Fabric Bellows Articulating Interface for Deep-Sea Fluid Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies face challenges in recovering oil from deep-sea oil wells and sunken tankers due to high hydrostatic pressures and rough seas, and struggle to deliver large volumes of cold seawater required for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) and Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) processes, especially at great depths.
Innovation Solution
A modular, tubular apparatus made of fabric or textile materials that can be constructed on-site to create a vertical column of seawater from the ocean floor to the surface, using a floating platform with suspension cables and a strainer system to collect and transport fluids, including oil and seawater, without the need for pumping, and providing insulation for offshore drilling equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional pumping systems are used to recover oil from deep-sea wells, then oil recovery can be achieved, but the system cannot operate effectively at depths of 3000-4000m due to high hydrostatic pressures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical pumping systems with a buoyancy-based natural lift system. Oil collected at the seabed accumulates in a collection chamber and is automatically lifted to the surface using buoyant force through a vertical conduit, eliminating the need for high-pressure pumping equipment that cannot function at extreme depths.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operating parameter from high-pressure mechanical pumping to low-pressure buoyancy-driven flow. By utilizing the density difference between oil and seawater, the system operates effectively under high hydrostatic pressure conditions where traditional pumping systems fail.
2Strength
If rigid piping systems are used to transport cold seawater, then structural strength is maintained, but the system cannot accommodate rough seas and platform movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible tubular conduit instead of rigid piping. This flexible structure can bend and move with platform motion and sea conditions while maintaining its integrity, allowing the cold seawater intake system to adapt to dynamic marine environments without requiring complex joint systems.
3Ease of manufacture
If modular elements are used to construct the tubular apparatus, then ease of assembly is improved, but connection reliability between modules may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The vertical conduit is divided into multiple modular sections that can be assembled sequentially on the platform. Each module contains standardized connection interfaces that ensure reliable sealing and structural continuity while allowing for easy assembly and disassembly during deployment and maintenance operations.
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
Enables efficient recovery of oil from deep-sea wells and sunken tankers, delivers large volumes of cold seawater for OTEC and FLNG processes, and provides insulation for offshore equipment, reducing mechanical stress and operational costs while maintaining operational efficiency in harsh marine conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a bellows assembly disposed at a bottom portion thereof
Implementation Method 2
a strainer having sea water intakes including a counterweight connected to the lowest modular element
Implementation Method 3
at least two suspension cable assemblies secured to the platform, where the at least two suspension cables cross the moon pool
Implementation Method 4
a strainer having sea water intakes including a counterweight connected to the lowest modular element
Data Source
AI summary
A cold water piping system including a floating platform having horizontal and vertical surfaces, the platform including a moon pool generally in the middle of the horizontal surface in the form of a vertical cylinder with four recesses having a rectangular shape, an articulating interface suspended directly from the platform, the interface including a tubular shape made of fabric and a bellows assembly disposed at a bottom portion thereof. The system also includes at least two suspension cable assemblies secured to the platform, where the at least two suspension cables cross the moon pool, vertically mounted modular elements, where ends of the suspension cable assemblies are fastened to a top modular element at four diametrically opposed points, and a strainer having sea water intakes including a counterweight connected to the lowest modular element. The system also includes winches disposed on the horizontal surface of the platform and deployment cables connected to the strainer and winches.