Offshore wind plant submarine cable laying device and laying method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of offshore wind power, in particular to an offshore wind plant submarine cable laying device and laying method. The invention provides an offshore wind plant submarine cable laying device, which comprises a sled plate, a supporting part, a coulter and a filling system, and is characterized in that the sled plate and the coulter are oppositely arranged at the two ends of the lower part of the supporting part; the filling system comprises a groove detection system and a discharging system which are arranged at the tail of the coulter, pre-laid filler to be discharged is arranged in the discharging system, a discharging opening is formed in the bottom of the discharging system, the groove detection system is used for detecting and judging the bottom state of a groove in the tail of the coulter, and when it is detected that the bottom state of the groove is lower than a preset value, the pre-laid filler is discharged. And the groove detection system controls the discharging system to discharge the to-be-discharged pre-laid filler to a preset position in the groove in which the submarine cable is not laid yet. According to the submarine cable laying device for the offshore wind plant, through mutual cooperation of the groove detection system and the discharging system, the possibility that the submarine cable is cut or damaged is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of offshore wind power, and in particular to a submarine cable laying device and a laying method for an offshore wind farm. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the increasing maturity of wind power technology, the offshore wind power industry has developed rapidly. In these cross-sea power transmission projects, submarine cables, as important equipment connecting the substations or converter stations at both ends, play an important role in their production. The quality of submarine cable laying has an important impact on the life and benefits of the entire power supply system. At present, the laying process of submarine cables is divided into cable connection, trial voyage, sea sweeping, laying, landing and other steps. Among them, the laying process is to use a submarine cable burying plow to dig a trench on the preset line so that the submarine cable can be buried in it, thereby solving the problems of submarine high voltage, corrosion prevention and insulation. As the offshore wind power project is farther and farther away from the shore, during the laying of some heavy and long submarine cables, the complex situation of the seabed in some sections, the accuracy of sea sweeping and preliminary survey has been greatly reduced. In practice, gravel and rock layers may still appear at the bottom of the trench after digging, especially sharp rocks are very easy to damage the newly laid submarine cable, affecting the progress of construction work, which puts higher requirements on the laying device and laying method of submarine cables. Summary of the invention

[0003] (I) The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is that when laying submarine cables for offshore wind farms in certain complex submarine sections, the gravel and rock layers at the bottom of the trench can easily cause damage to the newly laid submarine cables.

[0004] (II) Technical solution

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present invention provides an offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device and laying method, which are used to solve the problem that the submarine cable is easily damaged by gravel and rock formations at the bottom of the groove during laying. The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device includes a sled, a support part and a plow, and the sled and the plow are relatively arranged at two ends below the support part; The filling system includes a groove detection system and a discharge system arranged at the tail of the plow. The discharge system is provided with pre-laid filling materials to be discharged, and a discharge port is provided at the bottom. The groove detection system is used to detect and judge the bottom state of the groove at the tail of the plow. When it is detected that the bottom state of the groove is lower than a preset value, the groove detection system controls the discharge system to discharge the pre-laid filling materials to be discharged to a preset position in the groove where the submarine cable has not been laid.

