Seismic Sensor Node Hexagon Penetrator Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing seismic sensor devices for offshore seismic wave measurement face challenges in accurately registering reflected seismic waves due to issues with sediment displacement, high center of gravity, and difficulty in positioning and retrieving sensor nodes on the sea floor, especially in varying sediment conditions.
Innovation Solution
A seismic sensor node with a hexagon penetrator and conical tip design that minimizes sediment displacement, provides a low center of gravity, and ensures accurate vector response, featuring a rotationally symmetric plate structure and multi-component sensors for effective seismic data collection, connected to a control unit via a vibration-damped cable for efficient data transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a skirt shaped coupling part is driven into the sea bed to ensure stable coupling, then coupling stability is improved, but sediment displacement increases and higher frequencies are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The penetrator uses a conical tip shape instead of a skirt structure. The conical geometry allows the sensor device to be pushed into the sea bed with minimal sediment displacement while maintaining stable coupling. The curved conical surface facilitates smooth insertion without disrupting large volumes of sediment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the coupling structure from a wide skirt shape to a narrow conical shape. This parameter change reduces the cross-sectional area that interacts with sediment during insertion, thereby minimizing sediment displacement while maintaining penetration capability.
2Ease of operation
If sensor nodes are dropped into the sea floor to enable easy deployment, then deployment ease is improved, but sediment packing increases and center of gravity becomes high
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device is equipped with a release mechanism that allows it to be deployed from the surface and then released to sink to the sea floor. The conical tip is designed in advance to penetrate the sediment upon impact, creating a stable coupling without requiring complex deployment operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses a release mechanism that counteracts the weight of the sensor device during deployment. The mechanism holds the device at the surface until release, at which point gravity causes it to sink and penetrate the sea floor, converting the weight from a problem into a deployment advantage.
3Strength
If a conical end design is used for dropping into the sea floor, then penetration capability is improved, but sediment packing and high center of gravity problems occur
Solution Approach 1:
The conical tip is designed with specific local qualities - a narrow angle and smooth surface - that are optimized for penetration. The cone angle and dimensions are carefully selected to achieve effective penetration while minimizing the volume of sediment that becomes packed around the device.
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 accurate and detailed registration of seismic waves with minimal sediment disturbance, easy positioning and retrieval, and stable coupling on both soft and hard sea beds, providing high-resolution three-dimensional images of geological formations.
Implementation Method 1
The plate structure is adapted to essentially without minimal displacement of the sea bed sediments be positioned in the sea bed
Implementation Method 2
connected to a control unit via a vibration-damped cable for efficient data transfer
Implementation Method 3
The sensor node comprises at least three multicomponent sensors (27,28,29) adapted to measure seismic events with correct vector response in all three dimensions
Implementation Method 4
have a direction invariant coupling of movements in the sea bed to the sensor node
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a seismic sensor node and corresponding measuring device for point measurements in seismic surveys of geological subsurface formations, where the sensor node includes a sensor housing with at least one movement sensor, the sensor node comprising a plate structure being adapted to be positioned into the sea bed, the sensor housing having a predetermined outer shape and the plate structure being adapted to receive and essentially enclose the sensor housing for providing acoustic coupling between the plate structure and the sensor housing, and the plate structure having a rotational symmetric structure with a vertical axis. The plate structure comprises a number of radially oriented plates secured together and being adapted to penetrate the sea bed with minimal displacement of the sea bed materials.