A high-sealing-reliability underwater packer

The high-sealing reliability underwater sealers with flexible flaps and wings address the high failure rates of existing sealers by ensuring even force distribution and sequential flap opening, effectively sealing gaps and reducing leakage.

CN116556350BActive Publication Date: 2025-07-15FEATURE-TEC (WUXI) FILTRATION TECH CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202210111488.X
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2022-01-29
Publication Date
2025-07-15
Estimated Expiration
2042-01-29

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The existing underwater packers have a high breakage rate in deep water conduit rack installation, making it difficult to effectively seal large gaps, and are complex in operation and high in cost, especially in the installation of offshore fans.

Method used

A high-seal reliability underwater packer is designed, adopting an annular sealing bag, flip plate assembly and flip plate structure. Through the synergy of flexible contact and flip plate assembly, the sealing of any gap is achieved, enhancing the sealing effect and reducing the risk of damage.

Benefits of technology

Effectively seal the gaps of any size, improve sealing, avoid slurry leakage, reduce damage rate, simplify operation, and reduce costs. It is suitable for deep-water conduit racks and offshore fans installation.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present invention provides an underwater packer with high sealing reliability, which includes an annular sealing bag, a flap assembly annularly connected outside the annular sealing bag, a pressing member, a pulling member, and a grouting pipeline; the flap assembly includes a flap and a wing plate connected to one side of the flap, and a rubber layer is vulcanized and bonded on the surfaces of the flap and the wing plate; after grouting, the annular sealing bag presses the flap assembly to turn over and block the annular gap, and the wing plate blocks the adjacent flap gaps. For the underwater packer with high sealing reliability provided by the present invention, a rubber layer is vulcanized and bonded on the surfaces of the flap and the wing plate, so that the top of the flap and the wing plate is in flexible contact with the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile, the adjacent flap assemblies are in flexible contact, the bottom end of the flap assembly is in flexible contact with the upper surface of the annular support plate, and the top end of the flap assembly is in flexible contact with the inner wall of the outer pile, greatly improving the sealing performance of the underwater packer, effectively preventing grout leakage, and providing a secondary sealing guarantee for the annular sealing bag.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of subsea packers, and particularly to a subsea packer with high sealing reliability. Background Art

[0002] Offshore fixed platforms generally consist of an upper deck and a lower jacket. The jacket provides support for the upper deck. The fixing structure of the jacket on the seabed is as follows: sleeves are fixedly connected to the bottoms of the main legs of the jacket, and the sleeves are fixed by steel piles driven into the seabed. The fixation between the sleeve and the steel pile is achieved by the cement slurry poured between them.

[0003] The main functions of subsea packers used in the sea are two: 1) After pile driving is completed and grouting is carried out, it is to seal the annular space between the inner surface of the sleeve diameter and the outer surface of the steel pile diameter at the bottom of the sleeve to prevent the cement slurry from flowing out; 2) For the soft soil seabed surface, a packer itself or a supporting device is required to prevent the soft soil and mud on the seabed from entering the annular space between the outer diameter of the steel pile and the inner diameter of the sleeve during pile driving, so as to ensure that the cement slurry is not contaminated.

[0004] At present, subsea packers used for jacket installation in the sea are divided into two types according to the working type: active packers and passive packers. Traditional active packers mainly use pneumatic packers. The advantages of pneumatic packers are as follows: During the process of steel pile insertion, pile driving, and under-piling, the pneumatic packer is in an un-inflated state, and its inner surface does not contact the outer surface of the steel pile. It is only inflated through the air inlet pipeline before grouting to achieve the purpose of sealing the cement slurry. It is not restricted by the weight of the cement slurry (the height of the grouting cement column) and the water depth; it can allow the upward movement of the sleeve (when the jacket is leveled at sea) and moderate eccentricity of the steel pile; it can withstand or avoid the vibration during pile driving and the vertical impact load of the steel pile caused by the vertical movement of the offshore crane in the wind and waves during the under-piling process of the steel pile. However, its disadvantages are as follows: The system is complex, and it requires a power station, high-pressure pipelines, ROV (remotely operated vehicle) emergency interfaces, and supporting devices (such as horizontal rubber rings) to prevent the soft soil and mud on the seabed from entering the annular space between the outer diameter of the steel pile and the inner surface of the sleeve during pile driving, so as to ensure that the cement slurry is not contaminated. Once the pipeline is damaged, an ROV is required to connect the hose underwater; the onshore installation and commissioning workload is large and the cost is high, and the offshore operation is complex and the cost is high; there are a large number of residual hardware parts consuming anodes, and the existence of high-pressure pipelines endangers the underwater operation of divers; the cost is high, usually several times higher than that of passive packers.

