Deep sea polymetallic nodule mining system and mining method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a deep sea polymetallic nodule mining system which comprises a mother ship, a relay platform, a stock bin and a mining vehicle. The mother ship is connected with the relay platform through a cable; the relay platform comprises a platform base, a plurality of independently-arranged stock bin limiting grooves, a clutch mechanism, conveying branch pipes corresponding to the stock bin limiting grooves, a platform beacon and a propeller. The propeller enables the relay platform and the mining vehicle to move synchronously. The stock bins are separable and are detachably connected with the stock bin limiting grooves of the relay platform through clutch mechanisms, and each stock bin is provided with an independent buoyancy adjusting assembly and a self-propelling device; the mining vehicle is dynamically connected with the different stock bin conveying branch pipes through the short-distance conveying main pipe, and a multi-stock-bin parallel filling operation mode is formed. According to the scheme of'mining machine-floating stock bin group platform-ship ', parallel material conveying is realized through a plurality of groups of independent floating stock bins, and a traditional serial pipeline conveying system is replaced; the failure of any bin does not affect the operation of the whole system, and the reliability and continuity are remarkably improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of deep - sea mineral resource development, and particularly relates to a deep - sea polymetallic nodule mining system and a mining method thereof. Background Art

[0002] As an important strategic mineral resource, the efficient mining technology of deep - sea polymetallic nodules has become a research hotspot in the international marine resource development field. The current mainstream deep - sea polymetallic nodule mining system adopts a series - type architecture of "mining machine - underwater ore lifting system - surface ship". After the nodule ore is collected by a crawler - type or floating mining machine, it is transported through a hose to a fixed underwater relay station, and then the ore is transported to the surface ship through a series system of a multi - stage lift pump and a rigid pipe.

[0003] The existing series - type pipeline transportation mode realizes the vertical lifting of ore through the series connection of long - distance rigid pipes. Its advantage is that continuous transportation can be achieved, but its core design concept originates from the pipeline technology of the shallow - sea oil and gas industry and has not been adaptively optimized for the deep - sea complex environment.

[0004] At the same time, the fixed underwater relay station connects the mining machine and the lifting pipeline through a relay station with a fixed off - bottom height, which can reduce the direct impact of the movement of the mining machine on the transportation system, but the dynamic response ability of this architecture to changes in the hydrodynamic environment is insufficient.

[0005] Therefore, although the existing technical solutions have made some progress in shallow - sea tests, they still face the following technical bottlenecks in actual deep - sea commercial mining:

[0006] 1. The system deployment and recovery efficiency is low. The rigid pipe and the lift pump need to be bolted step by step. In kilometer - level deep - sea operations, the single - time deployment and recovery take up to dozens of hours. The ability to respond to sudden severe weather at sea is not strong. If the recovery of the lifting system cannot be completed before the arrival of safety - affecting risks such as typhoons and strong cyclones, only the unrecovered part can be discarded as a whole, resulting in significant economic losses.

[0007] 2. In the deep - sea environment, the ultra - long rigid pipe is prone to vortex - induced vibration under the action of complex loads such as internal wave currents, resulting in obvious deflection, deformation, and even causing the lift pump to cavitate and fail. Especially when the ship needs to move in coordination with the sub - sea mining system, the stress on the rigid pipe will be even worse. If the pipe wall thickness is increased to ensure the connection strength, the weight will increase significantly, posing higher requirements for the ship's support capacity.

[0008] 3. The existing system adopts a single - channel series mode of "mining machine - lifting system - ship". Any node failure (such as the seal failure of the lift pump or the buckling and fracture of the rigid pipe) may cause the entire system to shut down, and it is not easy to meet the continuity requirements of commercial mining. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide a deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system and a mining method thereof that do not require tandem operation and have a short simultaneous recovery and release time.

