Mud Removal in Jacket Steel Pipe Piles via Pneumatic Drilling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing construction methods for removing mud from jacket steel pipe piles in offshore wind power foundation construction are inefficient, requiring high personnel and equipment resources, posing safety risks, and are not conducive to operation, especially when dealing with different soil layers and depths.
Innovation Solution
A construction method involving the use of an auxiliary platform for initial setup, followed by underwater steel pipe pile sinking, measuring the mud surface elevation, installing mud removing equipment with adjustable drill bits and suction pumps, and using air compressors for efficient mud removal, ensuring the equipment is securely clamped and operated to reach the desired depth, and cleaning the inner pipe walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional mud removing methods (divers entering water or gas lift circulating) are used, then mud can be removed from the steel pipe pile, but construction efficiency is low and requirements for personnel, ship and equipment are high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical mud removing methods (divers manually removing mud or gas lift circulating systems) with a drilling-based mechanical system. The drilling device penetrates the pile bottom, breaks up the mud and soil mixture mechanically, and extracts it through the drill string, significantly improving efficiency while reducing personnel and equipment requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes pneumatic principles by using air compression to facilitate mud removal. The drilling process generates air-mud mixture that is transported to the surface through the drill string, leveraging pneumatic flow to efficiently remove mud without requiring complex hydraulic circulating systems or manual intervention.
2Ease of operation
If mud suction equipment and personnel are positioned inside the steel pipe pile simultaneously, then mud removing can be performed, but the danger factor is large and the space is not conducive to operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the mud suction and removal function from the confined pile interior space and positions it outside the pile. The drilling device is introduced through the pile top, and the drill string extends to the pile bottom, allowing mud to be extracted through the hollow drill string without requiring personnel or equipment inside the pile, thereby eliminating safety risks and improving operational space.
3Manufacturing precision
If mud removing depth is increased to reach design elevation, then grouting quality can be improved, but construction time and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by using the drilling device to pre-clear the pile bottom and remove mud to the design elevation before grouting operations begin. This preliminary mud removal ensures that the grouting can be performed on a clean, prepared surface, improving grouting quality while reducing the time required during the actual grouting phase since the pile is already prepared.
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 method simplifies and accelerates the mud removal process, reduces personnel and operational costs, ensures safety, and effectively addresses issues of different soil layers and depths, enhancing the quality and efficiency of offshore wind turbine foundation construction.
Implementation Method 1
air compressor generator (402, 404) which generates high-pressure air flow in a mud removing depth interval
Implementation Method 2
generates high-pressure air flow in a mud removing depth interval to perform reciprocating lifting and clean the inner wall of the steel pipe pile
Data Source
AI summary
A construction method for removing mud in a jacket steel pipe pile includes: erecting a piling auxiliary platform, and performing underwater steel pipe pile sinking; measuring an elevation of a mud surface in the underwater steel pipe pile, and calculating a height from the mud surface in the pile to a pile top and a needed mud removing depth according to the measurement result; installing mud removing equipment on the steel pipe pile; starting the mud removing equipment to carry out mud removing operation, and in a case that the mud removing depth is reached, pausing the mud removing equipment, and cleaning an inner wall of the steel pipe pile; and in a case that the mud removing operation is not reach the related elevation, repeating the mud removing operation till the mud removing operation reaches a standard.