[0006] During the movement of the submarine cable laying device in an offshore wind farm, when the trench detection system detects that the bottom state of the trench is lower than the preset value, it means that the submarine cable may have a certain risk of damage after laying. At this time, the discharge system arranged at the tail of the plow discharges the pre-laid filler and fills the gravel or foreign matter section at the bottom of the trench, effectively avoiding direct contact between the submarine cable and the gravel or foreign matter.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the pre-laid filler of the discharge system is mud slurry. Mud slurry as the pre-laid filler can effectively reduce the cost and is beneficial to environmental protection and submarine cable recovery operations.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the discharge system includes a mud collection chamber, a mud storage chamber and a mud discharge chamber which are connected in sequence, and the discharge port is provided at the bottom of the mud discharge chamber, and the discharge port is arranged at the tail side of the groove detection system. In order to control the overall weight of the submarine cable laying device for offshore wind farms, the mud storage volume is relatively low. Through the cooperation of the mud collection chamber, the mud storage chamber and the mud discharge chamber, the mud can be collected during the travel of the submarine cable laying device for offshore wind farms, avoiding frequent replenishment of mud in the mud storage chamber, while reducing the overall weight of the device and saving the energy required for the overall traction of the device; the rearward placement of the discharge port makes the delivery of the pre-laid filler more timely, and the pre-laid filler can completely cover the gravel or foreign body segments detected by the groove detection system.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, two mud collection chambers are provided, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the tail of the plow and fixedly connected to the support part. Due to the stirring of the plow, this position has a better effect on collecting mud and maintains the overall balance of the plow.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the front end side wall of the mud collection chamber is concave, and a plurality of mud collection holes are provided above the front end side wall of the mud collection chamber. The concave front end side wall of the mud collection chamber can effectively increase the mud collection area and thus increase the collection efficiency.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the top of the mud discharge chamber is connected to the bottom of the mud storage chamber through a vibrating filter. The setting of the vibrating filter can further screen the mud, and the fine mud particles can adhere to the gravel or foreign matter more quickly, thereby achieving the effect of paving the bottom of the groove more quickly.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device also includes an auxiliary traction system and a central control system for adjusting the forward speed of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device. The central control system is respectively connected to the groove detection system, the discharge system and the auxiliary traction system. When the groove detection system detects that the bottom state of the groove is lower than a preset value, a deceleration command is sent to the auxiliary traction system through the central control system. The excessively fast forward speed of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device makes the pre-laid filler falling within a unit area insufficient to completely pave the bottom of the groove. The speed reduction can further avoid the risk of damage to the submarine cable.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device also includes a submarine cable laying system, which is arranged on the top of the support part, including a cable inlet and a cable outlet, and the cable outlet is arranged outside the tail end discharge port and has a preset distance from the cable outlet. The submarine cable laying system can bury the submarine cable while laying the cable to avoid surrounding debris falling back into the groove due to tides and other reasons.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the groove detection system includes a vibration sensor and / or an underwater video sensor, wherein the vibration sensor is fixedly mounted on the plow blade for detecting and analyzing the vibration frequency of the plow blade, and the underwater video sensor is used for real-time photographing and analyzing the bottom state of the groove.

[0015] Another embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for laying a submarine cable in an offshore wind farm, wherein the method for laying a submarine cable in an offshore wind farm uses any of the above-mentioned submarine cable laying devices for offshore wind farms to lay the submarine cable, comprising: The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device is erected at an initial position; The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device is caused to move at a constant speed in a preset direction by means of a traction device; During the movement of the submarine cable laying device in the offshore wind farm, the groove plowed by the plow is detected in real time by the groove detection system, and the bottom state of the groove is judged. When it is detected that the bottom state of the groove is lower than the preset value, the groove detection system controls the discharge system to discharge the pre-laid filler to the preset position in the groove where the submarine cable has not been laid.

[0016] Beneficial effects of the invention: The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device provided by the invention cooperates with the groove detection system and the discharge system, so that the bottom state of the groove can be monitored in real time during the movement of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device, and the bottom of the groove can be filled with gravel or foreign matter, thereby avoiding the possibility of cutting or damaging the submarine cable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific implementation methods of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the specific implementation methods or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some implementation methods of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a submarine cable laying device for an offshore wind farm provided by one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the perspective structure of a submarine cable laying device for an offshore wind farm provided by one embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Icons: 1. Sled; 11. Telescopic rod; 12. Connecting arm; 2. Support part; 3. Plow blade; 41. Pre-laid filler; 42. Discharge port; 43. Mud collection chamber; 431. Mud collection hole; 432. Suction pump; 44. Mud storage chamber; 45. Mud discharge chamber; 451. Vibration filter; 452. Paddle valve; 5. Central control system; 61. Vibration sensor; 62. Underwater video sensor; 7. Submarine cable laying system; 71. Cable inlet; 72. Cable outlet; 8. Submarine cable to be laid. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to more clearly understand the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present invention, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In the absence of conflict, the embodiments of the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] Due to the complex and diverse seabed terrain, rocks and uneven areas can cause wear or uneven force on submarine cables, resulting in damage. Existing submarine cables need to take protective measures on the seabed. The existing practice is to pre-dig a trench 0.6-3 meters deep, then bury the submarine cable in it, and then cover it with sand next to it, or cover the submarine cable with hard objects such as cement cover plates, thereby protecting the laying of the submarine cable. However, the existing seabed geological features are changeable. If there is a slight negligence during detection, sharp gravel or foreign objects may appear at the bottom of the trench during trench excavation, causing wear or cuts to the submarine cable. Based on this problem, the embodiment of the present invention provides a submarine cable laying device and laying method for an offshore wind farm, which is used to solve the problem that the submarine cable is easily damaged by gravel and rock formations at the bottom of the trench during laying.

