Drag reduction assembly for cable back-towing

Abstract

This application provides a drag-reducing component for submarine cable backhauling, comprising: a reamer, the reamer including a reamer body and a first connecting shaft, the first connecting shaft being disposed on one axial side of the reamer body; a universal joint, the universal joint being connected to the side of the first connecting shaft away from the reamer body; and a drag-reducing tube, the drag-reducing tube being sleeved on the first connecting shaft, the diameter of the drag-reducing tube being smaller than the diameter of the reamer body, and a guide hole provided inside the drag-reducing tube, the guide hole having a first orifice and a second orifice communicating with each other, the first orifice being located on the axial end face of the drag-reducing tube, and the second orifice being located on the outer circumferential surface of the drag-reducing tube. In the drag-reducing component for submarine cable backhauling provided by this application, the mud in the directional hole enters the guide hole through the first orifice, and the mud in the guide hole flows out through the second orifice under the rotation of the drag-reducing tube, and the flowing mud can apply pressure to the wall of the directional hole to reinforce the mud lubrication layer adhering to the wall of the directional hole, thereby reducing the drag of the submarine cable backhauling.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model generally relates to the field of submarine cable laying technology, and specifically to a drag reduction component for submarine cable back-towing. Background Technology

[0002] During submarine cable laying, directional drill rods are used to pull the cable back through the directional hole. However, reducing the resistance during this pullback operation has been a pressing issue in this field. Utility Model Content

[0003] In view of the above-mentioned defects or deficiencies in the prior art, it is desirable to provide a drag reduction component for submarine cable backhaul.

[0004] This application provides a drag reduction component for submarine cable back-towing, comprising: A hole expander, comprising a hole expander body and a first connecting shaft, the first connecting shaft being disposed on one axial side of the hole expander body; Universal joint, the universal joint is connected to the side of the first connecting shaft away from the body of the reamer; A drag-reducing tube is sleeved on the first connecting shaft. The diameter of the drag-reducing tube is smaller than the diameter of the main body of the expander. A flow guide hole is provided inside the drag-reducing tube. The flow guide hole has a first orifice and a second orifice that are connected. The first orifice is located on the axial end face of the drag-reducing tube, and the second orifice is located on the outer circumferential surface of the drag-reducing tube.

[0005] Furthermore, there is a first gap between the drag-reducing tube and the universal joint, and the drag-reducing tube includes a first axial end face near the universal joint, with a first orifice located on the first axial end face.

[0006] Furthermore, there is a second gap between the drag-reducing tube and the expander body. The drag-reducing tube includes a second axial end face close to the expander body, and there are two second orifices, which are located on the first axial end face and the second axial end face, respectively.

[0007] Furthermore, the guide hole includes a first section and a second section. The first section extends through the drag-reducing tube along its axial direction, and one end of the second section extends to the first section and the other end extends to the outer circumferential surface of the drag-reducing tube.

[0008] Furthermore, the guide hole includes multiple second hole segments, which are spaced apart along the axial direction of the drag-reducing tube.

[0009] Furthermore, the second bore section is axially inclined relative to the drag-reducing tube.

[0010] Furthermore, it also includes a first shackle and a second shackle, one end of the first shackle is connected to a universal joint and the other end is cross-connected to the second shackle, and the end of the second shackle away from the first shackle is used for movable connection with the submarine cable joint.

[0011] Furthermore, there are multiple guide holes, and these multiple guide holes are spaced apart along the circumference of the drag-reducing tube.

[0012] Furthermore, the drag-reducing tube is axially and upwardly positioned along the first connecting shaft in an adjustable manner.

[0013] Furthermore, the drag-reducing tube is screwed to the first connecting shaft.

