Underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry-type welding cabin and ballast attitude adjusting system thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses an underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry type welding cabin and a ballast posture adjusting system thereof, and belongs to the technical field of salvage equipment, the underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry type welding cabin comprises a welding operation cabin, an annular ballast cabin and a frame supporting structure, a welding robot storage cabin is arranged in the welding operation cabin, and a welding robot is stored in the welding robot storage cabin; welding clamping devices are arranged on the upper and lower cabin walls of the welding operation cabin and clamp an object to be welded, a rubber sealing ring is arranged on the periphery of the open end of the welding operation cabin, the other end of the welding operation cabin is connected with an annular ballast tank, a water pump is arranged between the annular ballast tank and the welding operation cabin, and an air pipe is arranged in a cabin chamber of the welding operation cabin. The annular ballast tank is connected with the frame supporting structure. The system can provide a dry welding operation environment underwater and can flexibly move and stably adjust underwater.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of salvage equipment, and in particular to an underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and a ballast attitude adjustment system thereof. Background Art

[0002] The current mainstream method for the overall salvage of large shipwrecks is to use a floating crane or a double-ship lift to lift the shipwreck from the seabed, then seal the cabin and drain the water or place it directly on a semi-submersible vessel, and then tow it to a designated treatment site. Before the shipwreck is floated, it is necessary to connect the floating wire to the shipwreck to provide a fulcrum for the overall salvage of the shipwreck. The conventional practice is to use a horizontal trenchless directional drill to thread a bottom wire from the bottom of the shipwreck, and then lift and float the shipwreck by dragging the wire. However, this method has two operational difficulties: First, the wire threading process requires the cooperation of multiple ships, and the wire threading process is prone to twisting and rework, resulting in low construction efficiency. In addition, it is difficult for directional drills to drill into hard bottom conditions; second, trenchless directional drilling is not applicable to shipwreck salvage in deep waters.

[0003] This multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin design can create a dry environment underwater, adjust the working environment pressure according to the working water depth, and use welding robots to automatically complete high-quality welding underwater. This underwater high-pressure dry welding cabin has many application scenarios. It can be used to weld the eye plate structure on the side of the sunken ship to facilitate the connection of the floating wire, solving the problem of floating wire caused by current trenchless directional drilling; it can also be used for the repair of partially damaged ships, military rescue, and expanded to the maintenance and repair of offshore platform structures, jacket structures, and subsea pipelines. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and a ballast attitude adjustment system thereof, which can provide a dry welding operation environment underwater.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: an underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system, including a welding operation cabin, an annular ballast tank and a frame support structure, a welding robot storage cabin is arranged in the welding operation cabin, the welding robot is stored in the welding robot storage cabin, a hydraulically controlled watertight door is arranged between the welding robot storage cabin and the welding operation cabin, a welding clamping device is arranged on the upper and lower walls of the welding operation cabin, the welding clamping device clamps the object to be welded, a circle of rubber sealing ring is arranged around the open end of the welding operation cabin, and the other end is connected to the annular ballast tank, a water pump is arranged between the annular ballast tank and the welding operation cabin, air pipes are arranged in the cabins of the welding operation cabin and the annular ballast tank, the air pipes are connected to the air extraction and discharge device, and the annular ballast tank is connected to the frame support structure.

[0006] Preferably, a normal pressure equipment cabin and a gas cylinder group are arranged in the frame support structure, and a ballast tank is arranged between the normal pressure equipment cabin and the annular ballast tank.

[0007] Preferably, there are two ballast tanks, which are symmetrically arranged, and a pumping and drainage device is provided on the ballast tanks.

[0008] Preferably, thrusters are provided on both sides of the tail and middle of the frame support structure.

[0009] Preferably, thrusters are provided on both sides of the welding operation cabin.

[0010] Preferably, transverse guide rails are arranged on both sides of the bottom of the frame support structure, and posture adjustment weights are arranged on the transverse guide rails.