[0022] like Figure 1 to Figure 2 As shown, the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device provided by the embodiment of the present invention comprises a sled 1, a support 2 and a plow 3, wherein the sled 1 and the plow 3 are arranged oppositely at two ends below the support 2, and the sled 1 comprises two mutually parallel arrangements, which are arranged oppositely to the plow 3 in a triangle. Its working principle is the same as that of the submarine cable laying plow, which will not be described in detail here.

[0023] Preferably, the two sleds 1 and the support part 2 are respectively connected to the connecting arm 12 through two sets of parallel telescopic rods 11, and the telescopic movement of the telescopic rods 11 is controlled to realize the telescopic movement and angle change of the sled 1, thereby realizing the change of the forward speed and the depth of the excavated trench of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device.

[0024] The filling system includes a groove detection system and a discharge system arranged at the tail of the plow 3. The discharge system is provided with a pre-laid filler 41 to be discharged. The pre-laid filler 41 can be in various forms, such as gravel, sand, mud, or other small-particle artificial materials without edges and corners; a discharge port 42 is provided at the bottom of the discharge system. Preferably, the discharge port 42 is in a strip shape, which is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the submarine cable laying device of the offshore wind farm, and the length of the discharge port 42 is slightly smaller than the width of the plow 3, so that it can be closer to the bottom of the groove, reducing The falling time of the pre-laid filler 41; the groove detection system is used to detect and determine the bottom state of the groove at the tail of the plow 3. When it is detected that the bottom state of the groove is lower than the preset value, the preset value can be comprehensively determined according to factors such as the specific rock structure and hardness, the specific model and material of the submarine cable, etc. The groove detection system controls the discharge system to discharge the pre-laid filler 41 to be discharged to the preset position in the groove where the submarine cable has not been laid. The preset position is basically the area detected by the groove detection system that is lower than the preset value, that is, the high-risk area for submarine cable damage.

[0025] The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device also includes an auxiliary traction system and a central control system 5 for adjusting the forward speed of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device. The central control system 5 in this embodiment is fixedly arranged on the support part 2 and connected to the control host of the offshore ship through a remote signal. The central control system 5 is respectively connected to the groove detection system, the discharge system and the auxiliary traction system. When the groove detection system detects that the bottom state of the groove is lower than the preset value, a deceleration command is sent to the auxiliary traction system through the central control system 5. The excessively fast forward speed of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device makes the pre-laid filler 41 falling within a unit area insufficient to completely pave the bottom of the groove. The speed reduction can further avoid the risk of damage to the submarine cable.

[0026] Preferably, the pre-laid filler 41 of the discharge system is mud slurry. Using mud slurry as the pre-laid filler 41 can effectively reduce costs and is beneficial to environmental protection and submarine cable recovery operations.

