Deep sea ore conveying system and cooperative control method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a deep sea ore conveying system and a cooperative control method thereof. Belongs to the technical field of deep sea mining and comprises a pre-crushing module, a middle transition pipeline and an anti-blocking conveying pipeline, and a periodic air pressure pulse device and a modular control correction unit are arranged on the outer wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline; the device has the characteristics that front-end pre-crushing: high-pressure water jet crushes ores in a non-contact manner, so that large ores are prevented from entering a pipeline; the particle size is detected in real time through laser, ore exceeding the standard is circularly and secondarily crushed, and the blocking risk is controlled from the source; middle-end anti-blocking conveying is achieved, ore is made to rotate and suspend through spiral flow deflectors, and pipe wall friction is reduced; the air pressure pulse periodically impacts the adhesion layer, and physical-pneumatic cooperative blockage removal is achieved; adjusting buoyancy at the rear end, namely dynamically filling and discharging liquid in a buoyancy cabin in a modular control correction unit, and matching ore density change in real time; buoyancy is adjusted in advance through predictive control, traction force on the water surface supporting platform is reduced, and meanwhile the problem of pipeline deviation caused by disturbance of a deep sea flow field is solved through a lateral pushing device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of deep - sea mining, and relates to a deep - sea ore conveying system and its cooperative control method; specifically, it relates to a deep - sea ore conveying system, including an anti - blockage pipeline design, a modular control correction unit, in - situ pre - crushing technology and its cooperative control method, which is suitable for the efficient and environmentally friendly conveying of viscous minerals such as polymetallic nodules and hydrothermal sulfides. Background Art

[0002] The ocean floor contains rich resources such as marine oil and gas, natural gas hydrates, and metal minerals; among the metal mineral resources, taking polymetallic nodules, cobalt - rich crusts, and polymetallic sulfides on the seabed as examples, they are rich in various metal elements including gold, cobalt, copper, nickel, manganese, etc. At present, the most promising metal mineral resource is recognized as polymetallic nodules. At present, the pipeline - lifting deep - sea mining system is the most promising commercial mining system, and the ore is crushed by a sub - sea mining vehicle and pumped into the mining ship through a hose, a relay bin, and a conveying hard pipe.

[0003] However, the normal transportation of the mixture in the conveying hard pipe is an important guarantee for the smooth operation of the deep - sea mining system. Due to the large particle size of the ore and the long conveying distance, its follow - up of seawater in the pipeline is poor, and under harsh marine environmental conditions, the risk of ore blockage in the pipeline greatly increases. In deep - sea ore conveying, viscous minerals are prone to block the pipeline. Traditional single anti - blockage designs (such as increasing the flow rate) lead to high energy consumption and rapid pipeline wear; the density difference of the ore is large, and the fixed buoyancy system cannot adapt dynamically, resulting in serious waste of pumping energy; large - sized ore directly entering the pipeline exacerbates wear, and existing pre - crushing equipment is large in volume and difficult to integrate. The core challenges faced by deep - sea mining lie in high energy consumption, easy blockage, and poor environmental adaptability during the ore conveying process. The traditional solutions have the following defects: 1. Single anti - blockage design: relying on increasing the flow rate or mechanical crushing, resulting in a sharp increase in energy consumption and serious equipment wear; 2. Lag in buoyancy adjustment: the fixed buoyancy system cannot match the change in ore density in real time, and the pumping efficiency is low; 3. Low degree of pre - crushing integration: large - sized ore directly entering the pipeline exacerbates wear, and existing crushing devices are large in volume and slow in response. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to propose a modular cooperative control system and its cooperative control method, which can realize an efficient, low - consumption, and stable deep - sea ore conveying system through the deep integration of in - situ pre - crushing, dynamic buoyancy adjustment, and intelligent anti - blockage technology.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is: A deep - sea mining ore conveying system according to the present invention includes a pre - crushing module, an intermediate transition section, and an anti - blockage conveying pipeline connected by pipelines;

[0006] The rear end of the pre-crushing module is connected to the intermediate transition section by means of flange connection, and the rear end of the intermediate transition section is also connected to the anti-blocking conveying pipeline by means of flange connection.