[0011] Preferably, a vertical guide rail is arranged between the two transverse guide rails at the bottom of the frame support structure, and a posture adjustment weight is arranged on the vertical guide rail.

[0012] Preferably, motors are provided at the bottom of the posture adjustment weights on the vertical guide rails and the transverse guide rails, and the motors drive the posture adjustment weights to move on the vertical guide rails and the transverse guide rails. A wireless control module is provided on the motors to remotely control the movement of the posture adjustment weights.

[0013] Preferably, at least four magnetic adsorption mechanisms are arranged on the periphery of the rubber sealing ring and on the outer wall of the welding operation cabin.

[0014] Preferably, the thruster base is connected to the cabin, and the thruster can rotate 360° around the base.

[0015] By adopting the technical solution of the present invention, the following beneficial effects can be obtained: The design of the welding cabin takes into account the requirements of equipment and functional layout as well as the overall buoyancy, stability and load adjustment capability. The structural design is reasonable and compact, and can realize deep underwater high-pressure dry welding function.

[0016] The welding cabin body can move forward and backward, float up and down, move sideways and turn bow underwater, and quickly adjust its posture and position itself in space.

[0017] By using the adsorption sealing system, the welding cabin can be reliably fixed in the working position, and after the water in the welding working cabin is transferred to the peripheral annular load adjustment cabin, a dry welding working environment can be created.

[0018] The welding robot can be used to adjust the weld shape and plan the welding path to achieve high-quality automatic welding. After the welding cabin is adsorbed to the working position through the magnetic adsorption mechanism and rubber sealing device, the water in the welding operation cabin is transferred to the peripheral annular load adjustment cabin, which creates a dry welding environment without changing the longitudinal gravity distribution of the cabin.

[0019] The overall buoyancy of the welding tank is slightly greater than the gravity, so only two small ballast tanks are needed to quickly adjust the sinking and floating of the welding tank. The ballast tank is cylindrical (usually rectangular) with low water resistance, and the vertical arrangement of the cylindrical ballast tank can minimize the free liquid surface in the tank, so that the adverse effect of the free liquid surface on the stability of the welding tank is minimized. In addition, the heel of the welding tank can be adjusted by controlling the different filling and drainage volumes of the left and right ballast tanks.

[0020] The small solid pressure blocks arranged on the longitudinal and transverse guide rails at the bottom of the welding cabin can remotely adjust the position of the control blocks according to the heel and pitch of the welding cabin, so that the welding cabin is in upright floating or other designed posture, maintaining the stability of the welding cabin and ensuring smooth underwater welding operations in the welding cabin. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The following is a brief description of the contents and symbols in the drawings of this specification: Figure 1 The structure diagram of this welding cabin Figure 1 ; Figure 2 The structure diagram of this welding cabin Figure 2 ; Figure 3 This is a top view of the welding cabin; The marks in the above figures are: 1. Welding operation cabin; 2. Annular ballast cabin; 3. Welding robot storage cabin; 4. Welding robot; 5. Magnetic adsorption mechanism; 6. Rubber sealing ring; 7. Welding clamping device; 8. Eye plate; 9. Thruster; 10. Ballast cabin; 11. Normal pressure equipment cabin; 12. Attitude adjustment weight; 13. Gas cylinder group; 14. Frame support structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following is a detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, such as the shapes and structures of the components involved, the relative positions and connection relationships between the components, the functions and working principles of the components, etc., with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] like Figure 1 , 2As shown in Figure 3, the underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast posture adjustment system include a welding operation cabin 1, an annular ballast cabin 2 and a frame support structure 14. A welding robot storage cabin 3 is arranged in the welding operation cabin, and a welding robot 4 is stored in the welding robot storage cabin 3. A welding clamping device 7 is arranged on the upper and lower bulkheads of the welding operation cabin 1. The welding clamping device 7 clamps the object to be welded (in this application, it is a clamping eye plate 8, which is used to be welded on the wall of the sunken ship and is used to connect the salvage wire rope or for fixing after welding). A circle of rubber sealing ring 6 is arranged around the opening end of the welding operation cabin 1 At least four magnetic adsorption mechanisms 5 are arranged on the outer wall of the welding operation cabin 1 outside the rubber sealing ring 6. The magnetic adsorption mechanism 5 is used to adsorb the hull of the sunken ship. The other end is connected to the annular ballast tank 2. A water pump is arranged between the annular ballast tank 2 and the welding operation cabin 1. Air pipes are arranged in the cabins of the welding operation cabin 1 and the annular ballast tank 2. The air pipes are connected to the air extraction and exhaust device. The air extraction and exhaust device can extract and exhaust air from the welding operation cabin 1. The annular ballast tank 2 is connected to the frame support structure 14. The frame support structure 14 is a frame structure as a whole. The outer part of the frame structure is similar to the outer structural contour of the annular ballast tank 2.

