A salvage method of underwater compartment sealing and air inflation

Abstract

The application discloses a salvage method of underwater cabin sealing and air inflation floating, wherein a diver explores and measures a damaged position of an accident ship, prefabricates a size of a sealing steel plate according to exploration and measurement data, installs and fixes the sealing steel plate outside a cabin, takes sealing measures on edges of the sealing steel plate, carries out air inflation and water level reduction on the damaged cabin, and restores a floating posture of the ship body to be stable. The air inflation hole and the water outlet are arranged at the bottom of the damaged cabin, a compressed air is filled into the bottom of the cabin through an inflation pipe after repair, seawater leaking into the cabin is squeezed out, and the ship body is restored to floating and floats stably. The application realizes sealing and air inflation floating of a large damaged ship, and completes the floating and salvage of the damaged ship without support of a large floating crane engineering ship, so that the efficiency is high and the cost is low.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of salvage technology, specifically to a salvage method involving underwater sealing, inflation, and buoyancy. Background Technology

[0002] With social progress, economic development, and advancements in marine shipping technology, the size of ships damaged in accidents is gradually increasing, leading to greater difficulty and cost in their rescue and salvage operations. For large ships already damaged or sinking in the accident area, traditional salvage methods require the use of large floating cranes, and sometimes additional external buoyancy aids. These salvage operations are lengthy, costly, and risky.

[0003] This invention proposes a salvage method using underwater sealing and inflation to restore buoyancy to the damaged ship. By sealing the exterior of the damaged hull compartments underwater and filling the interior compartments with compressed gas, the water level inside the compartments is lowered, thus restoring buoyancy to the damaged ship. This method achieves low-cost, high-efficiency, and safe salvage without using large floating cranes or external buoyancy aids. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of existing technologies by providing a method for underwater sealing, inflation, and buoyancy salvage, thereby solving the problems mentioned in the background section.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a salvage method for underwater sealed compartment inflation and buoyancy, the specific steps of which are as follows: S1: Divers go underwater to explore the damaged vessel, identify the damaged parts, and then measure the dimensions of the damaged area; S2: Determine the size of the hatch sealing steel plate based on the specific location and precise dimensions of the damaged parts of the ship, and mark the positions near the four corners of the planned use of the hatch sealing steel plate, and then prefabricate the hatch sealing steel plate; S3: With the assistance of the crane on the diving work vessel, the prefabricated sealing steel plate is hoisted to the outside of the damaged part of the hull. The divers use underwater magnetic anchors to attach and fix the hull according to the installation marks at the four corners. With the help of rigging, the sealing steel plate is put into place. The divers adjust and check the sealing steel plate and the hull to ensure a good fit. S4: Divers insert high-strength bolts into the bolt holes at the four corners of the sealing steel plate and tighten them to make the sealing steel plate fit tightly against the ship's hull and fix it in place. They then check and confirm that the watertight doors, valves, etc. inside the compartment are closed. S5: To ensure the airtightness of the compartment, divers use special underwater sealant to bond the steel plate of the compartment to the hull around the perimeter. If there is a gap between the steel plate of the compartment and the hull, triangular wooden wedges are driven in and sealed with sealant. Once the underwater sealant has cured, the underwater compartment sealing operation is completed. S6: Divers open air inlets at the bottom of the damaged compartment; S7: Inflate the compartment with compressed gas while checking the airtightness of the steel plate sealing the compartment. As the inflation operation proceeds, the water level inside the compartment drops and the buoyancy of the internal compartment gradually forms. Once the hull's floating posture is basically stable, stop inflation and complete the hull lifting and salvage operation. S8: Tow the floating vessel to a nearby shipyard for maintenance and inspection.

[0006] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the diameter of the air inlet in S6 is larger than the diameter of the air inlet tube, which facilitates drainage.

[0007] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the airtightness of the S7 middle compartment steel plate is checked by observing whether air bubbles appear at the joints.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, bolt holes are provided on the marks at the four corners of S2.

[0009] The beneficial effects of this invention are: this invention enables the sealing and inflation-lifting of large damaged ships, and completes the lifting and salvage of damaged ships without the need for the support of large floating crane engineering vessels, which is highly efficient and low in cost. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the hoisting and lowering of the sealing steel plate according to the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the installation and fixing of the sealing steel plate to the outside of the damaged compartment, and the filling of the bottom of the compartment with compressed gas to lower the water level inside the compartment. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating how the invention lowers the water level inside the cabin by filling the bottom with compressed gas, resulting in a relatively stable floating posture for the damaged vessel.