[0007] Furthermore, the pre-crushing module includes a crushing module housing, a high-pressure water jet nozzle array arranged on the housing, and a laser particle size sensor, which are used to crush the ore and control the output particle size.

[0008] At the halfway point of the pipeline in the pre-crushing module, a vibrating screening device composed of a funnel-shaped ore filter screen and a vibrating device is installed. The vibrating screening device is provided with wear-resistant filter grids inside, and the filter screen holes can be designed according to actual engineering requirements; so that smaller ores flow out from the gaps, and when a certain number of large-particle ores accumulate, the tail unfolding mechanism will be opened to prevent ore blockage.

[0009] At the tail of the vibrating screening device, a deployable structure (tail opening structure) connecting the intermediate transition section is installed to facilitate the outflow of large ores; and then it is connected to the intermediate transition section.

[0010] Furthermore, the laser particle size sensors are distributed at the entrance of the pre-crushing module, and the high-pressure water jet nozzle array is arranged annularly on the inner wall of the pre-crushing module. The nozzles are made of tungsten carbide material and adopt a cross-jet design, and the jet direction forms an acute angle with the ore falling trajectory;

[0011] The jet direction of the high-pressure water jet nozzle array is inclined at an acute angle with respect to the ore falling trajectory;

[0012] The output signal of the laser particle size sensor is fed back to the high-pressure water jet pressure control system to maintain the ore crushing particle size smaller than the preset threshold.

[0013] Furthermore, the length of the intermediate transition pipeline is extended to prevent a large amount of pulp from surging in at the same time.

[0014] Furthermore, a spiral diversion structure is installed on the inner wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline, and several periodic air pressure pulse devices are integrated with the outer wall of the pipeline. The pulse frequency and pressure value of the periodic air pressure pulse device are dynamically adjusted according to the viscosity of the ore in the pipeline. It includes a micro blasting diaphragm, a main housing, a solenoid valve and a high-pressure gas tank. The micro blasting diaphragm is installed on the periodic air pressure pulse device, and the solenoid valve and the high-pressure gas tank are installed inside the main housing, and the pulse frequency is dynamically adjusted according to the pipeline pressure sensor data;

[0015] The spiral diversion structure and the outer wall thereof are integrally formed with spiral protrusions on the inside and outside, the diversion angle is 30°, and the spiral diameter is 1.5 times the diameter of the pipeline;

[0016] The diversion angle and pitch of the spiral diversion structure are in a proportional relationship with the pipeline diameter; the surface of the spiral diversion structure is provided with a wear-resistant coating.

[0017] Furthermore, several modular control and correction units are also installed on the outer wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline. The anti-blocking conveying pipeline is connected by a hydraulic quick-release joint, including a lightweight housing, a drainage hole, a density detector, a micro hydraulic pump, a micro solenoid valve and a lateral pushing device.

[0018] Furthermore, the modular control and correction unit includes multiple independent compartments (detachable buoyancy compartments, density sensing devices and lateral pushing devices). Water is injected or discharged through a hydraulic pump to dynamically adjust the net buoyancy of the buoyancy compartment, reducing the traction force of the pipeline on the water surface collection platform;

[0019] The micro hydraulic pump is placed inside the housing wall, and a density detector is installed at the connection of the inner wall to facilitate detecting the pulp density and making dynamic adjustments in a timely manner; a sealed space is designed in the independent compartment to place the micro solenoid valve for controlling the hydraulic pump; the lateral pushing device is installed on both sides of the buoyancy compartment to offset the offset caused by the ocean current to the pipeline and facilitate returning the pipeline to the correct position.

