Latched Suction Pile Vent Plug for Seal Integrity Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Suction pile anchors face challenges in maintaining a secure seal during installation and operation, which affects their ability to resist axial and lateral loads and secure offshore installations effectively.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a vent plug system with coupling features and latching mechanisms that provide a watertight seal, allowing for the management of air and water flow and enabling the creation of negative pressure for anchoring, while also allowing for diagnostic testing of the seal integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vent plug system with coupling features and latching mechanisms is used to provide a watertight seal, then the seal integrity and load resistance are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vent plug system is divided into separate functional components: the vent plug itself, coupling features for connection, and latching mechanisms for securing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall seal integrity, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling features and latching mechanisms are pre-configured on the vent plug to ensure proper alignment and secure connection before the actual sealing operation. This preliminary action ensures that the seal is established correctly from the start, improving reliability without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms during operation.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If diagnostic testing equipment is integrated into the vent plug system, then the ability to test seal integrity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Diagnostic testing equipment is merged with the vent plug system, combining the sealing function and testing function into a single integrated assembly. This allows seal integrity to be tested directly at the vent plug location without requiring separate testing equipment, reducing the overall complexity compared to having separate testing systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The vent plug system incorporates self-diagnostic capabilities through integrated testing equipment that can assess seal integrity autonomously. This self-service approach eliminates the need for external complex testing apparatus, resolving the contradiction by making the system self-sufficient for diagnostic purposes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the vent plug system allows for management of air and water flow, then the functionality for creating negative pressure is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vent plug system is designed with multi-functionality to handle both air and water flow management through the same structural components. The coupling features and latching mechanisms serve multiple purposes: securing the plug, managing fluid flow, and enabling diagnostic testing. This universality reduces device complexity by avoiding the need for separate systems for each function.
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 system ensures a secure anchoring of suction piles to the ocean floor, enhancing their load resistance and stability, and allows for effective diagnostic testing to ensure the integrity of the seal, thereby improving the reliability of offshore installations.
Implementation Method 1
Water is then pumped out of the structure causing a negative pressure inside the structure. The negative pressure forces the suction pile into the seabed sediment
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed embodiments include a suction pile vent plug having a cylindrically-shaped body having a sealing element, a plurality of coupling features, and a handle connected to the cylindrically-shaped body. The sealing element is configured to form a watertight seal with walls of a suction pile vent into which the vent plug is installed. The plurality of coupling features are configured to engage with corresponding coupling features of the suction pile vent. The movable handle is configured to be moved into one or more locked configurations. Disclosed embodiments further include a suction pile vent having a hollow cylindrically-shaped body having coupling features. The coupling features are configured to engage with corresponding coupling features of a suction pile vent plug to thereby mechanically couple the suction pile vent plug to the suction pile vent. Disclosed embodiments further include a fluidic port that fluidically couples a suction pile to a removable fluidic coupling.