[0005] Passive packers mainly include mechanical packers and Crux packers. The advantages of passive packers are as follows: they do not require high-pressure pipelines, power systems, valve installations, and underwater ROV standby systems; they do not require onshore commissioning and offshore operations; they can also prevent mud from entering the annulus (one of the two required functions of the isolator); there are basically no residual hardware-consuming anodes, and there are no pipelines and valves that endanger divers' underwater operations; onshore installation and commissioning work can be completed at the manufacturer with low costs; the overall price is cheap. The main disadvantages are: the breakage rate is higher than that of active packers. When used in deep-water jacket platforms, the repair cost after the packer is damaged is very high. Therefore, its application is limited by water depth, especially for mechanical packers. The main reason for easy breakage is that during the rapid drop of the steel pile or the vertical movement of the offshore crane in the wind and waves, the sharp right angle on the outer surface of the bottom of the steel pile may cause damage and failure of the rubber components of the packer.

[0006] All underwater packers need to rely on external forces to complete the plugging of mud during the grouting process. The ability to achieve effective plugging of mud by relying on different forms of external forces and for gaps of different sizes is the core element representing the functions of all underwater packers. For active inflatable packers, the external force it relies on is: an air compressor installed at the top of the jacket platform injects high-pressure air into each packer through an underwater pipeline to complete the plugging of grouting. During the inflation process, the inflatable packer can automatically deform according to gaps of different sizes to achieve the plugging of mud.

[0007] The way passive mechanical packers rely on external forces is: during the process of inserting the steel pile into the sleeve, lowering the pile, and driving the pile, the steel pile laterally horizontally extrudes the rubber ring fixed on the inner diameter surface of the sleeve and the bent steel bar bonded to the rubber ring by vulcanization. The rubber restoring force formed by this horizontal extrusion is relied on as the plugging force for the cement slurry during the grouting process. Since mechanical packers are usually only applicable to the installation of shallow-water jacket platforms, the gaps they face are relatively small. In the actual application of mechanical packers, the annular rubber ring fixed on the inner diameter surface of the sleeve (with an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the steel pile and located below the gap block), whether the top or bottom of the bent steel bar is fixed, is easily damaged by the sharp right angle on the outer surface of the bottom of the steel pile during the pile insertion and driving processes, resulting in failure. Due to the above-mentioned deficiencies in the structural design of mechanical packers, their overall breakage rate in actual applications is relatively high, and they are usually only suitable for shallow-water jacket platforms and steel piles with relatively small diameters.

[0008] The way the passive Crux packer utilizes external force is as follows: There is a rubber ring horizontally placed below the gap block. The front part of the rubber ring is connected to a large-diameter circular ring (with flexible reinforcing material added at the center), and the inner diameter of the circular ring is smaller than the outer diameter of the steel pile. The rear annular structure is restricted by an annular restricting structure fixed on the inner diameter surface of the sleeve. During the pile insertion process, the bottom of the steel pile passes through the circular ring and squeezes the previously horizontally placed rubber ring into a vertically placed rubber ring. After the steel pile passes through the circular ring, the expansion of its inner diameter causes the circular ring to closely adhere to the outer diameter surface of the steel pile, thus preventing mud from entering the annular space. At the same time, the elastic restoring force generated by the rubber ring squeezed into a vertical state forms the plugging force for the cement slurry during the grouting process. When the packer is used for the installation of deep-water jacket, shear keys at equal intervals are usually installed on the outer diameter surface of the steel pile, welded with steel bars on the outer diameter surface of the steel pile to enhance the shear resistance of the cement in the vertical direction. The circular ring of the Crux packer must allow the steel pile with shear keys installed to pass through. The deficiency in the structural design of the Crux packer is that the horizontally placed rubber ring is easily scratched or damaged by the sharp right angle on the outer surface of the bottom of the steel pile during the pile insertion process. The statistical data of offshore jacket installation shows that the overall damage rate of the Crux packer is higher than that of the inflatable packer.