[0027] Furthermore, the discharge system includes a mud collection chamber 43, a mud storage chamber 44 and a mud discharge chamber 45 which are connected in sequence. The bottom of the mud discharge chamber 45 is provided with the discharge port 42, and the discharge port 42 is arranged at the tail side of the groove detection system, and the switch is controlled by the paddle valve 452 on the discharge port 42. The mud collection chamber 43 and the mud storage chamber 44 can be connected by a suction pump 432 and a hose. In order to control the overall weight of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device, the mud storage volume is relatively low. Through the cooperation of the mud collection chamber 43, the mud storage chamber 44 and the mud discharge chamber 45, the mud can be collected during the travel of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device, avoiding frequent mud replenishment, while reducing the overall weight of the device and saving the energy required for the overall traction of the device; the rear placement of the discharge port 42 makes the delivery of the pre-laid filler 41 more timely, and the pre-laid filler 41 can completely cover the gravel or foreign body section detected by the groove detection system.

[0028] Furthermore, the support portion 2 may be in a table-like shape or a supportive shape such as a bracket. When the support portion 2 is in a table-like shape, a storage chamber may be added therein and connected to the mud storage chamber 44 to achieve the effect of expanding the capacity.

[0029] Furthermore, two mud collection chambers 43 are provided, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the tail of the plow 3 and fixedly connected to the support part 2. Due to the stirring of the plow 3, this position has a better effect on collecting mud and maintains the overall balance of the plow 3.

[0030] The front end side wall of the mud collecting chamber 43 is concave, specifically, 50% to 70% of the front end side wall is concave from top to bottom, and the concave surface is arc-shaped, and a plurality of mud collecting holes 431 are provided above the front end side wall of the mud collecting chamber 43. The concave front end side wall of the mud collecting chamber 43 can effectively increase the collection area of ​​the mud, thereby increasing the mud collection efficiency.

[0031] Furthermore, an outlet hole may be added to the front side wall to form convection with the mud collection hole 431. At the same time, the outlet hole is slightly smaller than the mud collection hole 431. By controlling the aperture difference between the two, the size of the retained mud particles is made closer to an ideal state.

[0032] Furthermore, when the submarine cable laying distance is short or the operation is carried out on a flat section, the present embodiment may only provide a mud storage chamber 44 and a mud discharge chamber 45, or combine the two into one to form an independent large storage chamber, and at the same time, the internal mud can be replaced with other types of pre-laid fillers 41. This method can increase the operating depth of the plow 3 by removing the mud collection chambers 43 on both sides of the tail of the plow 3, and can open a deeper groove.

[0033] Furthermore, the top of the mud discharge chamber 45 is connected to the bottom of the mud storage chamber 44 through a vibrating filter 451. The setting of the vibrating filter 451 can further screen the mud, and the fine mud particles can fit into the gaps of gravel or foreign objects more quickly, thereby achieving the effect of paving the bottom of the groove more quickly. The vibrating filter 451 is also connected to the above-mentioned central control system 5 so as to control the vibration frequency of the vibrating filter 451 in real time.

[0034] Furthermore, the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device also includes a submarine cable laying system 7, which is commonly used for flushing and burying plows, and can bury submarine cables while laying cables, or can bury submarine cables that have been laid on the seabed. The specific principles and structures are not described in detail here. The submarine cable laying system 7 is arranged on the top of the support part 2, including a cable entry port 71 and a cable exit port 72, and a smooth and controlled passage for the submarine cable 8 to be laid is formed between the cable entry port 71 and the cable exit port 72. The cable exit port 72 is arranged outside the tail end discharge port 42 and is set at a preset distance from the cable exit port 72. The submarine cable laying system 7 can bury the submarine cable while laying cables to avoid the surrounding gravel falling back into the groove due to tides and other reasons.

[0035] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the groove detection system includes a combination of one or more of a vibration sensor 61, an underwater video sensor 62, and an echo detector, wherein the vibration sensor 61 is fixedly arranged on the plow 3 for detecting and analyzing the vibration frequency of the plow 3, the underwater video sensor 62 is used for real-time shooting and analyzing the bottom state of the groove, and the echo detector is used for generating a three-dimensional image of the bottom of the groove in real time.

