Rotatable Depressor for Curved Trench Cable Laying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional apparatuses for laying elongate members like pipes or cables in curved trenches face issues with depressors becoming wedged or jammed due to their significant rearward extent, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs in offshore wind farm applications.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable depressor configured to align approximately with the longitudinal axis of the elongate member, allowing for engagement and disengagement, and positioned behind the trench cutting apparatus, which can rotate to match the trench curvature and prevent contact with trench walls, thereby reducing the likelihood of jamming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a longitudinally extensive depressor is used to guide the elongate member to the trench base, then the elongate member can be properly guided and protected from excessive bending, but the depressor may contact the trench walls and become wedged or jammed in curved trenches
Solution Approach 1:
The depressor is made rotatable about its longitudinal axis, transforming it from a static component to a dynamic one. This rotation capability allows the depressor to adapt to curved trench configurations, preventing the rearward extent from contacting trench walls and becoming jammed, while maintaining its guidance function throughout the laying process
Solution Approach 2:
The depressor is divided into functional segments including an elongate member entry portion and an elongate member exit portion. This segmentation allows different portions to perform specialized functions while the overall structure maintains rotatability, enabling the entry portion to engage the member while the exit portion guides it into the curved trench without jamming
2Reliability
If the depressor has significant rearward extent to provide adequate guidance, then guidance effectiveness is improved, but the likelihood of contact with trench walls increases in curved configurations
Solution Approach 1:
By enabling rotation about the longitudinal axis, the depressor dynamically adjusts its orientation to match the trench curvature. This maintains the necessary rearward extent for effective guidance while preventing the depressor body from contacting trench walls, thereby eliminating the jamming risk associated with fixed configurations
3Device complexity
If the depressor is configured for linear trenches with fixed orientation, then the structure is simple and reliable, but it cannot accommodate curved trenches with small turning radii
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable depressor maintains the simplicity of a single-component structure while adding rotational degrees of freedom. This allows the same simple structure to adapt to both linear and curved trench configurations, significantly enhancing versatility without requiring multiple specialized components or complex mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable depressor serves multiple functions: it guides the elongate member in both linear and curved trenches, protects against excessive bending, and adapts to different trench configurations. This single component replaces what would otherwise require multiple specialized devices, achieving universality while maintaining structural simplicity
Data Source
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AI summary
Apparatus and Method for Burying Elongate Member Apparatus for laying an elongate member in a trench, the apparatus comprises a main body portion; ground-contacting apparatus on which the main body portion is mounted and by which the apparatus may in use move over the ground; an elongate member moving device configured to move the elongate member from an initial position to a elongate member laying position; and a depressor attached to the main body portion and configured to guide the elongate member from its elongate member laying position to its in-trench location, the depressor having an elongate member entry portion and an elongate member exit portion, wherein the depressor is rotatable in use about an axis which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongate member.