[0010] This deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system provided by the present invention includes a mother ship, a relay platform, a silo, and a mining vehicle; the mother ship is connected to the relay platform through a cable; the relay platform includes a platform base, a plurality of independently arranged silo limit slots, a clutch mechanism, a conveying branch pipe corresponding to each silo limit slot, a platform beacon, and a thruster, and the thruster enables the relay platform to move synchronously with the mining vehicle; the silo is separable and detachably connected to the silo limit slot of the relay platform through the clutch mechanism, and each silo is provided with an independent buoyancy adjustment component and a self-propulsion device; the mining vehicle is dynamically connected to the conveying branch pipes of different silos through a short-distance conveying main pipe to form a multi-silo parallel filling operation mode.

[0011] In an implementation manner of the above system, a winch, an A-frame, a cable, and buoyancy materials are provided on the mother ship; the winch is connected to one end of the cable through the A-frame, and the other end of the cable is connected to the relay platform; the buoyancy materials are evenly distributed on the cable.

[0012] In an implementation manner of the above system, the platform base is a rigid frame structure, and the silo limit slot is a groove-type positioning mechanism; a clutch component is provided on the inner wall of each groove, and a mineral material conveying branch pipe interface is provided at the bottom.

[0013] In an implementation manner of the above system, the clutch mechanism includes a rotatable clamping plate, and mechanical locking or detachment of the silo and the limit slot is achieved through hydraulic drive.

[0014] In an implementation manner of the above system, a pipeline switching component is provided on the relay platform, one end of the conveying main pipe is connected to the mineral material outlet of the mining vehicle, and the other end is communicated with the pipeline switching component; the conveying branch pipe is selectively communicated with the conveying main pipe through the pipeline switching component.

[0015] In an implementation manner of the above system, the pipeline switching component is a rotary indexing disk-shaped pipeline distributor, which is driven by a motor to rotate, has main and auxiliary conveying channels with different diameters, and can automatically switch the conveying path according to the filling state of the silo.

[0016] In an implementation manner of the above system, the silo includes a storage silo, a buoyancy body, and a discharge door; the storage silo is a lightweight alloy storage container, and an inlet protection pipe and an automatic opening and closing cover plate for docking with the conveying branch pipe are provided at the bottom; a beacon, a camera, and a lamp are provided on the top of the storage silo; a discharge door is provided on the side of the storage silo, and the discharge door is a grid-shaped plate; the buoyancy body is coated on the outer wall of the storage silo, and a thruster is provided at the bottom of the buoyancy body.

[0017] A method for mining using the above deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system is as follows:

[0018] 1. The mother ship lays the relay platform to the seabed operation area through a cable, and adjusts the buoyancy of the cable to keep the relay platform in a state of zero buoyancy to positive buoyancy; the thrusters of the relay platform adjust the thrust direction in real time according to the moving trajectory of the mining vehicle, establish positioning communication with the mining vehicle through the platform beacon, so that the relay platform always hovers directly above the mining vehicle;

[0019] 2. The pipeline switching component aligns the main conveying channel with the first bin conveying branch pipe, and the auxiliary conveying channel with the second bin conveying branch pipe; the ore materials collected by the mining vehicle are preferentially filled into the bin corresponding to the main conveying channel through the conveying main pipe, and at the same time, the second bin is partially filled through the auxiliary conveying channel;

[0020] 3. When the bin corresponding to the main conveying channel reaches the full load threshold, the clutch mechanism is triggered to release the locking constraint of the bin; the full bin starts the self-propelled device and moves towards the mother ship, establishes a recovery path guidance with the mother ship through the top navigation beacon, and opens the grid-shaped discharge door to implement pressure balance discharging after arriving at the mother ship;

[0021] 4. The empty bin after discharging returns to the relay platform through the self-propelled device, and accurately docks with the bin limit slot under the guidance of the beacon; after the clutch mechanism re-locks and resets the bin, the pipeline switching component rotates and indexes to switch the main feed channel to the current empty bin, and resumes the multi-bin parallel filling operation cycle.

