting rods, and the stopper connecting rods, the stopper and the sliding block form a parallelogram mechanism.

[0028] Furthermore, there are a plurality of the flukes and the retracting and extending mechanisms, which correspond to each other one by one and are distributed along the longitudinal direction of the base.

[0029] Furthermore, two adjacent retractable and extendable mechanisms are connected by a connecting rod.

[0030] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a suction anchor comprising the aforementioned suction anchor reinforcement device.

[0031] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for installing the aforementioned suction anchor, the installation method comprising:

[0032] S101: The suction anchor penetrates into the seabed soil layer by its own gravity;

[0033] S102: The seawater inside the suction anchor is pumped out, and the suction anchor continues to sink by relying on the negative pressure generated inside and outside the anchor barrel;

[0034] S103: After the suction anchor is sunk into place, the control mechanism on the reinforcement device is operated to unfold the anchor claw.

[0035] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: the suction anchor and its reinforcement device provided by the present invention have easy deployment operation of the anchor claws, and at the same time, the additional penetration resistance is small, which is not only beneficial to improving the vertical and pull-out bearing capacity of the suction anchor, but also beneficial to improving the installation efficiency of the suction anchor, and has broad application prospects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the suction anchor and the reinforcement device thereof of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the suction anchor reinforcement device of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the control mechanism of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the folding and unfolding mechanism of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 5 Another structural schematic diagram of the suction anchor and the reinforcement device thereof of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 6 It is another structural schematic diagram of the suction anchor reinforcement device of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 7 Another structural schematic diagram of the control mechanism of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 8 for Figure 7 A schematic diagram of another structure of the control mechanism controlling the fluke deployment process;

[0044] Fig. 9 Flowchart for suction anchor installation;

[0045] Description of reference numerals:

[0046] 100. Suction anchor, 200. Suction anchor reinforcement device, 1. Base, 2. Control mechanism, 21. Driving mechanism, 22. Retracting and extending mechanism, 221. First slide, 222. Second slide, 223. First cam slot plate, 224. Sliding pin, 225. Third slide, 226. Sliding rack, 227. First cam slot plate, 231. Block connecting rod, 232. Block, 3. Anchor claw. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The specific implementation of the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but it should be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited by the specific implementation. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0048] According to a first aspect of the present invention, Figure 1-8 As shown, a suction anchor reinforcement device is provided, comprising: a base 1, arranged on the side wall of the suction anchor 100; a control mechanism 2, arranged in the base 1; and an anchor claw 3, slidably connected to the base 1 and movably connected to the control mechanism 2; wherein, by manipulating the control mechanism 2, the anchor claw 3 can be made to form a preset angle with the base 1.

[0049] In this embodiment, the control mechanism 2 is arranged inside the base 1, and the anchor claw 3 is connected to the control mechanism 2 through the roller sliding at the end. The control mechanism 2 is operated to make the anchor claw slide along the control mechanism, and then extend out of the base 1 and insert into the soil, so as to provide a greater vertical bearing capacity and pull-out bearing capacity for the suction anchor when the reinforcement device enters the seabed. In practical applications, the anchor claw 3 is controlled to be unfolded by operating the control mechanism 2, so that the active control of the anchor claw 3 is realized. When the suction anchor is installed, it is not necessary to lift the suction anchor to unfold the anchor claw 3, which not only achieves the purpose of increasing the anchoring force of the suction anchor, but also avoids affecting the installation accuracy of the suction anchor. In addition, when recovering, the control mechanism 2 is operated to retract the anchor claw 3 into the base 1, so as to avoid the anchor claw 3 generating a large resistance during recovery, which is conducive to reducing construction costs and improving the efficiency of recovery work.

[0050] Furthermore, if Figure 3-4As shown, the control mechanism 2 includes: a driving mechanism 21, a first end of which is arranged at the top of the base 1, and a second end of which is slidably arranged inside the base 1; and a retracting and unfolding mechanism 22, a top of which is fixedly connected to the second end of the driving mechanism 21, and a middle part of which is slidably connected to the anchor claw 3. Specifically, one end of the driving mechanism 21 is arranged at the top of the base 1 for easy operation; the retracting and unfolding mechanism 22 is provided with a slide groove for converting the anchor claw 3 from a retracted state to an unfolded state under the action of the driving mechanism 21. Preferably, the driving mechanism 21 is a screw module. The screw is rotatably connected to the top of the base 1, and an operating handle is provided on the top of the control mechanism 2. By rotating the rotating handle, the screw slider moves up and down, thereby driving the movement of the retracting and unfolding mechanism 22 to achieve the retraction and extension of the anchor claw 3.