[0024] The atmospheric equipment cabin 11 and the gas cylinder group 13 are arranged in the frame support structure 14. The ballast cabin 10 is arranged between the atmospheric equipment cabin 11 and the annular ballast cabin 2. There are two ballast cabins 10, which are arranged symmetrically. The ballast cabin 10 is provided with a pumping and drainage device for pumping and draining the ballast cabin 10. The ballast cabin 10 is used to adjust the buoyancy of the entire welding cabin. The ballast cabin 10 adjusts the buoyancy by taking in water and discharging water. The symmetrically arranged ballast cabins 10 can better adjust the buoyancy and prevent the problem of imbalance.

[0025] like Figure 1 , 3 As shown, thrusters 9 are arranged on both sides of the tail and middle of the frame support structure 14, and thrusters 9 are also arranged on both sides of the welding operation cabin 1. The base of the thruster 9 is connected to the cabin body, and the thruster 9 can rotate 360° around the base to facilitate the control of the thruster propulsion angle.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, transverse guide rails are arranged on both sides of the bottom of the frame support structure 14, and posture adjustment weights 12 are arranged on the transverse guide rails. A vertical guide rail is arranged between the two transverse guide rails at the bottom of the frame support structure 14, and posture adjustment weights 12 are arranged on the vertical guide rails. The vertical guide rail is arranged in the middle position of the bottom to maintain balance.

[0027] Motors are provided at the bottom of the posture adjustment weights 12 on the vertical guide rails and the transverse guide rails, and the motors drive the posture adjustment weights 12 to move on the vertical guide rails and the transverse guide rails. A wireless control module is provided on the motors, and the movement of the posture adjustment weights 12 can be remotely controlled. By controlling the movement of the posture adjustment weights 12, the counterweight of the entire welding cabin can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the dynamic balance of the entire cabin body. The present adjustment device can realize real-time dynamic adjustment.

[0028] The welding operation cabin 1 is designed to be open, and the rubber sealing ring 6 at the front end fits the working surface during welding operation. The front end surface shape can be designed according to different application scenarios. Before the welding cabin body is adsorbed to the welding operation position, the welding operation cabin 1 is connected to the external water, and the annular ballast tank 2 on its periphery is in a closed state. As the depth of the cabin body entering the water increases, gas is continuously filled into it to keep the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the load-adjusting cabin structure within the minimum water pressure (7 meters); after the welding cabin is adsorbed to the welding operation position, gas is filled into the welding operation cabin 1, and the gas in the annular ballast tank 2 is gradually discharged, and the water in the welding operation cabin 1 is transferred to the annular ballast tank 2, and the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the structure is kept within the minimum water pressure (7 meters). The dry welding environment can be created in a deep high-pressure water environment without changing the longitudinal gravity and buoyancy distribution of the cabin body. In addition, because the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the structure is controlled within the minimum water pressure (7 meters), the design load of this part of the cabin structure is small and the structure weight is light.