[0022] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0023] 1. Through the scheme of "mining machine - floating bin group platform - ship", parallel material transportation is realized through multiple groups of independent floating bins, replacing the traditional series pipeline transportation system; the failure of any bin does not affect the operation of the overall system, significantly improving the reliability and continuity;

[0024] 2. The platform adjusts the buoyancy and controls the thrusters to follow the mining vehicle in real time, and directly connects to the mining machine through a short-distance conveying main pipe, avoiding the structural risks brought by ultra-long rigid pipes; at the same time, the mother ship is only connected to the mining machine through a cable, greatly reducing the weight of the underwater system and significantly shortening the deployment and recovery time;

[0025] 3. A quick clutch component is set, and the reciprocating oil cylinder is used to drive the clamping plate to realize the quick separation and locking of the bin and the platform, greatly shortening the system deployment and recovery time; at the same time, through the rotary disk indexing control of the pipeline switching component, the connection sequence of the main / auxiliary feed pipes and different bins is dynamically allocated to realize multi-bin parallel filling. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the usage state of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 is Figure 1 an axonometric view of the bin and the relay platform in

[0028] Figure 3 is Figure 2 The isometric view of the middle relay platform.

[0029] Figure 4 is Figure 3 The side view of the middle relay platform.

[0030] Figure 5 is Figure 3 The top view of the middle limit slot.

[0031] Figure 6 is Figure 5 The vertical sectional view at A-A of the middle.

[0032] Figure 7 is Figure 2 The isometric view of the middle silo. (The discharge door is not shown)

[0033] Figure 8 is Figure 8 The front view of the middle silo.

[0034] Figure 9 is Figure 8 The side sectional view of the middle silo. Specific embodiments

[0035] Next, the related technical solutions will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0036] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system disclosed in this embodiment includes a mother ship 1, a relay platform 2, a silo 3, and a mining vehicle 4.

[0037] A winch 11, a type A frame 12, a cable 13, and buoyancy materials 14 are provided on the mother ship 1.

[0038] One end of the cable 13 is connected to the winch 11 through the type A frame 12, and the other end of the cable is connected to the relay platform 2.

[0039] The buoyancy materials 14 are evenly distributed on the cable 13 to adjust the buoyancy of the cable and ensure that the relay platform 2 maintains a state of zero buoyancy to positive buoyancy in water.

[0040] As Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the relay platform 2 includes a platform base 21, a silo limit groove 22, a clutch assembly 23, a main conveying pipe 24, a sub-conveying pipe 25, a pipeline switching assembly 26, a platform beacon 27, and a thruster 28.

[0041] The platform base 21 is a rigid frame structure, and a plurality of independent silo limit grooves 22 are provided on the upper surface. The silo limit groove is a groove structure, and a clutch assembly 23 is arranged inside for fixing or releasing the silo 3.

[0042] As Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown, the clutch assembly 23 drives the articulated clamping plate through a reciprocating oil cylinder. The clamping plate is arranged on both side walls of the silo limit groove 22, and the locking or detachment of the silo 3 and the silo limit groove is realized through the rotation action of the clamping plate.

[0043] One end of the main conveying pipe 24 is connected to the ore outlet of the mining vehicle 4, and the other end is communicated with the pipeline switching assembly 26; the sub-conveying pipes 25 are respectively arranged at the bottoms of the silo limit grooves 22 and are selectively communicated with the main conveying pipe through the pipeline switching assembly.

[0044] The pipeline switching assembly 26 is a rotary indexing disc-shaped pipeline distributor, which is driven by a motor to rotate. The disc is provided with a main feed pipe with a large inner diameter and an auxiliary feed pipe with a small inner diameter; when multiple silos are filled simultaneously, the silos are filled in sequence.

[0045] The main feed pipe preferentially fills the ore into the designated silo, and the auxiliary feed pipe assists in partially filling other silos; when the silo corresponding to the main feed pipe is full, the disc rotates and indexes, so that the main feed pipe switches to the next silo, and the silo corresponding to the original auxiliary feed pipe is promoted to the main feed target.

[0046] The platform beacon 27 is used to establish positioning guidance among the mother ship 1, the mining vehicle 4, and the silo 3.