[0009] In summary, all kinds of packers must rely on their respective different forms of external force to complete the plugging function of the cement slurry during the grouting process. There are deficiencies in different forms in the traditional inflatable packers or passive packers widely used in the current market. Therefore, it is necessary to invent a new type of passive packer, which must rely on external force different from the above to achieve the plugging of the cement slurry during the grouting process, and the damage rate during its use should be lower than that of the above traditional inflatable packers.

[0010] U.S. Patent No. 9,677,241, inventor James Lee, Chinese name: Li Jun, first proposed a new type of passive packer in August 2014, which relies on the gravity of the cement slurry itself. The design principle of this invention is as follows: during the grouting process, an annular rubber bag is filled. The pressure difference between the pressure generated by the gravity of the cement slurry (specific gravity: 1.92 g / cm3) in the cavity and the pressure generated by the gravity of the seawater outside the annular rubber bag cavity (specific gravity: 1.05 g / cm3) is used as the external force to block the cement slurry during the grouting process. Since the cement slurry is liquid during the grouting process, this pressure difference generates pressure not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction with the same magnitude as in the vertical direction. The force in the vertical direction is transmitted through the side rubber layer of the annular rubber bag to the connecting piece installed on the inner diameter surface of the sleeve. The force in the horizontal direction forms a blocking force for the cement slurry during the grouting process through the normal pressure between the inner surface of the annular rubber bag and the outer surface of the steel pile. As this pressure difference increases (the height of the cement column increases), the sealing effect of the inner surface of the annular rubber bag on the outer surface of the steel pile will increase accordingly. The blocking function during this grouting process is similar to the form of a traditional inflatable packer, but the external forces relied on are different. For example, if the diameter of the steel pile is 2.13 meters and the underwater height of the cement column is 12 meters, the overall blocking pressure of the inner surface of the annular rubber bag cavity (height 0.4 meters) on the outer surface of the steel pile against the cement slurry is greater than 20 tons.

[0011] The annular rubber bags mentioned in the above new type of passive packer all have the following basic characteristics: The annular rubber bag is coaxial with the outer steel sleeve; the bottoms of multiple rubber bands with fiber reinforcement materials are connected to the top of the annular rubber bag; the top of each rubber band is connected to the corresponding fixing piece installed on the inner diameter surface of the sleeve; the gaps between the rubber bands provide a channel for the cement slurry to enter the cavity of the annular rubber bag; the middle part of the annular rubber bag is an annular rubber sleeve with fiber reinforcement materials and an inner diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the steel pile; the connection section between the rubber sleeve and the rubber band is a conical rubber layer; the bottom of the annular rubber bag is connected by a sealing structure fixed near the bottom on the inner diameter surface of the sleeve and forms a sealed cement slurry accommodating cavity between the inner diameter of the sleeve and the outer diameter of the steel pile.

[0012] In May 2017, in a subsequent patent to the above-mentioned new type of passive packer US patent, US Patent No. 9,970,171, the inventor James Lee, Chinese name: Li Jun, proposed two improvement methods: 1) Add a horizontal annular bottom support plate or a conical bottom support plate fixed on the inner diameter surface of the sleeve below the bottom sealing structure of the annular rubber bag. The role of the horizontal annular bottom support plate is to reduce the radial width of the gap and use the annular bottom support plate to support part of the vertical gravity to reduce the load on the side rubber layer of the annular rubber bag and the connecting parts on the inner diameter surface of the sleeve in the vertical direction. In addition to performing a similar function to the horizontal annular bottom support plate, the conical bottom support plate can also cooperate with the bottom structure of the annular rubber bag to block the gap. This gap blocking function creates a new method for plugging cement slurry during the grouting process and can improve the reliability of the system in plugging cement slurry; due to the presence of the horizontal annular bottom support plate or the conical bottom support plate, the load on the side rubber layer and the bottom rubber layer of the annular rubber bag can be significantly reduced, and the thickness of the side rubber layer and the bottom rubber layer of the annular rubber bag can be correspondingly reduced significantly. However, the thin rubber layer with reduced thickness will bulge and deform greatly after being loaded with cement slurry at the top of the gap, and local stress concentration will occur, which is likely to cause damage to the thin rubber layer. The proposed improvement is to add a thickened rubber ring on the surface of the thin rubber layer at the top of the gap. This locally strengthened design can reduce the bulging and deformation in the gap section, thereby reducing the possibility of damage. With the above two improved inventions, the overall weight of the annular rubber bag can be significantly reduced. Reducing the overall weight of the annular rubber bag can not only reduce the manufacturing cost, but also facilitate transportation and on-site installation. In addition, the thickened rubber ring locally at the top of the gap can also be combined with the conical bottom support plate to generate a gap blocking function, thereby further improving the reliability of the system in plugging cement slurry (forming a packer with an independent double-insurance plugging).