[0036] Another embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for laying a submarine cable in an offshore wind farm, wherein the method for laying a submarine cable in an offshore wind farm uses any of the above-mentioned submarine cable laying devices for offshore wind farms to lay the submarine cable, comprising: S1: erecting the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device at an initial position; S2: Using an external traction device to make the offshore wind farm cable laying device move at a constant speed in a preset direction; S3: During the movement of the submarine cable laying device in the offshore wind farm, the groove plowed by the plow 3 is detected in real time through the groove detection system, and the bottom state of the groove is judged. When it is detected that the bottom state of the groove is lower than the preset value, it means that the submarine cable may have a certain risk of damage after laying. The groove detection system controls the discharge system through the central control system 5 to discharge the pre-laid filler 41 to be discharged to the preset position in the groove where the submarine cable has not been laid, and the paddle valve 452 is opened. At this time, the discharge system arranged at the tail of the plow 3 discharges the pre-laid filler 41, fills the gravel or foreign matter section at the bottom of the groove, and effectively avoids direct contact between the submarine cable and the gravel or foreign matter; S4: When it is detected that the bottom state of the trench is higher than a preset value, the central control system 5 controls the paddle valve 452 on the discharge system to close, and stops filling the trench.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0038] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be a connection between the inside of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances. In addition, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0039] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A submarine cable laying device for an offshore wind farm, characterized in that: include; A sled, a support and a plow, wherein the sled and the plow are arranged oppositely at two ends below the support; The filling system includes a groove detection system and a discharge system arranged at the tail of the plow. The discharge system is provided with pre-laid filling materials to be discharged, and a discharge port is provided at the bottom. The groove detection system is used to detect and judge the bottom state of the groove at the tail of the plow. When it is detected that the bottom state of the groove is lower than a preset value, the groove detection system controls the discharge system to discharge the pre-laid filling materials to be discharged to a preset position in the groove where the submarine cable has not been laid.

2. The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pre-laid filler of the discharge system is mud slurry.

3. The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The discharge system comprises a mud collection chamber, a mud storage chamber and a mud discharge chamber which are connected in sequence. The bottom of the mud discharge chamber is provided with the discharge port, and the discharge port is arranged at the tail side of the groove detection system.

4. The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mud collecting chambers are provided with two, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the coulter tail and fixedly connected to the supporting part.

5. The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The front end side wall of the mud collecting chamber is concave, and a plurality of mud collecting holes are arranged above the front end side wall of the mud collecting chamber.

6. The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The top of the mud discharge chamber is communicated with the bottom of the mud storage chamber through a vibrating filter.

7. The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device also includes an auxiliary traction system and a central control system for adjusting the forward speed of the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device. The central control system is respectively connected to the groove detection system, the discharge system and the auxiliary traction system. When the groove detection system detects that the bottom state of the groove is lower than a preset value, a deceleration command is issued to the auxiliary traction system through the central control system.

8. The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device also includes a submarine cable laying system, which is arranged on the top of the support part and includes a cable inlet and a cable outlet. The cable outlet is arranged outside the tail end discharge port and has a preset distance from the cable outlet.

9. An offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The groove detection system includes a vibration sensor and / or an underwater video sensor, wherein the vibration sensor is fixedly arranged on the plow blade for detecting and analyzing the vibration frequency of the plow blade, and the underwater video sensor is used for real-time shooting and analyzing the bottom state of the groove.

10. A method for laying submarine cables for offshore wind farms, characterized in that: The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying method uses the offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 to lay the submarine cable, comprising: The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device is erected at an initial position; The offshore wind farm submarine cable laying device is caused to move at a constant speed in a preset direction by means of a traction device; During the movement of the submarine cable laying device in the offshore wind farm, the groove plowed by the plow is detected in real time by the groove detection system, and the bottom state of the groove is judged. When it is detected that the bottom state of the groove is lower than the preset value, the groove detection system controls the discharge system to discharge the pre-laid filler to the preset position in the groove where the submarine cable has not been laid.

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