[0020] Furthermore, the present invention also dynamically adjusts the medium volume in the buoyancy compartment and the lateral pushing device through an adaptive algorithm to reduce the offset of the pipeline caused by the influence of the ocean current;

[0021] The adaptive algorithm includes calculating the buoyancy demand in real time based on the change in ore density and adjusting the volume of the buoyancy compartment in advance through a time series prediction model; a standardized liquid filling and discharging interface is provided on the buoyancy compartment to support quick disassembly and recombination.

[0022] Furthermore, when it is detected that the ore particle size exceeds the preset threshold, the pipeline conveying rate is synchronously reduced and the air pressure pulse frequency is increased. According to the changes in the real-time ore density and the pipeline position, the matching relationship between the power of the lateral pushing device and the pumping power is dynamically optimized.

[0023] Furthermore, a collaborative control method for the system includes the following steps:

[0024] S1: Real-time obtain the ore particle size information through a laser particle size sensor and feedback to adjust the working parameters of the high-pressure water jet;

[0025] S2: Predict the change trend of the ore density based on the data of the density detector and generate a volume adjustment command for the buoyancy compartment;

[0026] S3: Dynamically trigger a multi-level blockage clearing mode according to the change of the pipeline pressure of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline;

[0027] S31: If the pressure difference rate of the pipeline is within the preset stable state, the conventional pulse mode is adopted;

[0028] S32: If the pressure difference rate of the pipeline exceeds the preset critical value, the high-frequency emergency mode is adopted.

[0029] Furthermore, the overall control logic flow method of the deep-sea mining ore transportation system includes the following steps:

[0030] S4: Data acquisition layer: including laser particle size sensor, pipeline pressure difference sensor, density detector, flow meter and water depth sensor, etc., with sampling frequency ≥100Hz;

[0031] S5: Decision-making layer: uses AI control algorithm and LSTM (long short-term memory network) model. Input parameters include historical density data, flow rate, and water depth. Output buoyancy adjustment amount and pulse frequency.

[0032] S51: High-pressure jet pressure regulation: Dynamically adjust the booster pump output through the PID controller;

[0033] S52: Pipeline position control: drives the hydraulic pump and lateral propulsion device based on PWM signals;

[0034] S53: Pulse clearing trigger: the solenoid valve opening and closing logic is synchronized with the pipeline pressure change.

[0035] In the collaborative control method, the triggering condition of the high-frequency emergency mode includes the pipeline pressure difference rate exceeding a preset critical value; the generation of the buoyancy tank volume adjustment instruction includes deep learning analysis of historical operating condition data.

[0036] The working principle of the present invention is as follows: the central controller uses data from multiple sensors (particle size, density, pressure) to jointly adjust the crushing, blockage clearing and buoyancy parameters to achieve front-end pre-crushing, mid-end anti-blocking transportation, and physical-pneumatic coordinated blockage clearing; the back-end buoyancy is adjusted to reduce pumping energy consumption.

[0037] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. Front-end pre-crushing: high-pressure water jets crush ore in a non-contact manner to prevent large pieces of mineral from entering the pipeline; laser real-time detection of particle size, and secondary crushing of ore exceeding the standard, thereby controlling the risk of blockage at the source; 2. Mid-end anti-blocking transportation: spiral guide vanes suspend the ore vortex to reduce friction on the pipe wall; air pressure pulses periodically impact the adhesion layer, and physical-pneumatic coordinated blockage removal; 3. Back-end buoyancy adjustment: modular buoyancy cabins dynamically fill and discharge liquid to match changes in ore density in real time; predictive control adjusts buoyancy in advance to reduce the traction of the pipeline on the water surface support platform, while the lateral propulsion device offsets the pipeline deviation problem caused by deep-sea flow field disturbances. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional view of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 It is a structural diagram of the pre-crushing module in the present invention;

[0041] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the internal structure of the periodic air pressure pulse device of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of the modular control correction unit in the present invention;

[0043] Figure 6 is an operational flow chart of the collaborative control method of the ore conveying system of the present invention;

[0044] In the figure: 1 is a pre-crushing module, 10 is a vibration filtering device, 101 is a tail opening structure, 11 is a laser particle size sensor, 12 is a pre-crushing module housing, and 13 is a high-pressure water jet nozzle array;