[0051] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, the retracting and extending mechanism 22 includes: a first slide 221, fixed on the side wall of the base 1, and provided with a first slide rail; a second slide 222, fixed on the side wall of the base 1, and provided with a second slide rail; a first cam slot plate 223, the top of which is fixedly connected to the second end of the driving mechanism 21, and a slide groove is provided on the side; and a sliding pin 224, one end of which is fixedly connected to the root of the anchor claw 3, and the other end is slidably connected to the slide groove of the first cam slot plate 223; wherein the anchor claw 3 slides in the first slide rail, the first cam slot plate 223 slides in the second slide rail, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. Specifically, the first cam slot plate 223 slides up and down along the first slide rail on the base 1 under the drive of the driving mechanism 21, and the root of the anchor claw 3 is slidably connected with the slide groove on the first cam slot plate 223 through the slide pin 224. When the first cam slot plate 223 moves up and down, it drives the anchor claw 3 to slide left and right along the second slide rail on the base 1, thereby realizing the deployment of the anchor claw 3. In actual application, the anchor claw 3 extends horizontally from the base 1 and inserts into the soil, and the resistance to the deployment of the anchor plate 3 is small.

[0052] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 7-8As shown, the retracting and extending mechanism 22 includes: a third slide 225, which is fixed on the base 1 and has a third slide rail therein; a slide 226, the top of which is fixedly connected to the second end of the driving mechanism 21 and is slidably connected to the third slide rail; a second cam slot plate 227, which is fixed on the base 1 and has a slide groove on its side; a cam connecting rod 228, one end of which is rotatably connected to the root of the fluke 3 and the other end of which is slidably connected to the slide groove of the second cam slot plate 227. Specifically, the root of the anchor claw 3 is rotatably connected to the slide 226 through the rotating shaft, and is slidably connected to the slide groove on the second cam groove plate 227 through the cam connecting rod 228. When the slide 226 slides up and down along the third slide rail on the base 1 driven by the driving mechanism 21, the anchor claw 3 moves up and down with the slide 226, and rotates around the rotating shaft connected to the slide 226, so that the anchor plate 3 moves up and down while rotating and unfolding to a horizontal position. During the unfolding process, the anchor claw 3 gradually inserts into the soil and unfolds, reducing the resistance to the unfolding of the anchor plate 3. At the same time, the anchor plate 3 is embedded in the notch of the base 1, reducing the lateral size of the base 1 and reducing the additional penetration resistance.

[0053] Furthermore, the retracting and unfolding mechanism 22 further includes a block link 231 and a block 232; one end of the block link 231 is rotatably connected to the bottom of the first cam slot plate 223, and the other end is rotatably connected to the block 232; wherein, there are at least two block links 231, and the block link 231, the block 232 and the first cam slot plate 223 form a parallelogram mechanism. Specifically, in order to prevent the soil from entering the suction anchor reinforcement device during the sinking process, a block link 231 and a block 232 are provided at the lower part of the retracting and unfolding mechanism 22. wherein, the block 232 matches the shape of the anchor claw outlet of the base 1, and a protrusion is provided at the lower part of the anchor claw outlet of the base 1 to prevent the block 232 from moving downward. When the first cam slot plate 223 moves upward, due to the gravity of the stopper 232 itself, the stopper connecting rod 231 rotates a corresponding angle, so that the stopper 232 is folded inside the base 1 and moves upward with the first cam slot plate 223, thereby opening the fluke outlet; when the first cam slot plate 223 moves downward, when the stopper 232 moves to the lower part of the fluke outlet, the provided protrusion blocks the downward movement of the stopper 232, thereby closing the fluke outlet.

[0054] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 1-8As shown, there are multiple anchor claws 3 and the retracting and extending mechanisms 22, and the multiple anchor claws 3 and the retracting and extending mechanisms 22 correspond to each other and are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the base 1. Furthermore, two adjacent retracting and extending mechanisms 22 are connected by a connecting rod. By connecting the adjacent retracting and extending mechanisms 22 by the connecting rod, it is realized that one set of driving mechanism 21 drives multiple groups of retracting and extending mechanisms 22 and anchor claws 3; by arranging multiple groups of anchor claws 3 and retracting and extending mechanisms 22 along the longitudinal direction of the base 1, the total anchoring area can be increased, thereby increasing the reinforcement effect of the reinforcement device, and improving the vertical bearing capacity and pull-out bearing capacity of the suction anchor.

[0055] According to a second aspect of the present invention, Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, a suction anchor is provided, including the aforementioned suction anchor reinforcement device. Specifically, the suction anchor reinforcement device is evenly distributed along the circumference of the suction anchor, and the number thereof can be flexibly arranged according to specific circumstances. In addition, the suction anchor reinforcement device can be fixed to the suction anchor by a disassembly mechanism, and the suction anchor reinforcement device can be quickly disassembled when necessary to achieve rapid recovery of the suction anchor. When installing the suction anchor, the suction anchor reinforcement device is pre-installed on the suction anchor body, and after the suction anchor is sunk into place, the anchor claw 3 is expanded and inserted into the soil by operating the control mechanism on the suction anchor reinforcement device to provide additional anchoring force.