[0029] A hydraulically controlled watertight door is provided between the welding robot storage cabin 3 and the welding operation cabin 1. Before the welding cabin is adsorbed to the welding operation position, the hydraulic watertight door is closed, and the welding robot storage cabin 3 is separated from the welding operation cabin 1 to form a closed space. As the cabin body enters the water deeper, gas is continuously filled into the welding robot storage cabin 3 to keep the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the structure within the minimum water pressure (7 meters); and after the welding cabin is adsorbed to the welding operation position and the welding operation cabin creates a dry welding environment, the hydraulic watertight door is opened, the welding robot is started, and enters the welding operation cabin to perform welding operations, thereby realizing dry welding. In addition, because the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the welding robot storage cabin 3 structure is controlled within the minimum water pressure (7 meters) during the entire process, the design load of this part of the cabin structure is small and the structural weight is light.

[0030] A plurality of hollow sealing rings are arranged at the front end of the welding cabin body, and magnets and hydraulic mechanisms are arranged around it. After the welding cabin body reaches the welding operation position, the magnetic adsorption mechanism 5 provides a pre-tightening force for adsorption between the welding cabin and the steel plate (such as the hull plate), squeezes the rubber sealing ring 6, and makes the welding cabin fit the steel plate. Then, by adjusting the hydraulic mechanism matching the magnet, it is ensured that the fit is firm and reliable, thereby forming a sealed space for the welding operation cabin, providing conditions for the creation of a dry welding environment.

[0031] The welding cabin is designed so that the overall buoyancy is slightly greater than the gravity, and the center of buoyancy is slightly higher than the center of gravity. After the welding cabin is hoisted into the water, it can float normally on the water surface. On the left and right sides of the overall center of gravity, two tanks in the form of pressure vessels are symmetrically arranged as ballast tanks 10, which can be used to adjust the weight center of gravity and buoyancy center of buoyancy of the welding cabin and assist in controlling the sinking and floating of the welding cabin. At the bottom of the rear end of the welding cabin, longitudinal and transverse tracks are arranged, each with a posture adjustment weight 12, which is used to adjust the longitudinal and transverse inclination of the welding cabin, avoiding the influence of the liquid surface introduced by the ballast tank 10, and the posture of the welding cabin can be easily adjusted.

[0032] A total of 6 thrusters 9 are arranged in a circle around the vertical middle of the welding cabin. The 1#, 2#, 3# and 4# thrusters are arranged in the right front, left front, right rear and left rear of the horizontal plane frame respectively, and the mounting base of the thruster 9 forms an angle of 45° with the longitudinal center line of the horizontal plane, so as to control the forward and backward, left and right lateral movement and bow turning movement of the welding cabin; and the 5# and 6# two thrusters 9 are arranged in the vertical direction on both sides of the horizontal plane frame, so as to control the left and right lateral tilt and up and down floating movement of the welding cabin.

[0033] A special environmental control system is designed to monitor and adjust the pressure and humidity inside the welding cabin, so that the pressure load of the welding cabin structure and the watertight door is within a controllable range, ensuring that the humidity in the welding operation cabin meets the requirements of high-pressure dry welding.

[0034] A flexible and controllable welding clamping device 7 is designed to conveniently clamp the eye plate and move it to a predetermined position.

[0035] The welding cabin is equipped with an underwater dynamic positioning system, which can accurately locate and navigate the welding cabin to the working position. It has the functions of controlling the underwater position of the welding cabin, including constant depth navigation, constant distance navigation and resisting the interference of underwater turbulence.

[0036] The use of this welding cabin includes the following steps: (1) Use underwater detection equipment such as multi-beam side-scan sonar, electromagnetic wave scanning, sonar scanning, ROV, etc. to explore and obtain the status and location information of the work object (such as a sunken ship), and determine the relevant conditions for underwater welding operations, including the specific location, posture, structural damage, work surface shape and size, rust conditions, etc., as an important basis for the implementation plan of underwater high-pressure dry welding operations.