[0045] 2 is the intermediate transition pipe;

[0046] 3 is a periodic air pressure pulse device, 31 is a micro bursting diaphragm, 32 is a main housing, 33 is a solenoid valve, and 34 is a high-pressure gas tank;

[0047] 4 is an anti-blocking delivery pipe, 41 is a spiral guide structure;

[0048] 5 is a modular control correction unit, 51 is a lightweight housing, 52 is a drainage hole, 53 is a density detector, 54 is a micro hydraulic pump, 55 is a micro solenoid valve, and 56 is a lateral push device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The specific technical solutions of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to specific examples.

[0050] As shown in the figure, a deep-sea mining ore conveying system according to the present invention includes a pre-crushing module 1, an intermediate transition pipe 2, a periodic air pressure pulse device 3, an anti-blocking conveying pipe 4 and a modular control correction unit 5;

[0051] Among them, the pre-crushing module 1 is detected by the central system. The front end of the pre-crushing module 1 is fixedly connected to the front end of the intermediate transition section 2, which is used to pre-crush large-particle ore. At the same time, the ore enters the anti-blocking conveying pipeline 4 and is fixedly connected to the rear end of the intermediate transition section 2, which is used to guide the ore. The air pressure pulse device 3 and the modular control correction unit 5 are installed on the outer wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline 4. Among them, the modular control correction unit 5 is connected in a detachable manner. The air pressure pulse device 3 is used to peel off the internal attachments. The modular control correction unit 5 injects or discharges seawater through a hydraulic pump to achieve buoyancy adjustment and reduce energy consumption.

[0052] Further, the pre-crushing module 1 includes a vibration filtering device 10, a tail opening structure 101, a laser particle size sensor 11, a pre-crushing module housing 12, and a high-pressure water jet nozzle array 13.

[0053] Among them, the pre-crushing module 1 monitors the particle size distribution of the ore in real time through the laser particle size sensor 11. If it is detected that the particle size of the ore is too large, the high-pressure water jet nozzle array 13 is controlled by the central sensor to pre-crush the ore, and dynamic adjustment is performed through the controller.

[0054] The laser particle size sensor 11 is arranged at the entrance of the pre-crushing module 1. The high-pressure water jet nozzle array (13) is annularly arranged on the inner wall of the pre-crushing module (1). The nozzles are made of tungsten carbide material, the nozzle inclination angle is 25°, and it adopts a cross-jet design. A tungsten carbide coating is used to enhance the wear-resistant life. The direction of the jet flow forms an acute angle with the falling trajectory of the ore.

[0055] The vibration filtering device 10 is welded at the midpoint of the pipeline of the pre-crushing module 1 to filter out small-particle ore. The intermediate transition pipeline 2 is used to prevent a large amount of ore from accumulating. If some ore is blocked in the vibration filtering device 10, the tail opening structure 101 can be used to open the structure at the moment when the ore density is low, ensuring that the vibration filtering device 10 will not be blocked.

[0056] Further, the periodic air pressure pulse device 3 includes a micro blasting diaphragm 31, a main housing 32, a solenoid valve 33, and a high-pressure gas tank 34.

[0057] The main housing 32 is made of anti-corrosion material and is connected to the anti-blocking conveying pipeline 4 through the micro blasting diaphragm 31. An electromagnetic valve 33 and a high-pressure gas tank 34 are arranged inside, which can perform periodic pulse combing on the pipe wall.

[0058] The periodic air pressure pulse device 3 is installed in groups at a certain distance along the pipe wall, and the frequency and magnitude of the pulse are dynamically adjusted through sensor detection.

