A submarine cable protection device

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of marine cable, and discloses a submarine cable protection device, which comprises a casing unit, wherein the casing unit comprises a sleeve, an internal buffer assembly and an external buffer assembly; the sleeve is used for allowing a submarine cable to pass through; the internal buffer assembly comprises a plurality of internal buffer units, the plurality of internal buffer units are arranged in a circumferential interval along an inner circumferential wall of the sleeve, and each internal buffer unit comprises a first flexible protection strip, which extends along an axial direction and is mounted on the inner circumferential wall of the sleeve; the external buffer assembly comprises a connecting rope and a plurality of second flexible protection strips, the connecting rope is arranged on an outer periphery of the sleeve, the plurality of flexible protection strips are connected through the connecting rope, and the plurality of flexible protection strips are arranged in a circumferential interval along the sleeve and extend along an axial direction. Through the internal buffer assembly, the friction and collision between the submarine cable and the sleeve are reduced; the external buffer assembly can be deflected under the action of water flow, and the water flow can disturb the wake field of the submarine cable; and the external buffer assembly is used for absorbing impact energy.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of marine cable, in particular to a marine cable protection device. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the offshore wind farm site resources becoming scarce, offshore wind power development is moving towards the "deep sea", and submarine cable has become the fate of offshore wind power transmission. In order to protect the submarine cable, most of the submarine cable is laid under the seabed, and is stretched out near the wind power foundation, connected to the wind power foundation through the bending pipe, so that the submarine cable from the tail of the bending pipe to the contact transition section with the seabed forms a suspended section. Due to the complex offshore environment, especially the strong ocean current and surge in the offshore area, the pile and the submarine cable will sink into the scour pit due to local scouring, and the scour pit will become larger under the action of the ocean current, thereby lengthening the suspended section of the submarine cable, so that the submarine cable is prone to excessive bending. These suspended submarine cables will also form alternating vortex shedding behind them when there is water flow, and when the natural frequency of the submarine cable is close to the frequency of vortex shedding, the submarine cable structure vibration will be very strong, which will cause fatigue damage to the submarine cable structure and mechanical damage to the cable body, threatening the safety of the submarine cable. Ocean current load will also cause the submarine cable to rub and collide with the seabed rock, damage the outer protective layer of the submarine cable, and ultimately damage the submarine cable.

[0003] In view of the damage to the outer protective layer of the submarine cable caused by the scouring of the suspended section of the submarine cable by the ocean current and the surge, the current commonly used submarine cable protection methods mainly include two types: one is submarine cable bending protection, which installs bending limiters, anti-bending pipes, supports and other anti-bending supports to prevent excessive bending of the submarine cable; the other is to set an outer protective device such as an anti-bending pipe around the submarine cable to prevent damage to the submarine cable. However, the installation of anti-bending supports has great difficulty in laying, and the installation site selection of the support has limitations, which cannot be applied to the suspended section; and the setting of the outer protective device does not take into account the scouring of the submarine cable by the water flow, and there is no limit between the submarine cable and the outer protective device, which causes mutual friction and damage to the protective layer of the submarine cable. SUMMARY

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is that the submarine cable protection construction is difficult and the submarine cable protection effect is poor.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a submarine cable protection device, comprising: a jacket unit, the jacket unit comprising: a sleeve, an inner buffer assembly, and an outer buffer assembly; the sleeve is used for passing the submarine cable; the inner buffer assembly comprises a plurality of inner buffer units, the plurality of inner buffer units are arranged in a circumferential direction along an inner circumferential wall of the sleeve, and each inner buffer unit comprises a first flexible protection strip, the first flexible protection strip extends in an axial direction and is mounted on the inner circumferential wall of the sleeve; the outer buffer assembly comprises a plurality of second flexible protection strips and a connecting rope, the connecting rope is arranged around an outer circumferential wall of the sleeve, the plurality of flexible protection strips are connected by the connecting rope, and the plurality of flexible protection strips are arranged in a circumferential direction along the sleeve, and each flexible protection strip extends in the axial direction.