[0014] The drag-reducing component for submarine cable backhauling provided in this application has a drag-reducing tube installed on the first connecting shaft connected to the universal joint in the reamer. The drag-reducing tube has a guide hole. The first orifice of the guide hole is located on the axial end face of the drag-reducing tube, and the second orifice of the guide hole is located on the outer peripheral surface of the drag-reducing tube. The mud in the directional hole enters the guide hole through the first orifice. Under the rotation of the drag-reducing tube, the mud in the guide hole flows out through the second orifice. The outflowing mud can apply pressure to the wall of the directional hole to strengthen the mud lubrication layer attached to the wall of the directional hole, thereby reducing the drag of the submarine cable backhauling. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Other features, objects, and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the drag reduction component for submarine cable back-towing provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of part A in the image. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The present application will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the relevant utility model and not intended to limit the scope of the utility model. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to the utility model are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0017] Please refer to the attached document. Figure 1-2This application provides a drag-reducing assembly for submarine cable backhauling, used to connect a directional drill rod 500 and a submarine cable connector 400 to enable backhauling of the submarine cable within a directional borehole. The drag-reducing assembly includes a reamer 100, a universal joint 200, and a drag-reducing tube 300. The universal joint 200 is located on one axial side of the reamer 100. The reamer 100 includes a reamer body 110 and a first connecting shaft 120 and a second connecting shaft 130 located on opposite axial sides of the reamer body 110. The first connecting shaft 120 is located on the side of the reamer body 110 closest to the universal joint 200. The second connecting shaft 130 connects the directional drill rod 500. The universal joint 200 connects the first connecting shaft 120 and the submarine cable connector 400. The drag-reducing tube 300 is sleeved on the first connecting shaft 120. The diameter of the drag-reducing tube 300 is smaller than the diameter of the reamer body 110, creating a flow channel between the drag-reducing tube 300 and the directional borehole wall. The drag-reducing tube 300 is provided with a guide hole 310, which has a first orifice 312 and a second orifice 313 that are connected. The first orifice 312 is located on the axial end face of the drag-reducing tube 300, and the second orifice 313 is located on the outer peripheral surface of the drag-reducing tube 300. Before the submarine cable is towed back in the directional hole, the directional hole is filled with mud. The mud can enter the guide hole 310 through at least the first orifice 312. When the drag-reducing tube 300 rotates with the reamer 100, it can centrifugally throw the mud in the guide hole 310 out through the second orifice 313. The thrown mud enters the guide channel and drives the mud in the guide channel to squeeze the directional hole wall, thereby strengthening the mud lubrication layer attached to the directional hole wall and reducing the drag of the submarine cable during towing.

[0018] Optionally, multiple guide holes 310 are provided, and these multiple guide holes 310 are spaced apart circumferentially along the drag-reducing tube 300 to enhance the reinforcement effect of the mud lubrication layer. The diameter of the drag-reducing tube 300 can be 0.6-0.8 times the diameter of the reamer body 110.

[0019] In some embodiments of this application, the drag-reducing tube 300 includes a first axial end face 301 and a second axial end face arranged axially opposite to each other. The first axial end face 301 is disposed near the universal joint 200 and the second axial end face is disposed near the expander body 110. At least one of the first axial end face 301 and the second axial end face is provided with a first orifice 312. For example, the first orifice 312 is located on the first axial end face 301, and there is a first gap 302 between the drag-reducing tube 300 and the universal joint 200. The presence of the first gap 302 allows the mud to enter the guide hole 310 better; or, the first orifice 312 is located on the second axial end face, and there is a second gap 303 between the drag-reducing tube 300 and the reamer body 110. The presence of the second gap 303 allows the mud to enter the guide hole 310 better; or, there are two first orifices 312, and the two first orifices 312 are located on the first axial end face 301 and the second axial end face respectively, with a first gap 302 between the drag-reducing tube 300 and the universal joint 200 and a second gap 303 between the drag-reducing tube 300 and the reamer body 110.

[0020] In some embodiments of this application, the flow guide hole 310 includes a first section 311 and a second section. The first section 311 extends through the drag-reducing tube 300 along its axial direction. One end of the second section extends to the first section 311, and the other end extends to the outer peripheral surface of the drag-reducing tube 300. A first orifice 312 is formed at the intersection of the first axial end face 301 and the first section 311, and at the intersection of the second axial end face and the first section 311. A second orifice 313 is formed at the intersection of the second section and the outer peripheral surface of the drag-reducing tube 300. The flow guide hole 310 has a simple structure and allows for smooth flow.

