Direct Fill Chamber for Stable Seismic Source Firing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing seismic sources in marine surveys face inefficiencies in refill time and premature firing due to direct fill lines and lack of pressure regulation, leading to reduced survey speed and increased risk of leaks.

Innovation Solution

A seismic source with a shared reservoir divided by baffles into sub-chambers and an accumulation region, using direct and indirect fill lines, and pressure regulation features to evenly distribute compressed gas and prevent premature firing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If a direct fill line is used to refill the reservoir, then refill time is reduced, but premature firing occurs due to pressure fluctuations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverefill timeVSAvoidpremature firing risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The reservoir is divided into multiple sub-chambers using baffles, creating separate compartments for gas accumulation and firing operations. This segmentation isolates the fill process from the firing chambers, allowing direct refilling without pressure fluctuations triggering premature firing in the separated sub-chambers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The baffles act as intermediaries between the direct fill line and the firing sub-chambers. They allow the reservoir to be refilled quickly through the direct fill line while preventing pressure waves and fluctuations from reaching the firing chambers, thus avoiding premature firing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If compressed gas is released to generate seismic energy, then survey productivity increases, but gas leaks increase reducing efficiency

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesurvey speedVSAvoidgas leak

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The reservoir is segmented into multiple sub-chambers with separate control for each. This allows precise control of gas release from individual sub-chambers, enabling faster refilling of specific chambers without requiring system-wide pressure changes that cause leaks, thereby maintaining productivity while reducing gas loss.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Device complexity

If multiple firing heads share a common reservoir, then device complexity is reduced, but pressure distribution becomes uneven causing inconsistent seismic energy

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereservoir structureVSAvoidpressure distribution

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The common reservoir is segmented into multiple sub-chambers using baffles, with each sub-chamber serving a specific firing head. This maintains the simplicity of a single reservoir structure while ensuring even pressure distribution to each firing head through dedicated sub-chambers, eliminating pressure fluctuations and ensuring consistent seismic energy generation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS12461259B2Direct fill chamber

Publication Date: 2025.11.04 NUTEC SCI

AI summary

Embodiments herein describe a seismic source that includes a reservoir configured to hold compressed gas, a first firing head coupled to the reservoir where the first firing head configured to generate seismic energy by releasing a first portion of the compressed air from the reservoir to form a first gas bubble in a seismic medium, and a second firing head coupled to the reservoir where the second firing head configured to generate seismic energy by releasing a second portion of the compressed gas from the reservoir to form a second gas bubble in the seismic medium. Moreover, at least one first fill line is coupled directly to the reservoir.