[0006] Preferably, the first flexible protection strip has a buffer cavity inside, and a plurality of elastic members are arranged in the buffer cavity, and two ends of each elastic member abut against two opposite side walls of the buffer cavity.

[0007] Preferably, the inner circumferential wall of the sleeve is provided with a T-shaped groove, the T-shaped groove extends in the axial direction of the sleeve and penetrates through one end surface of the sleeve, the first flexible protection strip comprises a bottom box and a cover plate, a clamping portion is arranged on a back surface of the bottom box, the bottom box is slidably inserted into the T-shaped groove through the clamping portion, the bottom box has a groove body which is open towards the inside, each elastic member is arranged in the groove body, and the cover plate covers the groove body on the inside of the bottom box.

[0008] Preferably, the submarine cable protection device comprises a plurality of jacket units, and the plurality of jacket units are connected by the sleeve.

[0009] Preferably, each end of the sleeve has a connecting portion, the connecting portion is arranged around the outer circumferential wall of the sleeve, and the connecting portion has a convex arc shape or a spherical shape; two adjacent sleeves are connected by clamping two adjacent connecting portions, so that the two sleeves can be bent relative to each other.

[0010] Preferably, a plurality of elastic protrusions are arranged in a circumferential direction around the outer circumferential wall of the sleeve, each elastic protrusion is provided with a clamping groove, the connecting rope is clamped in each clamping groove of the elastic protrusions, and the plurality of second flexible protection strips are distributed in an interlaced manner with the plurality of elastic protrusions.

[0011] Preferably, the first flexible protection strip and the second flexible protection strip are both made of polyurethane material.

[0012] Preferably, the second flexible protection strip has an elliptical cylindrical shape.

[0013] Preferably, the outer buffer assembly comprises at least two connecting ropes which are arranged in a circumferential direction around the sleeve.

[0014] Preferably, the sleeve comprises two protective shells which have a half-sleeve shape, each protective shell is provided with a connecting protrusion on two sides, the two protective shells form a sleeve structure by surrounding each other, and are locked by the adjacent connecting protrusions.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the submarine cable protection device has the beneficial effects that: 1) the internal buffering assembly reduces the friction and collision between the submarine cable and the sleeve, prevents the protective layer of the submarine cable from falling off, and makes the protection effect of the submarine cable better; 2) the second flexible protection strip is installed on the outer wall of the sleeve through the connecting cable hoop, and the second flexible protection strip can be deflected under the action of water flow, can disturb the wake field of the submarine cable when guiding flow, reduce the fluid force on the surface of the submarine cable, inhibit the regularity of the vortex of the wake field of the submarine cable, and further avoid the occurrence of vortex-induced vibration, thereby relieving the fatigue failure of the submarine cable and further improving the protection effect of the submarine cable; 4) the external buffering assembly is used to absorb the energy when the rock or falling object hits, and protects the submarine cable; 5) no support is arranged at the suspended section of the submarine cable, and no consideration is needed for the difficulty of installing the anti-bending frame. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is a front view of the embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Figure 2 is a sectional view of Figure 1 ;

[0018] Figure 3 is a front view of the multiple submarine cable protection devices cooperatively installed according to the embodiment of the present application

[0019] Figure 4 is a sectional view of Figure 3 ;

[0020] Figure 5 is a sectional view of the buffering strip according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0021] In the figure, 1, sleeve; 11, protective shell; 12, elastic protrusion; 121, clamping groove; 13, connecting part; 14, T-shaped groove; 15, connecting protrusion;

[0022] 2, internal buffering assembly; 21, internal buffering unit; 211, first flexible protection strip; 2111, buffering cavity; 2112, elastic member; 2113, bottom box; 2114, cover plate; 2115, clamping part; 2116, groove body;

[0023] 3, external buffering assembly; 31, connecting cable; 32, second flexible protection strip;

[0024] 100, jacket unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The specific embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below in combination with the drawings and embodiments. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present application, but are not used to limit the scope of the present application.