[0037] (2) Cut away possible obstacles, clean and polish the work surface, and provide conditions for underwater dry welding operations.

[0038] (3) Perform functional inspection and testing of each system before entering the water to ensure that the required hydraulic oil, generator, and air supply systems function normally and are sufficient.

[0039] (4) The mother ship lowers the welding cabin into the water, checks the water tightness of the cabin, and checks whether the welding cabin is in a positive floating state. It can be leveled by filling and draining the ballast water tank and moving the longitudinal and transverse tilting weights.

[0040] (5) Operate the welding cabin to dive and surface within a certain depth range (10m-20m), and test the welding cabin's propulsion, steering, fixed-distance / fixed-depth navigation, pressure regulation, and attitude adjustment functions.

[0041] (6) The welding cabin uses a positioning system and thrusters to dive to the predetermined working position, while adjusting the pressure inside the cabin and controlling the pressure difference between inside and outside the cabin to meet the requirements.

[0042] (7) Turn on the fixed-distance navigation mode and control the welding cabin to slowly approach the target working surface; turn on the magnetic suction to make the welding cabin fit the target working surface; shrink the stroke of the adsorption magnet cylinder and squeeze the rubber sealing ring 6 to form a watertight seal on the fitting surface.

[0043] (8) Start the water pump to pump all the water in the welding operation cabin 1 to the annular ballast tank 2, discharge the gas in the annular ballast tank 2, and at the same time inflate the welding operation cabin 1 to keep the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cabin within the allowable range.

[0044] (9) Detect the pressure of the welding operation cabin 1 and the welding robot storage cabin 3, adjust the pressure balance on both sides, and detect the humidity in the welding operation cabin 1. When the requirements are met, open the hydraulic watertight doors of the welding operation cabin 1 and the welding robot storage cabin 3, and start the welding robot 4 to enter the welding operation cabin 1.

[0045] (10) The welding clamping device 7 places the weldment (eye plate) onto the welding surface and makes appropriate adjustments to ensure accurate positioning and tight fit.

[0046] (11) The welding robot arm spot welds the eye plate and fixes it. After completion, the welding clamping device 7 is released and retracted to the storage position.

[0047] (12) The welding robot 4 continues and completes the welding of all welds of the eye plate according to the planned path.

[0048] (13) The welding robot 4 is retracted into the storage compartment and the hydraulic watertight door is closed.

[0049] (14) The water in the annular ballast tank 2 is gradually pumped into the welding operation cabin 1, and the pressures of the annular ballast tank 2, the welding operation cabin 1 and the welding robot storage cabin 3 are adjusted simultaneously to control the pressure difference within the allowable range.

[0050] (15) Extend the magnet cylinder to separate the rubber seal ring 6 (welding cabin) from the welding work surface.

[0051] (16) Turn off the magnetic force of the magnetic head on the magnetic adsorption mechanism 5, start the propeller 9, and bring the welding cabin back to the water surface.

[0052] The ballast tank 10 is cylindrical (usually rectangular) in shape, which has low water resistance, and the vertical arrangement of the cylindrical ballast tank can minimize the free liquid surface in the tank, so that the adverse effect of the free liquid surface on the stability of the welded tank is minimized. In addition, the heel of the welded tank can be adjusted by controlling the different filling and drainage volumes of the left and right ballast tanks 10.

[0053] Longitudinal and transverse guide rails are provided at the bottom of the welding cabin, and small solid posture adjustment weights 12 are arranged on the guide rails. The remote control device can be conveniently used to control the motor to drive the posture adjustment weights 12 to move their positions, thereby adjusting the longitudinal and transverse inclination states of the welding cabin, making the welding cabin in a positive floating or other designed posture, maintaining the stability of the welding cabin, and ensuring smooth underwater welding operations in the welding cabin.

[0054] The steps for adjusting the welding cabin attitude are as follows: (1) After the work mother ship lowers the welding cabin into the water, first check and confirm the watertightness of the cabin, and then check whether the welding cabin is in the positive floating state or the preset state.