[0011] In the image: 1. Damaged location of the vessel; 2. Sealing plate; 3. Underwater sealant coating; 4. High-strength bolts; 5. Compressed gas inflation pipe. Detailed Implementation

[0012] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that the advantages and features of the present invention can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby providing a clearer and more explicit definition of the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0013] Example: Please refer to Figure 1-3 This invention provides a technical solution: a salvage method for underwater sealed compartment inflation and buoyancy, the specific steps of which are as follows: S1: Divers go underwater to explore the damaged vessel, identify the damaged parts, and then measure the dimensions of the damaged area; S2: Determine the size of the hatch sealing steel plate based on the specific location and precise dimensions of the damaged parts of the ship, and mark the positions near the four corners of the planned use of the hatch sealing steel plate, and then prefabricate the hatch sealing steel plate; S3: With the assistance of the crane on the diving work vessel, the prefabricated sealing steel plate is hoisted to the outside of the damaged part of the hull. The divers use underwater magnetic anchors to attach and fix the hull according to the installation marks at the four corners. With the help of rigging, the sealing steel plate is put into place. The divers adjust and check the sealing steel plate and the hull to ensure a good fit. S4: Divers insert high-strength bolts into the bolt holes at the four corners of the sealing steel plate and tighten them to make the sealing steel plate fit tightly against the ship's hull and fix it in place. They then check and confirm that the watertight doors, valves, etc. inside the compartment are closed. S5: To ensure the airtightness of the compartment, divers use special underwater sealant to bond the steel plate of the compartment to the hull around the perimeter. If there is a gap between the steel plate of the compartment and the hull, triangular wooden wedges are driven in and sealed with sealant. Once the underwater sealant has cured, the underwater compartment sealing operation is completed. S6: Divers opened an air inlet at the bottom of the damaged compartment. The diameter of the air inlet was larger than the diameter of the air inlet pipe to facilitate drainage. S7: Inflate the compartment with compressed gas while checking the airtightness of the steel plate sealing the compartment. As the inflation operation proceeds, the water level inside the compartment drops and the buoyancy of the internal compartment gradually forms. Once the hull's floating posture is basically stable, stop inflation and complete the hull lifting and salvage operation. S8: Tow the floating vessel to a nearby shipyard for maintenance and inspection.

[0014] This invention enables the sealing and pneumatic buoyancy of large damaged vessels, completing the buoyancy and salvage of damaged vessels without the need for large floating crane engineering vessels, with high efficiency and low cost.

[0015] The above embodiments merely illustrate several implementation methods of the present invention, and their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A salvage method for underwater sealed compartment inflation and buoyancy, characterized in that: The specific steps are as follows: S1: Divers go underwater to explore the damaged vessel, identify the damaged parts, and then measure the dimensions of the damaged area; S2: Determine the size of the hatch sealing steel plate based on the specific location and precise dimensions of the damaged parts of the ship, and mark the positions near the four corners of the planned use of the hatch sealing steel plate, and then prefabricate the hatch sealing steel plate; S3: With the assistance of the crane on the diving work vessel, the prefabricated sealing steel plate is hoisted to the outside of the damaged part of the hull. The divers use underwater magnetic anchors to attach and fix the hull according to the installation marks at the four corners. With the help of rigging, the sealing steel plate is put into place. The divers adjust and check the sealing steel plate and the hull to ensure a good fit. S4: Divers insert high-strength bolts into the bolt holes at the four corners of the sealing steel plate and tighten them to make the sealing steel plate fit tightly against the ship's hull and fix it in place. They then check and confirm that the watertight doors, valves, etc. inside the compartment are closed. S5: To ensure the airtightness of the compartment, divers use special underwater sealant to bond the steel plate of the compartment to the hull around the perimeter. If there is a gap between the steel plate of the compartment and the hull, triangular wooden wedges are driven in and sealed with sealant. Once the underwater sealant has cured, the underwater compartment sealing operation is completed. S6: Divers open air inlets at the bottom of the damaged compartment; S7: Inflate the compartment with compressed gas while checking the airtightness of the steel plate sealing the compartment. As the inflation operation proceeds, the water level inside the compartment drops and the buoyancy of the internal compartment gradually forms. Once the hull's floating posture is basically stable, stop inflation and complete the hull lifting and salvage operation. S8: Tow the floating vessel to a nearby shipyard for maintenance and inspection.

2. The underwater sealed compartment inflation and buoyancy salvage method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter of the air inlet in S6 is larger than the diameter of the air inlet pipe, which facilitates drainage.

3. The underwater sealed compartment inflation and buoyancy salvage method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The airtightness of the S7 mid-cabin steel plate is checked by observing whether air bubbles appear at the joints.

4. The underwater sealed compartment inflation and buoyancy salvage method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Bolt holes are provided on the markings at the four corners of S2.

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