Bubble Curtain Pipe Layout for Underwater Pile Driving Noise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing noise-reducing methods for underwater pile driving, such as using compressed air through pipes, face challenges with buoyancy issues and complexity, requiring heavy equipment and additional anchoring, which are costly and difficult to handle.
Innovation Solution
A noise-reducing device using air bubbles generated from a pipe surrounding the pile-driving site, combined with internal weights to maintain seabed positioning, and a winding system for easy deployment and retrieval, achieving sound insulation with reduced equipment costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If compressed air is conveyed through a pipe system surrounding the pile driving site, then sound energy is dissipated and noise reduction is achieved, but the pipe experiences considerable buoyancy making it complex to implement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the anti-weight principle by introducing a weighting element inside the pipe to counteract the buoyancy force generated by compressed air. The weight compensates for the buoyancy, allowing the pipe to remain on the seabed without complex external anchoring systems. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining noise reduction functionality while eliminating the need for diver-based anchoring operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The weighting element is nested inside the pipe, creating a compact integrated structure. This nested configuration allows the weight to be contained within the pipe's internal volume, avoiding external attachments that would increase complexity. The nesting principle enables the pipe to maintain its simple cylindrical form while incorporating the necessary weighting function.
2Stability of the object's composition
If external weights are used to counteract buoyancy, then the pipe remains on the seabed, but handling and deployment become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By nesting the weighting element inside the pipe rather than attaching it externally, the patent maintains the pipe's simple external geometry. This allows the pipe to be deployed and retrieved using standard equipment without the handling difficulties associated with external weights. The nested configuration preserves ease of operation while achieving stable positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The weighting element and pipe are combined into a single integrated system where the weight is contained within the pipe structure. This merging eliminates the need for separate external weighting components and their associated attachment mechanisms, simplifying both deployment and retrieval operations while maintaining positioning stability.
3Force
If the pipe is weighted down with external weights, then buoyancy is compensated, but the pipe becomes more difficult to handle and deploy
Solution Approach 1:
The weighting element is placed inside the pipe, creating a streamlined integrated structure that maintains the pipe's original external dimensions. This nested arrangement allows the pipe to be handled, deployed, and retrieved with the same ease as an unweighted pipe, while the internal weight provides the necessary buoyancy compensation force.
Solution Approach 2:
The internal weighting element replicates the buoyancy compensation function of external weights without copying their external attachment structure. By using a simplified internal configuration rather than replicating external weight systems, the patent achieves the same force balance while dramatically improving ease of operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively dissipates sound energy through rising air bubbles, providing significant noise reduction with minimal equipment and easy installation, while maintaining seabed positioning without external anchors.
Implementation Method 1
Due to the density inhomogeneity between the rising air bubbles and the surrounding seawater, as well as the compressibility of the air bubbles, the energy of the sound waves can be at least partially dissipated
Implementation Method 2
Due to the density inhomogeneity between the rising air bubbles and the surrounding seawater, as well as the compressibility of the air bubbles, the energy of the sound waves can be at least partially dissipated
Implementation Method 3
the energy of the sound waves can be at least partially dissipated, so that a lower sound intensity prevails outside the bubble curtain
Implementation Method 4
Due to the density inhomogeneity between the rising air bubbles and the surrounding seawater
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a noise protection device (1) for underwater pile driving, comprising at least one pipe (10) that can be fixed to the seabed (2) and which has a plurality of boreholes (105), and at least one winding device (15) with a drum (152) onto which the pipe (10) can be wound, wherein a compressed air connection for the pipe (10) is provided inside the drum (152) of the winding device (15). The invention further relates to a winding device of such a noise protection device, a ship equipped therewith, and a method for noise protection.