[0055] (2) Through the control device on the working mother ship, the position of the movable horizontal and vertical posture adjustment weight 12 is adjusted to level the welding cabin. At the same time, water can be injected into the ballast tank 10 to assist in posture adjustment.

[0056] (3) Within a certain depth range (10m-20m), the ballast tank 10 is filled with water to test the diving and surfacing functions of the welding tank, as well as the propulsion, steering, fixed-distance / fixed-depth navigation, pressure regulation and attitude adjustment functions.

[0057] (4) The welding cabin uses a positioning system and thrusters to dive to the predetermined working position, while adjusting the pressure inside the cabin and controlling the pressure difference between inside and outside the cabin to meet the requirements.

[0058] (5) The welding robot in the welding cabin performs welding operations in a high-pressure dry environment.

[0059] (6) After the welding operation is completed, the welding cabin is controlled to separate from the welding object, the water in the ballast tank 10 is discharged to increase the buoyancy of the welding cabin, and the propeller 9 is started to make the welding cabin return to the water surface to complete the single welding operation.

[0060] This underwater high-pressure dry welding chamber has many application scenarios. It can not only be used to weld the eye plate structure on the side of the sunken ship, conveniently connect the floating wire, and solve the problem of floating wire caused by the current trenchless directional drilling, but also can be used for the repair of partially damaged ships, military rescue and expanded to the maintenance and repair of offshore platform structures, jacket structures and subsea pipelines.

[0061] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned method. As long as various non-substantial improvements are made using the method concept and technical solution of the present invention, or the concept and technical solution of the present invention are directly applied to other occasions without improvement, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system, characterized in that: It includes a welding operation cabin, an annular ballast cabin and a frame support structure. A welding robot storage cabin is arranged in the welding operation cabin. The welding robot is stored in the welding robot storage cabin. A hydraulically controlled watertight door is arranged between the welding robot storage cabin and the welding operation cabin. Welding clamping devices are arranged on the upper and lower bulkheads of the welding operation cabin. The welding clamping devices clamp objects to be welded. A circle of rubber sealing ring is arranged around the opening end of the welding operation cabin, and the other end is connected to the annular ballast cabin. A water pump is arranged between the annular ballast cabin and the welding operation cabin. Air pipes are arranged in the cabins of the welding operation cabin and the annular ballast cabin. The air pipes are connected to the air extraction and discharge devices. The annular ballast cabin is connected to the frame support structure.

2. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 1 is characterized by: A normal pressure equipment cabin and a gas cylinder group are arranged in the frame support structure, and a ballast cabin is arranged between the normal pressure equipment cabin and the annular ballast cabin.

3. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 2 is characterized by: There are two ballast tanks, which are symmetrically arranged, and drainage devices are arranged on the ballast tanks.

4. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 1 is characterized by: Propellers are arranged on both sides of the tail and middle of the frame support structure.

5. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 1 is characterized by: Propellers are arranged on both sides of the welding operation cabin.

6. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Transverse guide rails are arranged at both sides of the bottom of the frame support structure, and posture adjustment weights are arranged on the transverse guide rails.

7. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 6 is characterized by: A vertical guide rail is arranged between two horizontal guide rails at the bottom of the frame support structure, and a posture adjustment weight is arranged on the vertical guide rail.

8. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 7 is characterized by: Motors are arranged at the bottom of the posture adjustment weights on the vertical guide rail and the transverse guide rail, and the motors drive the posture adjustment weights to move on the vertical guide rail and the transverse guide rail. A wireless control module is arranged on the motor, and the movement of the posture adjustment weights can be remotely controlled.

9. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least four magnetic adsorption mechanisms are arranged on the periphery of the rubber sealing ring and on the outer wall of the welding operation cabin.

10. The underwater multifunctional high-pressure dry welding cabin and its ballast attitude adjustment system according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The propeller base is connected to the cabin, and the propeller can rotate 360 ​​degrees around the base.

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