Modular Plastic Sheet Pile Enclosure for Horizontal Drilling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The creation of temporary excavation pit enclosures to prevent drilling fluid and drill cuttings from entering surrounding soil or water during horizontal drilling is laborious and time-consuming, requiring numerous transport processes and significant equipment costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular temporary construction pit enclosure system using a floating platform with a gantry crane and lightweight plastic sheet piles, where the sheet piles are driven into the seabed using a hydraulic cylinder and pulley system, minimizing transport needs and allowing for rapid assembly without additional pontoons or heavy lifting equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional methods are used to construct temporary excavation enclosures, then the enclosures can effectively contain drilling fluid and cuttings, but the construction process becomes labor-intensive and time-consuming requiring numerous transport operations
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure system is divided into modular components including multiple sheet pile walls that can be independently assembled and connected. Each sheet pile wall functions as an independent containment unit that can be constructed separately and then joined to form the complete enclosure, enabling parallel construction and reducing overall assembly time
Solution Approach 2:
Sheet piles are pre-assembled into complete walls on land before transport to the worksite. This preliminary assembly eliminates the need for individual pile installation operations in the water, significantly reducing construction time and labor requirements while maintaining containment effectiveness
2Reliability
If traditional construction methods are used, then the enclosures provide sufficient containment, but equipment costs and transport requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses thin, flexible sheet piles made of materials such as plastic or metal that can be easily transported and assembled. These thin-walled structures provide sufficient containment for drilling fluids and cuttings while requiring minimal equipment for handling and installation, reducing both equipment costs and transport requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet pile walls are designed as temporary, disposable structures that can be quickly assembled for the duration of drilling operations and then removed or discarded. This approach eliminates the need for expensive, durable permanent structures and reduces equipment investment while maintaining adequate containment during the drilling process
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
This solution enables faster and more efficient construction of excavation pit enclosures with reduced equipment and transport costs, while ensuring effective containment of drilling fluids and cuttings, and is adaptable for use in challenging tidal environments.
Implementation Method 1
a gantry crane (42) with a running gear, in particular a trolley (52), with a pulley system (54), a hydraulic cylinder (56) and a linkage (58) for mounting the hydraulic cylinder (56) on the running gear (52)
Implementation Method 2
a gantry crane (42) with a running gear, in particular a trolley (52), with a pulley system (54)
Implementation Method 3
a reversibly floodable floating platform (12) with a central, rectangular hole (14) on a waterbed (16)
Implementation Method 4
an elastic, preferably reusable sealing element (74) is arranged in the longitudinal connection area between two adjacent sheet piles (24) on the inside of the excavation enclosure (10) in such a way that it seals the receiving groove (72) against the ingress of drilling fluid or drilling fluid-mixed drill cuttings
Data Source
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AI summary
In particular, temporary excavation enclosures to prevent drilling fluid or drilling material mixed with drilling fluid from entering surrounding soil, especially mudflats, or water in the area of water-side drilling exit points, especially horizontal boreholes, in a body of water, especially in the Wadden Sea, wherein the excavation enclosure comprises a sheet pile wall made of, in particular trapezoidal, plastic sheet piles, wherein the sheet piles interlock by means of complementary shaped longitudinal edge formations, wherein one of the two longitudinal edge formations is T-shaped and the other of the two longitudinal edge formations is designed with a receiving groove for the T-shaped longitudinal edge formation, wherein furthermore, a preferably reusable, elastic sealing element is arranged in the longitudinal connection area between two adjacent sheet piles on the inside of the excavation enclosure in such a way thatthat it seals the receiving groove against the ingress of drilling fluid or drilling material mixed with drilling fluid from the inside of the excavation enclosure, and device and system for the construction of an excavation enclosure.