[0013] The annular rubber bags mentioned in the above-mentioned new type of passive packer or improved passive packer need to perform three basic functions: 1) The inner diameter of the annular rubber bag must be smaller than the diameter of the steel pile to prevent soft soil and mud on the seabed from entering the annular space between the outer diameter of the steel pile and the inner diameter of the sleeve during the piling process. For this purpose, the inner surface of the annular rubber bag must contact the outer surface of the steel pile during the insertion, driving, and piling of the steel pile, especially the sharp right angle of the outer surface of the bottom of the steel pile; 2) The traditional rubber layer and the fixing parts on the inner surface of the sleeve must bear the main gravity of the cement slurry; 3) At the top of the gap, it must not only bear the structural support function across the gap under pressure, but also bear the cement slurry sealing function for a certain gap size.

[0014] The offshore installation of jacket platforms has a history and experience of more than 60 years. The gap size between the bottom sleeve of the deep-water jacket and the steel pile has been standardized. The diameter of most steel piles used for deep-water jacket platforms is about 2 meters, which is within the diameter of the corresponding sleeve. The radial width of the traditional design gap block is 50 mm, and the maximum allowable eccentricity of the steel pile is also 50 mm. If a horizontal annular bottom plate with a width of 40 mm is used (the radial width of the annular bottom plate must be less than the width of the gap block), the design gap that must be blocked at the bottom of the above-mentioned packer annular rubber bag is 60 mm (maximum gap = 50 mm + 50 mm - 40 mm). A gap of such size can be handled by the above-mentioned improved passive packer.

[0015] The installation of offshore wind turbines is an emerging industry developed recently. Offshore wind turbines usually consist of two parts: the upper part is the blade and motor part; the lower part is the support structure, and the lower support structure usually adopts the structure of a large-diameter single steel pile or multiple steel piles. When the structure of multiple steel piles is adopted, usually the driving operations of each steel pile are completed first, and then these steel piles are inserted into the sleeves (the bottom of the sleeves is driven into the seabed and the top is above the water level) at the vertical sections of the bottoms of multiple main legs as the support for the wind turbine during offshore operations. At the same time, the underwater packer is installed at the lower part of the vertical section of the main leg bottom, and the grouting pipeline system is installed on the surface of the inner diameter of the main leg bottom. Since the driving of steel piles is completed independently, the precision control of the distance between them is relatively limited, and the resulting distance error is relatively large, which leads to a relatively high requirement for the gap handling ability of the packer. The installation of offshore wind turbines is usually carried out in shallow waters, and the wind and waves during offshore installation operations are very small.

[0016] For the underwater packer used in wind turbine installation, the gap requirement may reach 120 mm to 300 mm. Facing such a large gap, the above-mentioned passive packer based on the bottom structure of the annular rubber bag (adding fiber reinforcement materials to enhance the structural strength of the rubber layer) is difficult to handle. The main challenge faced by the underwater packer used in offshore wind turbine installation is the above-mentioned extremely large gap. Summary of the Invention

[0017] The object of the present invention is to disclose a high-sealing-reliability underwater packer, which has the following advantages: First, it can seal gaps of any size; Second, the wing plates can seal the gaps between adjacent flap plates, which not only prevents the annular sealing bag from dropping through the gaps between adjacent flap plates, improves the supporting capacity for the annular sealing bag, has a good sealing effect, and avoids grout leakage. Moreover, during grouting, when the annular sealing bag presses one of the flap assemblies to turn over, the other flap assemblies will actively open in sequence, just like a lotus flower, without waiting for the annular sealing bag to press each one in turn, with uniform stress, and can make preparatory support in advance; Third, rubber layers are vulcanized and bonded to the surfaces of the flap plates and wing plates, so that the contact between the flap plates and wing plates is flexible, the contact between adjacent flap assemblies is flexible, the bottom end of the flap assembly and the annular support plate is flexible, and the top end of the flap assembly and the inner wall of the outer pile is flexible, greatly improving the sealing performance of the underwater packer, effectively preventing grout leakage, and providing a secondary guarantee for the annular sealing bag.