[0026] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application.

[0027] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "installation", "provided with", "connection" and the like should be understood broadly, for example, "connection" can be fixed connection, can also be detachable connection, or integral connection; can be mechanical connection, can also be electrical connection; can be directly connected, can also be indirectly connected through intermediate medium, can be internal communication of two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0028] As shown in Figures 1-5 The submarine cable protection device of the preferred embodiment of the present application comprises: a jacket unit 100, the jacket unit 100 comprising: a sleeve 1, an internal buffer assembly 2, and an external buffer assembly 3; the sleeve 1 is used for passing the submarine cable; the internal buffer assembly 2 comprises a plurality of internal buffer units 21, the plurality of internal buffer units 21 are arranged in a circumferential interval along the inner circumferential wall of the sleeve 1, and the internal buffer unit 21 comprises a first flexible protection strip 211, the first flexible protection strip 211 extends in the axial direction and is installed on the inner circumferential wall of the sleeve 1; the external buffer assembly 3 comprises a connecting rope 31 and a plurality of second flexible protection strips 32, the connecting rope 31 is hooped on the outer periphery of the sleeve 1, the plurality of flexible protection strips are connected through the connecting rope 31, and the plurality of flexible protection strips are arranged in a circumferential interval along the sleeve 1, and the flexible protection strip extends along the axial line. The present application realizes the reduction of the friction between the submarine cable and the sleeve 1 through the internal protection assembly, and protects the protective layer of the submarine cable; the present application realizes the following effects through the external protection assembly: 1) the flow guiding effect of the plurality of second flexible protection strips 32 is better, the fluid force effect on the surface of the submarine cable is better, and the effect of relieving the fatigue failure of the submarine cable is better; 2) the energy when the rock or falling object hits is absorbed, and the submarine cable is prevented from being impacted.

[0029] Further, the first flexible protection strip 211 has a buffer cavity 2111 inside, a plurality of elastic members 2112 are arranged in the buffer cavity 2111, and the two ends of the elastic member 2112 abut against the opposite two side walls of the buffer cavity 2111. The elastic member 2112 makes the elasticity of the first flexible protection strip 211 better, the friction between the submarine cable and the inner wall of the sleeve 1 is smaller, the submarine cable is less likely to be worn out, and the effect of protecting the submarine cable is improved.

[0030] Further, the inner circumferential wall of the sleeve 1 is provided with a T-shaped groove 14 extending along the axial direction of the sleeve 1 and penetrating through one end surface of the sleeve 1, and the first flexible protection strip 211 includes a bottom box 2113 and a cover plate 2114, the back surface of the bottom box 2113 is provided with a clamping portion 2115, the bottom box 2113 is slidingly inserted into the T-shaped groove 14 through the clamping portion 2115, the bottom box 2113 has a groove body 2116 open to the inside, a resilient member 2112 is arranged in the groove body 2116, and the cover plate 2114 covers the groove body 2116 on the inside of the bottom box 2113. The first flexible protection strip 211 is slidingly connected to the inner circumferential wall of the sleeve 1, which is convenient to install and fast to install.

[0031] Further preferably, the first flexible protection strip 211 is made by an integral molding process, so that the sealing performance between the bottom box 2113 and the cover plate 2114 is better, and the service time under the sea is longer.

[0032] Further, the submarine cable protection device includes a plurality of casing units 100 connected through the sleeve 1. For different lengths of the suspended section, different numbers of casing units 100 are selected according to actual needs to achieve comprehensive protection of the entire length of the submarine cable in the suspended section, and the adaptability to different suspended sections is better.

[0033] Further, the two ends of the sleeve 1 are respectively provided with a connecting portion 13 arranged along the outer periphery of the sleeve 1, and the connecting portion 13 is in the shape of a convex arc or a sphere; two adjacent sleeves 1 are connected by clamping the two adjacent connecting portions, so that the two sleeves 1 connected to each other can be bent. The connecting portion 13 is in the shape of an arc or a sphere, and the two sleeves 1 can be bent at a certain angle under the scouring of seawater, which can limit the bending degree of the submarine cable and achieve the protection against bending of the submarine cable.