[0059] Furthermore, a spiral flow guiding structure 41 is installed inside the anti-blocking conveying pipeline 4 and is integrally formed with the pipe wall. The spiral flow guiding structure 41 forces the fluid to flow along a preset path through the rotation of the spiral blade deflector, reducing the material accumulation caused by turbulence or local retention. Moreover, the tangential force and axial thrust generated during the rotation of the spiral blades can push the material to move continuously, preventing static deposition, reducing the deposition on the pipe wall, and reducing pipeline blockage;

[0060] The spiral flow guiding structure 41 is made of high-strength stainless steel material, with a guiding angle of 40°, a pitch of 1.3 times the pipe diameter, and the surface of the guiding vane is sprayed with a tungsten carbide coating to extend the service life.

[0061] Furthermore, the modular control and correction unit 5 includes a lightweight housing 51, a drain hole 52, a density detector 53, a micro hydraulic pump 54, a micro solenoid valve 55, and a lateral pushing device 56;

[0062] The lightweight housing 51 is made of anti-corrosion material and is designed in a segmented manner. It has four independent compartments inside, with a density sensor 53 installed. The density change is transmitted to the central controller, and the volume of the internal seawater is dynamically adjusted through the micro hydraulic pump 54, reducing the traction force on the water surface support platform and alleviating the pipeline offset problem at the same time;

[0063] The micro solenoid valve 55 is placed at the innermost side of the compartment, with an arc-shaped structure welded outside, forming a sealed space inside to prevent the micro solenoid valve 55 from being eroded by seawater;

[0064] The lateral pushing device 56 is installed on both sides of the buoyancy tank and is composed of a propeller, a protective housing, and internal sensors. It is used to offset the offset caused by the ocean current to the pipeline, making the pipeline return to the correct position and reducing the traction force on the water surface support platform;

[0065] The central controller is connected to each module sensor through the CAN bus, including the laser particle size sensor 11 and the density detector 53, receiving data in real time, and synchronizing with the water surface control center through a 4G and optical fiber hybrid communication link. During the pre-crushing stage, based on the data transmitted back by the laser particle size sensor 11, the high-pressure water jet nozzle array 13 is mobilized to crush large-particle ore, and at the same time, the output of the booster pump is dynamically adjusted through the PID controller. The LSTM neural network is trained using the historical data set, with input parameters including density, flow rate, and water depth, and the pipeline position offset data is output. The algorithm predicts the buoyancy demand and the lateral pushing device in advance, adjusts the hydraulic pump, and implements the detection of pipeline blockage and cooperates with the pulse to clear the blockage.

[0066] Furthermore, for the collaborative control method of the deep-sea ore conveying system, the operation steps are as follows:

[0067] S1: Conduct pre - monitoring of the pipeline through a laser particle size sensor 11, a density detector 53, a flowmeter, a water depth sensor, etc.;

[0068] S2: Input parameters into the deep - sea ore transportation system, specifically including historical density data, flow velocity, water depth, etc. Use an AI control algorithm and adopt a long - short - term memory network model to conduct collaborative control of the deep - sea ore transportation system;

[0069] S21: Dynamically trigger a multi - level blockage - clearing mode according to the pipeline pressure change of the anti - blockage transportation pipeline;

[0070] S22: Dynamically adjust the modular control correction unit (5) according to the pipeline offset and in - pipe density of the anti - blockage transportation pipeline;

[0071] S211: If the pipeline pressure difference rate is within the preset stable state, adopt the conventional pulse mode;

[0072] S212: If the pipeline pressure difference rate exceeds the preset critical value, adopt the high - frequency emergency mode;

[0073] S221: Drive the micro - hydraulic pump and the lateral pushing device based on the PWM signal;

[0074] S222: Predict the change trend of ore density based on the data of the density detector and generate a buoyancy tank volume adjustment instruction.

Claims

1. A deep-sea ore transportation system, characterized in that, It includes a pre-crushing module (1), an intermediate transition section (2), and an anti-blocking conveying pipeline (4) connected by pipelines; The rear end of the pre-crushing module (1) is connected to the intermediate transition section (2) by a flange connection method, and the rear end of the intermediate transition section (2) is connected to the anti-blocking conveying pipeline (4) by a flange connection method; The pre-crushing module (1) includes a pre-crushing module housing (12), on which a laser particle size sensor (11) and several groups of evenly arranged high-pressure water jet nozzle arrays (13) are installed.