[0018] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a high-sealing-reliability underwater packer, which includes an outer pile and a sleeve placed inside the outer pile. An annular gap is formed between the outer pile and the sleeve, and the high-sealing-reliability underwater packer is installed in the annular gap; the high-sealing-reliability underwater packer includes an annular sealing bag, a plurality of flap assemblies annularly connected to the outside of the annular sealing bag, a pressing member, a pulling member, and a grouting pipeline; the outer side edge of the annular sealing bag is pulled by the pulling member, the inner side edge of the annular sealing bag is pressed by the pressing member to form a seal at the bottom of the sealing bag, and the outlet of the grouting pipeline is connected to the inlet of the annular sealing bag; the pressing member and the pulling member are connected to the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile; each flap assembly includes a flap plate and a wing plate connected to one side of the flap plate, and the wing plate fits against the other side of the adjacent flap plate; rubber layers are vulcanized and bonded to the surfaces of the flap plate and the wing plate; after grouting, the annular sealing bag presses the flap assembly to turn over and seal the annular gap, and the wing plate seals the gap between adjacent flap plates.

[0019] In some embodiments, the wing plate is connected to the inner side of the flap plate, and the wing plate fits against the inner side of the adjacent flap plate.

[0020] In some embodiments, both the flap plate and the wing plate are curved surfaces, a rubber rod is provided at the top end of the flap plate, and an elastic sealing strip is provided at the top end of the wing plate.

[0021] In some embodiments, a steel wire ring is further included. A steel hole seat is provided at the bottom of the flap plate, and the steel wire ring sequentially passes through the steel hole seats on each flap plate.

[0022] In some embodiments, the pressing member includes an annular support plate, an annular lower plate connected to the annular support plate, a first stud connected to the annular lower plate, an annular upper plate sleeved on the first stud and pressed against the annular lower plate, and a first nut screwed on the first stud and pressing the annular upper plate; the annular sealing bag is sleeved on the first stud and is jointly pressed by the annular upper plate and the annular lower plate, and the annular support plate is connected to the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile.

[0023] In some embodiments, an annular strip is provided on the inner side edge of the annular sealing bag, and the annular strip is closely attached to the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile.

[0024] In some embodiments, a first steel ring sleeved on the first stud and pressing the annular sealing bag is further included, and the first steel ring is jointly pressed by the annular upper plate and the annular lower plate.

[0025] In some embodiments, the pressing surfaces of the annular upper plate and the annular lower plate are in concave-convex fit to form a high sealing performance.

[0026] In some embodiments, the pulling member includes a plurality of second steel rings, a plurality of nylon ropes, and a plurality of third steel rings; the second steel rings are connected to the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile, the top ends of the nylon ropes are connected to the second steel rings, the third steel rings are installed on the annular sealing bag, and the bottom ends of the nylon ropes are connected to the third steel rings.

[0027] In some embodiments, the annular sealing bag is formed by folding a strip-shaped bag piece, and the two ends of the strip-shaped bag piece are connected by a zipper.

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: First, gaps of any size can be blocked; second, the wing plates can block the gaps between adjacent flap plates, which not only prevents the annular sealing bag from falling through the gaps between adjacent flap plates, improves the supporting ability for the annular sealing bag, has a good sealing effect, and avoids slurry leakage. Moreover, during grouting, when the annular sealing bag presses one of the flap assemblies to flip, the other flap assemblies will be actively opened in sequence, just like a lotus flower, without waiting for the annular sealing bag to press each one in turn, with uniform force, and the supporting preparation can be made in advance; third, rubber layers are vulcanized and bonded to the surfaces of the flap plates and the wing plates, so that the contact between the flap plates and the wing plates is flexible, the contact between adjacent flap assemblies is flexible, the bottom end of the flap assembly and the annular support plate is flexible, and the top end of the flap assembly and the inner wall of the outer pile is flexible, which greatly improves the sealing performance of the underwater packer, can effectively prevent slurry leakage, and provides a secondary guarantee for the annular sealing bag. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a high-sealing-reliability underwater packer in an ungrouted state shown in the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2Structural schematic diagram of a high-sealing-reliability underwater packer after grouting as shown in the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 Structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of a high-sealing-reliability underwater packer of the present invention in an ungrouted state;

[0032] Figure 4 Structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of a high-sealing-reliability underwater packer of the present invention after grouting;

[0033] Figure 5 Structural schematic diagram of a holding component as shown in the present invention;

[0034] Figure 6 Structural schematic diagram of a pulling component as shown in the present invention;