[0034] Further, a plurality of elastic protrusions 12 are arranged on the outer circumferential wall of the sleeve 1 in a circumferential direction at intervals, the elastic protrusions 12 are provided with clamping grooves 121, the connecting ropes 31 are respectively clamped in the clamping grooves 121 of the elastic protrusions 12, and the plurality of second flexible protection strips 32 are distributed in an interlaced manner with the plurality of elastic protrusions 12. The elastic protrusions 12 protrude from the outer wall surface of the sleeve 1, which increases the roughness of the outer wall surface of the sleeve 1, has the functions of disturbing flow and suppressing vibration, and further protects the submarine cable. The elastic protrusions 12 and the second flexible protection strips 32 jointly act to relieve the fatigue failure of the submarine cable, so that the wall thickness of the sleeve 1 can be appropriately reduced, the material usage of the sleeve 1 is reduced, and the cost of producing and manufacturing the sleeve 1 is lower.

[0035] Further preferably, the elastic protrusions 12 are made of polyurethane material, which has good elasticity and wear resistance and corrosion resistance, so that the elastic protrusions 12 provide protection for the secondary anti-collision and anti-friction between the fence plate and the sleeve 1.

[0036] Further, the first flexible protection strip 211 and the second flexible protection strip 32 are both made of polyurethane material. The polyurethane material has good elasticity and wear resistance and corrosion resistance. The first flexible protection strip 211 can better absorb the energy of the collision between the submarine cable and the inner wall of the sleeve 1. The second flexible protection strip 32 can effectively absorb the energy when colliding with rocks or falling objects, effectively protecting the submarine cable.

[0037] Further, the protective shell 11 and the connecting part 13 are both made of metal material, and the connecting part 13 is welded to the two ends of the protective shell 11. Metal has high mechanical strength and durability. In the complex environment of the seabed, the metal protective shell 11 and the connecting part 13 can withstand external forces such as water flow impact and rock friction, reducing the risk of damage to the submarine cable and providing effective protection for the submarine cable. The two connecting parts 13 are welded to the upper and lower ends of the protective shell 11. The mechanical properties of the welding are better than those of the glue bonding, and are more secure.

[0038] Further, the second flexible protection strip 32 is in the shape of an elliptical cylinder. The elliptical cylinder-shaped second flexible protection strip 32 uniformly distributes pressure, so that the second flexible protection strip 32 can better resist deformation or damage when facing external forces.

[0039] Further, the external buffer assembly 3 includes at least two connecting ropes 31 arranged along the ring direction of the sleeve 1 and spaced apart in sequence. The two connecting ropes 31 fix the second flexible protection strip 32 more securely, preventing the second flexible protection strip 32 from being washed away by seawater.

[0040] Further, the sleeve 1 includes two protective shells 11 in the shape of a half cylinder. The two protective shells 11 are provided with connecting lugs 15 on the two sides, respectively, and are locked by the adjacent connecting lugs 15. The submarine cable is placed inside one protective shell 11, and the other protective shell 11 is fixed with the protective shell 11. The bolt passes through the two connecting lugs 15 to fix the two protective shells 11. The installation of the two protective shells 11 is simple, and the sleeve 1 can be set on the outer periphery of the submarine cable without passing through a submarine cable with a long length, so that the speed of installing the submarine cable protection device is faster, and the efficiency of installing the submarine cable protection device is improved.

[0041] In summary, the specific installation steps of the submarine cable device of the embodiment of the application are as follows: first, slidingly fit the first flexible protection strip 211 into the T-shaped groove 14 of the protective shell 11 before launching; then place the submarine cable inside one protective shell 11, and fix the other protective shell 11 with the protective shell 11 by the bolt passing through the connecting lug 15. After the connecting rope 31 passes through the second flexible protection strip 32, the connecting rope 31 is fitted into the clamping groove 121 of the elastic lug 12 to fix the sleeve 1 and the external buffer assembly 3. The two ends of the connecting rope 31 are fixed by binding.

