Seabed Pipe Bundle Stability via Internal Strengthening Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for laying empty pipes on the seabed, especially when bundling multiple pipes together, result in flattening issues that complicate cable installation and increase costs due to the need for armoured cables and offshore substations.
Innovation Solution
A bundling system that arranges multiple empty pipes in a stable configuration with a bundle-strengthening element, allowing for efficient installation using unarmoured flexible tubes, which can be used for electricity or fluid transport, and eliminates the need for offshore substations by enabling long-distance installation in a single step.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple empty pipes are bundled together before lowering to the seabed, then installation efficiency is improved, but the pipes tend to be flattened out making cable loading difficult
Solution Approach 1:
A bundle-strengthening element is introduced as an intermediary component within the cavity of the pipe bundle. This element acts as a mediator that maintains the structural integrity of individual pipes while allowing them to be bundled together, preventing flattening during installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves from considering only the two-dimensional arrangement of pipes to incorporating a third dimension by placing a bundle-strengthening element within the internal cavity of the bundle, thereby maintaining pipe shape through volumetric support.
2Reliability
If armoured cables are used for off-shore installations, then reliability is improved, but installation costs and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs unarmoured flexible tubes instead of expensive armoured cables. These simpler, less durable individual components achieve reliable long-term performance when used in a bundled configuration with the bundle-strengthening element, thereby reducing installation complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple unarmoured pipes are merged into a bundled configuration with a central strengthening element, achieving the reliability and protection normally provided by single armoured cables, while maintaining the advantages of simpler, cheaper unarmoured components.
3Ease of manufacture
If unarmoured flexible tubes are used, then installation cost is reduced, but structural strength during installation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The bundle-strengthening element positioned within the cavity acts as a counterbalancing structural component that compensates for the lack of strength in unarmoured flexible tubes, providing the necessary structural support during installation while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention describes a method of laying empty pipes (P) on the seabed, which method comprises arranging a plurality of empty pipes (P) in a bundle (B, B3, B6, B9); arranging a bundle-strengthening element (E, CC) in a cavity (C) defined by the pipes (P) of the bundle (B, B3, B6, B9); binding the bundle (B, B3, B6, B9); and lowering the bundle (B, B3, B6, B9) to the seabed. The invention further describes a bundling system (1) realised to carry out the steps of the inventive method.