[0035] Figure 7 Structural schematic diagram of an annular sealing bag as shown in the present invention;

[0036] Figure 8 Structural schematic diagram of a flap assembly as shown in the present invention;

[0037] Figure 9 For Figure 8 Top view;

[0038] Figure 10 Structural schematic diagram of a flap as shown in the present invention;

[0039] Figure 11 Structural schematic diagram of the installation structure of the flap assembly as shown in the present invention (closed before grouting);

[0040] Figure 12 Structural schematic diagram of the installation structure of the flap assembly as shown in the present invention (opened after grouting);

[0041] Figure 13 Structural schematic diagram of another flap assembly as shown in the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0042] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments shown in the drawings. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are not limitations on the present invention, and any equivalent transformation or substitution in terms of function, method, or structure made by those of ordinary skill in the art based on these embodiments shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0043] As Figures 1-12 shown, a high-sealing-reliability underwater packer includes an outer pile 1 and a sleeve 2 placed inside the outer pile 1. An annular gap 8 is formed between the inner wall of the outer pile 1 and the outer wall of the sleeve 2. The bottom end of the outer pile 1 is inserted into the seabed line b, and both the top ends of the outer pile 1 and the sleeve 2 exceed the sea surface line a.

[0044] The high sealing reliability underwater packer is installed in the annular gap 8. The use of the high sealing reliability underwater packer is not limited by the size of the annular gap 8, and the sleeve 2 can be inserted into the outer pile 1 from any position, that is, the center line of the outer pile 1 and the center line of the sleeve 2 can overlap or not overlap.

[0045] The high sealing reliability underwater packer comprises an annular sealing bag 3, a plurality of flap assemblies connected to the outside of the annular sealing bag 3, a pressing component 5, a pulling component 4, and a grouting pipeline 7. The pressing component 5 can be horizontally sealed, and the pulling component 4 is elastically pulled.

[0046] The pressing component 5 and the pulling component 4 are connected to the outer wall of the sleeve 2 or the inner wall of the outer pile 1. Specifically, when the high sealing reliability underwater packer is used for offshore installation of wind turbines, Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the pressing component 5 and the pulling component 4 are connected to the outer wall of the sleeve 2. When the high sealing reliability underwater packer is used for offshore installation of the jacket, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 and 4 As shown, the pressing component 5 and the pulling component 4 are connected to the inner wall of the outer pile 1. The working principles of the two installation methods are the same. To avoid redundancy, in this embodiment, the installation method in which the pressing component 5 and the pulling component 4 are connected to the outer wall of the sleeve 2 is specifically described.

[0047] A conical plug 21 is provided at the bottom end of the sleeve 2 , and an annular rubber cleaning plate 22 is provided on the plug 21 . The annular rubber cleaning plate 22 is in contact with the inner wall of the outer pile 1 and is used for pre-cleaning the inner wall of the outer pile 1 .

[0048] like Figure 7 As shown, the annular sealed bag 3 is formed by folding a strip bag sheet 30. The annular sealed bag 3 is similar to an annular pocket bag. The two ends of the strip bag sheet 30 are connected by a waterproof zipper and sealed with a sealant to prevent leakage. A plurality of third steel rings 33 are provided on the upper side of the strip bag sheet 30, i.e., the outer side 31 of the annular sealed bag 3, and an annular strip 34 is provided on the lower side of the strip bag sheet 30, i.e., the inner side 32 of the annular sealed bag 3.

[0049] like Figures 8-12 As shown, the flap assembly is evenly spaced and annularly arranged on the annular sealing bag 3. The flap assembly includes a flap 6 and a wing plate 63 connected to one side of the flap 6. The wing plate 63 is connected to the inner side of the flap 6, and specifically, the flap 6 and the wing plate 63 are connected by bolts and nuts.

[0050] The wing plate 63 is attached to the other side of the adjacent flap 6, specifically, the wing plate 63 is attached to the inner side of the adjacent flap 6. The flap 6 and the wing plate 63 are both curved, so as to facilitate enclosing the annular sealing bag 3.

[0051] The bottom end of the flap assembly abuts against the junction of the annular support plate 51 and the annular lower plate 52. It further includes a wire ring 65. A steel hole seat 64 is provided at the bottom of the flap 6. The wire ring 65 passes through the steel hole seats 64 on each flap 6 in sequence, playing a role in fixing the position of the bottom of the flap assembly, so that the bottom end of the flap assembly always abuts against the junction of the annular support plate 51 and the annular lower plate 52, and the flap assembly rotates with this junction as the fulcrum. After grouting, the flap assembly flips, and the steel hole seat 64 rotates around the wire ring 65.