[0047] The thruster 28 is installed at the bottom of the platform base 21, and the relay platform 2 is moved synchronously with the mining vehicle 4 by adjusting the thrust direction.

[0048] As Figure 7 、 Figure 8 and Figure 9 shown, the silo 3 includes a storage silo 31, a buoyancy body 32, a feed protection pipe 33, a cover plate 34, a discharge door 35, a thruster 36, a beacon 37, a camera 38, and a lamp 39.

[0049] The storage silo 31 is made of a lightweight alloy, and a feed protection pipe 33 is installed at the bottom of the inner cavity; the feed protection pipe is sleeved outside the sub-conveying pipe 25, and the top end is hinged with a cover plate 34. After the feeding is completed, the cover plate 34 is closed to prevent the ore from flowing back.

[0050] The buoyancy body 32 is coated on the outer wall of the storage silo 31, and the underwater suspension or floating of the silo 3 is realized by adjusting the buoyancy.

[0051] On the side of the storage bin 31, there is a discharge door 35. The discharge door is a grid-shaped plate and is connected to seawater to ensure the pressure balance inside and outside the bin.

[0052] A thruster 36 is arranged at the bottom of the buoyancy body 32; a beacon 37, a camera 38 and a lamp 39 are arranged at the top of the storage bin 31.

[0053] The method of using this mining system for mining is as follows:

[0054] 1. The relay platform dynamically follows the mining vehicle

[0055] The mother ship deploys a cable through a winch and a type A frame. The lower end of the cable is connected to the relay platform, and the cable tension is adjusted by buoyancy materials to ensure that the relay platform is in a state of zero buoyancy to positive buoyancy; the relay platform adjusts its course through the thruster to move synchronously with the mining vehicle. The platform beacon communicates with the positioning system of the mining vehicle in real time, so that the platform always hovers directly above the mining vehicle; the ore outlet of the mining vehicle is connected to the pipeline switching component of the relay platform through a short-distance conveying main pipe.

[0056] 2. Parallel ore material transportation and multi-bin filling

[0057] The disk indexing structure of the pipeline switching component aligns the main feed pipe with the conveying branch pipe of the first bin, and the auxiliary feed pipe with the conveying branch pipe of the second bin; the conveying main pipe is opened, and the ore materials collected by the mining vehicle flow through the conveying main pipe to the main feed pipe and preferentially fill the first bin;

[0058] When the first bin is full of ore materials, the second bin corresponding to the auxiliary feed pipe is only filled to 1 / 3 of its capacity; the disk indexing of the pipeline switching component rotates, so that the main feed pipe switches to the second bin and the auxiliary feed pipe switches to the third bin; after the ore material transportation channel is switched, the main feed pipe preferentially fills the second bin, and the auxiliary feed pipe simultaneously fills the third bin partially.

[0059] 3. Separation and recovery of full bins

[0060] When the bin corresponding to the main feed pipe, such as the first bin, is full, the clutch component of the relay platform is triggered; the reciprocating oil cylinder drives the articulated clamping plate to contract, releasing the locking constraint between the first bin and the bin limit slot;

[0061] The thruster at the bottom of the full bin starts, and under the positioning guidance of the beacon, drives the bin to move towards the mother ship; the camera and lamp at the top of the bin monitor the navigation path and the external environment;

[0062] After the full bin arrives at the mother ship, the ore materials are discharged through the discharge door. The grid structure of the discharge door ensures the pressure balance inside and outside the bin during discharging; after discharging is completed, the mother ship redeploys the empty bin into the sea.

[0063] 4. Hopper Return to Home Position and System Reset

[0064] The empty hopper moves towards the relay platform through the pusher, and the beacon establishes a navigation connection with the platform beacon;

[0065] After the empty hopper enters the hopper limit slot of the relay platform, the reciprocating oil cylinder of the clutch assembly drives the clamping plate to extend, fixing the hopper to the platform base;

[0066] The disk indexing of the pipeline switching assembly rotates again, switching the main feed pipe to the currently idle hopper and restoring to the parallel filling state.