[0042] In summary, the submarine cable device has the following advantages: 1) the internal buffer assembly 2 reduces the friction and collision between the submarine cable and the sleeve 1, prevents the protective layer of the submarine cable from falling off, and makes the protection effect of the submarine cable better; 2) the second flexible protection strip 32 is installed on the outer wall of the sleeve 1 through the connecting rope 31, and the second flexible protection strip 32 can be deflected under the action of water flow, can disturb the wake field of the submarine cable when guiding flow, reduce the fluid force on the surface of the submarine cable, inhibit the regularity of the vortex of the wake field of the submarine cable, and further avoid the occurrence of vortex-induced vibration, thereby relieving the fatigue failure of the submarine cable and further improving the protection effect of the submarine cable; 4) the external buffer assembly 3 is used to absorb the energy when the rock or falling object hits, and protect the submarine cable; 5) no support is arranged on the suspended section of the submarine cable, and no consideration is needed for the difficulty of installing the anti-bending frame for laying.

[0043] The above only describes the preferred embodiments of the present application, and it should be pointed out that for ordinary skilled persons in the technical field, some improvements and replacements can be made without departing from the technical principles of the present application, and these improvements and replacements should also be considered as the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A submarine cable protection device, characterized in that, include: A protective sleeve unit, comprising: a sleeve, an inner buffer assembly, and an outer buffer assembly; The sleeve is used for the submarine cable to pass through; The internal buffer assembly includes multiple internal buffer units, which are circumferentially spaced along the inner peripheral wall of the sleeve. Each internal buffer unit includes a first flexible protective strip, which extends axially and is installed on the inner peripheral wall of the sleeve. The external buffer assembly includes a connecting cable and a plurality of second flexible protective strips. The connecting cable is clamped around the outer periphery of the sleeve. The plurality of flexible protective strips are connected by the connecting cable and are spaced apart along the circumference of the sleeve. The flexible protective strips extend along the axis. The first flexible protective strip has a buffer cavity inside, and the buffer cavity is provided with a plurality of elastic elements, the two ends of which respectively abut against the opposite side walls of the buffer cavity; Multiple elastic protrusions are spaced apart along the outer circumferential wall of the sleeve. Each elastic protrusion has a slot, and the connecting cable is respectively engaged in the slot of each elastic protrusion. The multiple second flexible protective strips are staggered with the multiple elastic protrusions.

2. The submarine cable protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner circumferential wall of the sleeve is provided with a T-shaped groove, which extends along the axial direction of the sleeve and passes through one end face of the sleeve. The first flexible protective strip includes a bottom box and a cover plate. A locking part is provided along the back of the bottom box. The bottom box is slidably inserted into the T-shaped groove through the locking part. The bottom box has a groove that opens inward. The elastic element is provided in the groove. The cover plate covers the groove inside the bottom box.

3. The submarine cable protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It includes multiple sleeve units, which are connected by a sleeve.

4. The submarine cable protection device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The sleeve has connecting portions at both ends, the connecting portions are arranged along the outer periphery of the sleeve, and the connecting portions are in the shape of an outwardly convex arc or sphere. Two adjacent sleeves are engaged and connected by two adjacent connecting parts, so that the two sleeves can be bent into each other.

5. The submarine cable protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both the first flexible protective strip and the second flexible protective strip are made of polyurethane material.

6. The submarine cable protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second flexible protective strip is in the shape of an elliptical cylinder.

7. The submarine cable protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The external buffer assembly includes at least two connecting cables that are spaced apart in a circumferential direction along the sleeve.

8. The submarine cable protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sleeve includes two semi-cylindrical protective shells, each with a connecting protrusion on both sides. The two protective shells are joined to form a cylindrical structure and locked together by adjacent connecting protrusions.

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