[0056] According to the third aspect of the present invention, Fig. 9 As shown, a method for installing the aforementioned suction anchor is provided, and the installation method includes: S101: the suction anchor penetrates the seabed soil layer by its own gravity; S102: the seawater inside the suction anchor is pumped out, and the suction anchor continues to sink by the negative pressure generated inside and outside the anchor barrel; S103: after the suction anchor is sunk into place, the control mechanism on the reinforcement device is operated to unfold the anchor claw. When installing the suction anchor, firstly sink the suction anchor into the seabed mud layer, and the suction anchor sinks underwater by its own weight to reach the initial mud entry condition, so that the anchor barrel forms a sealing requirement; then use a suction pump to pump out the seawater inside the suction anchor, and the suction anchor continues to sink by the negative pressure generated inside and outside the anchor barrel; after the suction anchor is sunk into place, the control mechanism on the reinforcement device is operated to unfold the anchor claw assembly and insert it into the soil to provide additional anchoring force.

[0057] By arranging the suction anchor reinforcement device provided by the present invention on the suction anchor, the anchor claw is easy to deploy and the additional penetration resistance is small, which is easier to operate underwater. This is not only beneficial to improving the vertical and pull-out bearing capacity of the suction anchor, but also beneficial to improving the installation efficiency of the suction anchor.

[0058] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0059] The present invention discloses a suction anchor and a reinforcement device thereof, which belong to the field of marine engineering. The suction anchor reinforcement device comprises: a base, which is arranged on the side wall of the suction anchor; a control mechanism, which is arranged in the base; and an anchor claw, which is slidably connected to the base and movably connected to the control mechanism; wherein, by manipulating the control mechanism, the anchor claw can be made to form a preset angle with the base. At the same time, the present invention also discloses a suction anchor including the aforementioned reinforcement device. The suction anchor and the reinforcement device provided by the present invention have easy operation of unfolding the anchor claw, and at the same time, the additional penetration resistance is small, which is not only conducive to improving the vertical and pull-out bearing capacity of the suction anchor, but also more conducive to improving the installation efficiency of the suction anchor.

Claims

1. A suction anchor reinforcement device, characterized in that: The anchor (100) comprises a base (1), a control mechanism (2) and an anchor claw (3); the base (1) is arranged on the side wall of the suction anchor (100); the control mechanism (2) is arranged in the base (1) and comprises a driving mechanism (21) and a retracting and extending mechanism (22); the anchor claw (3) is slidably connected to the base (1); The first end of the driving mechanism (21) is arranged on the top of the base (1), and the second end is slidably arranged inside the base (1); the retracting and extending mechanism (22) comprises a first slideway (221), a second slideway (222), a first cam slot plate (223), and a sliding pin (224); the first slideway (221) is fixed on the side wall of the base (1), and a first slide rail is arranged therein; the second slideway (222) is fixed on the side wall of the base (1), and a second slide rail is arranged therein; the top of the first cam slot plate (223) is connected to the driving mechanism (21) The second end of the first cam groove plate (223) is fixedly connected, and a sliding groove is provided on the side of the first cam groove plate (223); a sliding pin (224) has one end fixedly connected to the root of the anchor claw (3), and the other end is slidably connected to the sliding groove of the first cam groove plate (223); the root of the anchor claw (3) is slidably connected to the sliding groove on the first cam groove plate (223) through the sliding pin (224), when the first cam groove plate (223) slides up and down along the first slide rail under the drive of the driving mechanism (21), the anchor claw (3) is driven to slide left and right along the second slide rail, thereby realizing the deployment of the anchor claw (3); The driving mechanism (21) is a screw module, the screw is rotatably connected to the top of the base (1), and an operating handle is provided on the top of the control mechanism (2). By rotating the operating handle, the screw slider moves up and down, thereby driving the movement of the retracting and extending mechanism (22) to achieve the retraction and extension of the anchor claw (3); The retracting and extending mechanism (22) further comprises a block connecting rod (231) and a block (232); one end of the block connecting rod (231) is rotatably connected to the bottom of the first cam slot plate (223), and the other end is rotatably connected to the block (232); the block (232) matches the shape of the fluke outlet of the base (1), and a protrusion is provided at the lower part of the fluke outlet of the base (1) for preventing the block (232) from moving downward; When the first cam slot plate (223) moves upward, due to the weight of the stopper (232) itself, the stopper connecting rod (231) rotates a corresponding angle, so that the stopper (232) is folded inside the base (1) and moves upward along with the first cam slot plate (223), thereby opening the fluke outlet; when the first cam slot plate (223) moves downward, when the stopper (232) moves to the lower part of the fluke outlet, the provided protrusion blocks the downward movement of the stopper (232), thereby closing the fluke outlet; There are a plurality of the anchor claws (3) and the retracting and extending mechanisms (22), which correspond to each other one by one and are distributed along the longitudinal direction of the base (1), and two adjacent retracting and extending mechanisms (22) are connected by a connecting rod.

2. A suction anchor, characterized in that: The invention comprises the suction anchor reinforcement device as described in claim 1.

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