[0067] Finally, it should be noted that the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in detail, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system, characterized in that: It includes a mother ship, a relay platform, a bunker, and a mining vehicle; The mother ship is connected to the relay platform by a cable; the relay platform includes a platform base, a plurality of independently arranged bunker limit slots, a clutch mechanism, conveying branch pipes corresponding to each bunker limit slot, a platform beacon, and a thruster. The thruster enables the relay platform to move synchronously with the mining vehicle; The bunker is separable and detachably connected to the bunker limit slot of the relay platform through the clutch mechanism. Each bunker is provided with an independent buoyancy adjustment component and a self-propulsion device; The mining vehicle is dynamically connected to the conveying branch pipes of different bunkers through a short-distance conveying main pipe to form a multi-bunker parallel filling operation mode.

2. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mother ship is provided with a winch, an A-frame, a cable, and buoyancy materials; the winch is connected to one end of the cable through the A-frame, and the other end of the cable is connected to the relay platform; the buoyancy materials are evenly distributed on the cable.

3. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The platform base is a rigid frame structure, and the bunker limit slot is a groove-type positioning mechanism; a clutch component is provided on the inner wall of each groove, and a mineral conveying branch pipe interface is provided at the bottom.

4. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system according to claim 1, wherein: The clutch mechanism includes a rotatable clamping plate, and realizes mechanical locking or detachment of the bunker and the limit slot through hydraulic drive.

5. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A pipeline switching component is provided on the relay platform. One end of the conveying main pipe is connected to the mineral outlet of the mining vehicle, and the other end is communicated with the pipeline switching component; the conveying branch pipe is selectively communicated with the conveying main pipe through the pipeline switching component.

6. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The pipeline switching component is a rotary indexing disk-shaped pipeline distributor, which is driven by a motor to rotate, and has main and auxiliary conveying channels with different diameters, and can automatically switch the conveying path according to the filling state of the bunker.

7. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bunker includes a storage bunker, a buoyancy body, and a discharge door; The storage bunker is a light alloy storage container, and is provided with a feed protection pipe and an automatic opening and closing cover plate for docking with the conveying branch pipe at the bottom; a beacon, a camera, and a lamp are provided on the top of the storage bunker; a discharge door is provided on the side of the storage bunker, and the discharge door is a grid-shaped plate; the buoyancy body is coated on the outer wall of the storage bunker, and a thruster is provided at the bottom of the buoyancy body.

8. A method for mining using the deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining system according to any one of claims 1-7, the specific steps are as follows:

1. The mother ship lays the relay platform to the seabed operation area through a cable, and adjusts the cable buoyancy to keep the relay platform in a zero-buoyancy to positive-buoyancy state; the thruster of the relay platform adjusts the thrust direction in real time according to the movement track of the mining vehicle, and establishes positioning communication with the mining vehicle through the platform beacon, so that the relay platform is always suspended directly above the mining vehicle; 2. The pipeline switching component aligns the main conveying channel with the first bunker conveying branch pipe, and the auxiliary conveying channel with the second bunker conveying branch pipe; the ore collected by the mining vehicle is preferentially filled into the bunker corresponding to the main conveying channel through the conveying main pipe, and at the same time, the second bunker is partially filled through the auxiliary conveying channel; 3. When the bunker corresponding to the main conveying channel reaches the full-load threshold, trigger the clutch mechanism to release the locking constraint of the bunker; the full bunker starts the self-propulsion device and moves towards the mother ship, and establishes a recovery path guidance with the mother ship through the top navigation beacon. After arriving at the mother ship, open the grid-shaped discharge door to implement pressure balance unloading; 4. The empty silo after discharging returns to the relay platform through the self-propelling device and accurately docks with the silo limit slot under beacon navigation; after the clutch mechanism re-locks and resets the silo, the pipeline switching component rotates and indexes to switch the main feed channel to the current empty silo, resuming the multi-silo parallel filling operation cycle.

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