[0052] After grouting, the annular sealing bag 3 presses the flap assembly to flip and seals the annular gap 8, and the wing plate 63 seals the gap between adjacent flaps 6. On the one hand, it avoids the annular sealing bag 3 from falling through the gap between adjacent flaps 6, improves the supporting ability for the annular sealing bag 3, has a good sealing effect, and avoids grout leakage; on the other hand, during grouting, the annular sealing bag 3 presses one flap assembly to flip, and the other flap assemblies will be actively opened in sequence, just like a lotus flower, without waiting for the annular sealing bag 3 to press each one in turn, with uniform force, and the supporting preparation can be made in advance.

[0053] A number of reinforcing plates 62 are connected to the flap 6, further improving the bearing capacity of the flap 6, being able to provide a supporting force for the annular sealing bag 3, and preventing the annular sealing bag 3 from falling and causing grout leakage. It further includes a second bolt 61 and a second nut 610 screwed on the second bolt 61. The second bolt 61 passes through the annular sealing bag 3 and the flap 6 in sequence and cooperates with the second nut 610 to realize the connection between the two, so that the flap 6 and the annular sealing bag 3 can move synchronously. In addition, a sealing gasket is also provided on the second bolt 61, playing a sealing role to prevent grout leakage.

[0054] The flap assembly is made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene material with excellent performance. Rubber layers (not shown) are vulcanized and bonded to the surfaces of the flap 6 and the wing plate 63. Therefore, there is flexible contact between the flap 6 and the wing plate 63, between adjacent flap assemblies, between the bottom end of the flap assembly and the annular support plate 51, and between the top end of the flap assembly and the inner wall of the outer pile 1, greatly improving the sealing performance of the flap assembly, effectively preventing grout leakage, and providing a secondary guarantee for the annular sealing bag 3.

[0055] The outer side edge 31 of the annular sealing bag 3 is pulled by the pulling member 4, and the inner side edge 32 of the annular sealing bag 3 is pressed by the pressing member 5, thereby supporting the annular sealing bag 3, keeping the annular sealing bag 3 in a normal shape, preventing it from collapsing, and facilitating grouting.

[0056] As Figure 5As shown in the figure, the pressing member 5 includes an annular support plate 51, an annular lower plate 52 welded to the annular support plate 51, a plurality of first studs 53 connected to the annular lower plate 52 at equal intervals, an annular upper plate 55 sleeved on the first studs 53 and pressed against the annular lower plate 52, and a first nut 54 screwed on the first studs 53 and pressing the annular upper plate 55. The annular sealing bag 3 is sleeved on the first studs 53 and is jointly pressed by the annular upper plate 55 and the annular lower plate 52, and the annular support plate 51 is connected to the outer wall of the sleeve 2. The pressing surfaces of the annular upper plate 55 and the annular lower plate 52 are in concave-convex fit and are in misaligned contact, which is convenient for accurate positioning.

[0057] An annular strip 34 is provided on the inner side edge 32 of the annular sealing bag 3. The annular strip 34 is closely attached to the outer wall of the sleeve 2, playing a sealing role to prevent slurry leakage from the gap between the annular sealing bag 3 and the outer wall of the sleeve 2.

[0058] It also includes a first steel ring 56 sleeved on the first studs 53 and pressing the annular sealing bag 3. The first steel ring 56 is pressed by the annular upper plate 55 and the annular lower plate 52, playing a sealing role to prevent slurry leakage from the gap between the annular sealing bag 3 and the outer wall of the first studs 53.

[0059] As Figure 6 shown in the figure, the pulling member 4 includes a plurality of second steel rings 42, a plurality of nylon ropes 41, and a plurality of third steel rings 33. The second steel rings 42 are connected to the outer wall of the sleeve 2 and are evenly distributed around the outer wall of the sleeve 2 at equal intervals. The top ends of the nylon ropes 41 are connected to the second steel rings 42, the third steel rings 33 are installed on the annular sealing bag 3, and the bottom ends of the nylon ropes 41 are connected to the third steel rings 33. The nylon ropes 41 have a certain elasticity, which is convenient for adapting to the state of the annular sealing bag 3.