[0021] In some embodiments of this application, the guide hole 310 includes a plurality of second hole segments, which are spaced apart along the axial direction of the drag-reducing pipe 300, increasing the mud outlet on the drag-reducing pipe 300 and helping to improve the stability of the mud lubrication layer.

[0022] Optionally, the second orifice section is inclined relative to the axial direction of the drag-reducing tube 300. The inclination angle of the second orifice section can be between 30° and 45°.

[0023] In some embodiments of this application, a first shackle 610 and a second shackle 620 are also included. One end of the first shackle 610 is connected to the universal joint 200, and the other end is cross-connected to the second shackle 620. The end of the second shackle 620 away from the first shackle 610 is used for a movable connection with the submarine cable connector 400, which is fixedly connected to the end of the submarine cable. The connection between the universal joint 200 and the submarine cable connector 400 via the two shackles increases the flexibility of the submarine cable during pullback and helps reduce the pullback resistance.

[0024] In some embodiments of this application, the drag-reducing tube 300 is adjustablely positioned along the axial direction of the first connecting shaft 120, which can adjust the size of the first spacing 302 and the second spacing 303 to meet the requirements of spacing size adjustment.

[0025] Optionally, the drag-reducing tube 300 is screwed to the first connecting shaft 120, making the position adjustment of the drag-reducing tube 300 more convenient.

[0026] It should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., used above to indicate orientation or positional relationships are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this utility model, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0027] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and an explanation of the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the utility model involved in this application is not limited to the technical solutions formed by specific combinations of the above-described technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by arbitrary combinations of the above-described technical features or their equivalents without departing from the inventive concept. For example, technical solutions formed by substituting the above features with (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in this application.

Claims

1. A drag-reducing component for submarine cable backhauling, characterized in that, include: A hole expander, comprising a hole expander body and a first connecting shaft, wherein the first connecting shaft is disposed on one axial side of the hole expander body; Universal joint, the universal joint being connected to the side of the first connecting shaft away from the reamer body; A drag-reducing tube is sleeved on the first connecting shaft. The diameter of the drag-reducing tube is smaller than the diameter of the bore expander body. A flow guide hole is provided inside the drag-reducing tube. The flow guide hole has a first orifice and a second orifice that are connected. The first orifice is located on the axial end face of the drag-reducing tube, and the second orifice is located on the outer circumferential surface of the drag-reducing tube.

2. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable, according to claim 1, characterised in that, There is a first gap between the drag-reducing tube and the universal joint, and the drag-reducing tube includes a first axial end face near the universal joint, with the first orifice located on the first axial end face.

3. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable, according to claim 2, characterised in that, There is a second distance between the drag-reducing tube and the reamer body. The drag-reducing tube includes a second axial end face close to the reamer body. There are two second orifices, and the two second orifices are respectively located on the first axial end face and the second axial end face.

4. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable, according to claim 3, characterised in that, The flow guide hole includes a first section and a second section. The first section extends through the drag-reducing tube along its axial direction. One end of the second section extends to the first section and the other end extends to the outer circumferential surface of the drag-reducing tube.

5. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable, according to claim 4, characterised in that, The flow guide hole includes a plurality of second hole segments, which are spaced apart along the axial direction of the drag reduction tube.

6. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable, according to claim 4, characterised in that, The second hole section is inclined relative to the axial direction of the drag-reducing tube.

7. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable, according to claim 1, characterised in that, It also includes a first shackle and a second shackle, one end of the first shackle is connected to the universal joint and the other end is cross-connected to the second shackle, and the end of the second shackle away from the first shackle is used for movable connection with the submarine cable joint.

8. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable, according to claim 1, characterised in that, There are multiple flow guide holes, and the multiple flow guide holes are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the drag reduction tube.

9. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that, The drag-reducing tube is adjustablely positioned upwards along the axial direction of the first connecting shaft.

10. A drag-reducing assembly for a submarine cable according to claim 9, characterised in that, The drag-reducing tube is screwed to the first connecting shaft.

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