Percussive Driving Apparatus for Deep Water Sampling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current environmental sampling devices are limited in their ability to penetrate deep water beds and extract up-welling groundwater samples in varying water depths and current conditions, making them ineffective for emergency and long-term assessments, especially in challenging environments like fast currents and heavy gravel cobble bottoms.
Innovation Solution
A percussive driving apparatus comprising a percussion stem, a weighted percussion plunger, and a percussion pad, which uses percussive force to drive a probe into the water bottom, allowing for fluid extraction and sample collection, and can be adapted for use with various probes such as piezometers, split spoon samplers, and seismic devices, with optional features like fluid transport tubing and underwater camera anchoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If large truck or barge-mounted hydraulic systems are used to push probes into the soil or water bed, then the probes can be pushed into the soil, but the units become quite large, require anchoring pylons, are very expensive to operate, and have difficulty penetrating water beds with heavy gravel cobble bottoms
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional components: a probe assembly for sampling, a percussive driving mechanism for penetration, and a retrieval system. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and reduces overall system complexity compared to integrated hydraulic systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex hydraulic pushing systems with a simpler percussive driving mechanism. Instead of using hydraulic pressure to continuously push the probe, the system uses repeated impact blows from a weighted plunger to drive the probe into the sediment, eliminating the need for large hydraulic systems and anchoring pylons.
2Ease of operation
If hand deployment with air hammer system is used, then the device can be deployed from a boat, but it is limited to calm water and relatively soft bottom conditions and at deployment depths up to about 30 feet
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates a dynamic percussive driving mechanism that can adapt to varying bottom conditions. The weighted plunger delivers impact forces that can penetrate hard surfaces like gravel cobble bottoms, while the overall device remains lightweight enough for hand deployment from boats in various water conditions, not just calm water.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the delivery mechanism of driving force from a static air hammer to a dynamic weighted plunger system. The plunger's weight and the impact force generated during descent allow the device to penetrate harder substrates while maintaining ease of manual deployment, expanding adaptability to different bottom conditions and depths.
3Force
If barge-mounted hydraulic systems are used, then probes can be pushed into the soil, but anchoring pylons are needed for barge stabilization in high current flows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for barge-mounted hydraulic systems and anchoring pylons by replacing them with a self-contained percussive driving apparatus. The weighted plunger generates sufficient impact force to drive the probe into the bottom directly from the boat, eliminating the need for external stabilization infrastructure in high current flows.
4Force
If GeoProbe devices are used, then probes can be pushed into the soil, but the systems are very expensive to operate and have difficulty penetrating water beds with heavy gravel cobble bottoms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive barge-mounted hydraulic systems with a simple, inexpensive hand-operated percussive driving mechanism. The weighted plunger system requires no complex hydraulic power sources, eliminating high operating costs while providing sufficient force to penetrate gravel cobble bottoms through repeated impact blows.
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 and effective sampling in a range of water depths and conditions, reducing the need for large and expensive equipment, and allows for the collection of intact core or soil samples and long-term water quality monitoring, even in difficult-to-reach areas.
Implementation Method 1
a weighted percussion plunger having a longitudinal bore through which the percussion stem is received
Implementation Method 2
a weighted percussion plunger... configured to receive percussive driving force from the percussion plunger
Data Source
AI summary
A percussive driving apparatus for an environmental sampling or test device. The driving apparatus comprises a percussion stem (10), a weighted percussion plunger (20) having a longitudinal bore through which the percussion stem (10) is received, the percussion plunger (20) being slidable along a length of the percussion stem (10), a lift element (80) to permit lifting of the percussion plunger (20) along at least a portion of said length of the percussion stem (10), and a percussion pad (30) affixed to the percussion stem (10) at or near a first end thereof. The percussion pad (30) is configured to receive percussive driving force from the percussion plunger (20). The percussion tube (10) is also adapted at the first end to connect to a probe (40) (for example a shielded or unshielded piezometer, or a split spoon sampler, a seepage meter, long term data logging monitoring device, or seismic device) for environmental sampling and/or testing.