[0060] The grouting pipeline 7 is installed on the inner wall of the sleeve 2, and the outlet of the grouting pipeline 7 is connected to the inlet of the annular sealing bag 3, so as to facilitate grouting into the annular sealing bag 3. After grouting, the annular sealing bag 3 presses the flap assembly to turn over and block the annular gap 8. Specifically, the bottom end of the flap assembly abuts against the annular support plate 51. Under the pressing of the annular sealing bag 3, the flap assembly rotates outwardly against the inner wall of the outer pile 1 with the bottom end of the flap assembly as the fulcrum. Finally, the top end of the flap assembly abuts against the inner wall of the outer pile 1 to achieve the blocking of the annular gap 8, and a part of the annular sealing bag 3 is attached to the inner wall of the outer pile 1.

[0061] As Figure 13 shown in the figure, in order to better achieve the sealing performance, a rubber rod 66 can also be provided at the top end of the flap 6, and an elastic sealing strip 631 is provided at the top end of the wing plate 63. When the flap assembly is opened, the rubber rod 66 and the elastic sealing strip 631 form a good seal with the inner wall of the outer pile 1.

[0062] The series of detailed descriptions listed above are only specific descriptions of the feasible implementation manners of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent implementation manners or modifications made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0063] In addition, it should be understood that although this specification is described according to implementation manners, not every implementation manner only includes an independent technical solution. This narrative manner of the specification is only for clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other implementation manners that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A high-sealing-reliability underwater packer, characterized in that, It includes an outer pile and a sleeve placed inside the outer pile. An annular gap is formed between the outer pile and the sleeve, and the high-sealing-reliability underwater packer is installed in the annular gap. The high-sealing-reliability underwater packer includes an annular sealing bag, a plurality of flap assemblies annularly connected outside the annular sealing bag, a pressing member, a pulling member, and a grouting pipeline. The outer side edge of the annular sealing bag is pulled by the pulling member, and the inner side edge of the annular sealing bag is pressed by the pressing member to form a seal at the bottom of the sealing bag. The outlet of the grouting pipeline is connected to the inlet of the annular sealing bag. The pressing member and the pulling member are connected to the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile. The flap assembly includes a flap and a wing plate connected to one side of the flap. The wing plate abuts against the other side of the adjacent flap. A rubber layer is vulcanized and bonded to the surfaces of the flap and the wing plate. After grouting, the annular sealing bag presses the flap assembly to turn over and block the annular gap, and the wing plate blocks the gap between the adjacent flaps. The wing plate is connected to the inner side of the flap, and the wing plate abuts against the inner side of the adjacent flap. Both the flap and the wing plate are curved. A rubber rod is provided at the top of the flap, and an elastic sealing strip is provided at the top of the wing plate. The pressing member includes an annular support plate, an annular lower plate connected to the annular support plate, a first stud connected to the annular lower plate, an annular upper plate sleeved on the first stud and pressed against the annular lower plate, and a first nut screwed on the first stud and pressing the annular upper plate. The annular sealing bag is sleeved on the first stud and is jointly pressed by the annular upper plate and the annular lower plate. The annular support plate is connected to the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile. The annular sealing bag is formed by folding a strip-shaped bag piece, and the two ends of the strip-shaped bag piece are connected by a zipper.

2. The high-sealing-reliability underwater packer according to claim 1, wherein, It also includes a steel wire ring. A steel hole seat is provided at the bottom of the flap, and the steel wire ring passes through the steel hole seats on each flap in sequence.

3. The high-sealing-reliability underwater packer according to claim 1, characterized in that, An annular strip is provided at the inner side edge of the annular sealing bag, and the annular strip is in close fit with the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile.

4. The high-sealing-reliability underwater packer according to claim 3, characterized in that It also includes a first steel ring sleeved on the first stud and pressing the annular sealing bag, and the first steel ring is jointly pressed by the annular upper plate and the annular lower plate.

5. The high-sealing-reliability underwater packer according to claim 4, wherein, The pressing surfaces of the annular upper plate and the annular lower plate are in concave-convex fit to form a high-sealing performance.

6. The high-sealing-reliability underwater packer according to claim 1, wherein The pulling member includes a plurality of second steel rings, a plurality of nylon ropes, and a plurality of third steel rings. The second steel rings are connected to the outer wall of the sleeve or the inner wall of the outer pile. The top ends of the nylon ropes are connected to the second steel rings. The third steel rings are installed on the annular sealing bag, and the bottom ends of the nylon ropes are connected to the third steel rings.

Citation Information

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