2. The deep-sea ore conveying system according to claim 1, wherein The laser particle size sensor (11) is distributed at the entrance of the pre-crushing module (1); The high-pressure water jet nozzle arrays (13) are annularly arranged on the inner wall of the pre-crushing module (1). Their nozzles are made of tungsten carbide and adopt a cross-jet design. The jet direction forms an acute angle with the ore falling trajectory.

3. The deep-sea ore conveying system according to claim 1, characterized in that, A vibrating screening device (10) is installed at the middle of the pre-crushing module (1), at the half of the pipeline. The vibrating screening device (10) is composed of a funnel-shaped ore filter screen and a vibrating device; At the tail of the vibrating screening device (10), at one end facing the intermediate transition section (2), a tail opening structure (101) connecting the intermediate transition section (2) is installed.

4. The deep-sea ore conveying system according to claim 1, characterized in that, A spiral guiding structure (41) is installed on the inner wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline (4). An integrally formed spiral protrusion is formed between the spiral guiding structure (41) and the outer wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline (4). The formed guiding angle is 30°, and its spiral diameter is 1.5 times the pipeline diameter.

5. The deep - sea ore transportation system according to claim 4, wherein Several periodic air pressure pulse devices (3) are integrated on the outer wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline (4). The periodic air pressure pulse device (3) includes a main housing (32) fixed on the outer wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline (4). A micro blasting diaphragm (31) is installed on the main housing (32). An electromagnetic valve (33) and a high-pressure gas tank (34) are installed inside the main housing (32), and it dynamically adjusts the pulse frequency according to the pipeline pressure sensor data.

6. The deep-sea ore conveying system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Several modular control correction units (5) are also installed on the outer wall of the anti-blocking conveying pipeline (4). They are connected to the anti-blocking conveying pipeline (4) by hydraulic quick-change joints; The modular control correction unit (5) includes a lightweight housing (51) and inner walls arranged inside the lightweight housing (51) and intersecting with each other. Multiple independent compartments with airtight spaces, namely buoyancy compartments, are formed between the lightweight housing (51) and the adjacent inner walls; A density detector (53) is installed at the connection of the intersecting inner walls.

7. A deep-sea ore conveying system according to claim 6, characterized in that, Micro electromagnetic valves (55) are installed near the intersecting inner walls; A micro hydraulic pump (54) is installed inside each of the independent compartments; Drainage holes (52) are opened on the lightweight housing (51).

8. A deep-sea ore conveying system according to claim 6, wherein, Lateral pushing devices (56) are also installed on the outer walls of the lightweight housings (51) on both sides thereof.

9. A deep-sea ore conveying system according to claim 4, characterized in that, A wear-resistant coating is applied on the surface of the spiral guiding structure (41).

10. A collaborative control method for a deep-sea ore conveying system according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, Its operation steps are as follows: S1: Conduct pre-monitoring of the pipeline through a laser particle size sensor (11), a density detector (53), a flowmeter, and a water depth sensor; S2: Input parameters into the deep-sea ore transportation system, specifically including historical density data, flow velocity, and water depth. Use an AI control algorithm and a long short-term memory network model to conduct collaborative control of the system; S21: Dynamically trigger a multi-level blockage clearing mode according to the pipeline pressure change of the anti-blockage transportation pipeline (4); S22: Dynamically adjust the modular control correction unit (5) according to the pipeline offset and the density inside the anti-blockage transportation pipeline (4); S211: If the pipeline pressure difference rate is within the preset stable state, adopt a conventional pulse mode; S212: If the pipeline pressure difference rate exceeds the preset critical value, adopt a high-frequency emergency mode; S221: Drive the micro hydraulic pump (54) and the lateral pushing device (56) based on the PWM signal; S222: Predict the change trend of the ore density based on the data of the density detector (53) and generate a buoyancy chamber volume adjustment instruction.

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