Underwater Dry-Welding Chamber With Gas Curtain Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Underwater weld inspection and repair in harsh marine environments is challenging due to difficulties in detecting defects, limitations in welding materials, rapid cooling issues, and safety risks for divers, especially at greater depths, where existing wet welding methods are hazardous and often result in substandard weld quality.
Innovation Solution
A device that creates a dry welding environment by displacing water in a welding chamber with gas, allowing divers to perform inspections and repairs safely and effectively, using a gas curtain for visibility and pressure equalization, and manipulation elements like gloves for tool handling without entering the chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large pressure chamber vessel is used to provide a dry welding environment, then welding quality and diver safety are improved, but the device becomes heavy, large in size, costly, and difficult to deploy
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the welding system into two separate components: a compact housing that attaches to the underwater structure and a separate welding chamber that provides the dry environment. This segmentation allows the welding chamber to be small and lightweight while still providing adequate dry space for welding operations, eliminating the need for a large pressure chamber vessel.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a flexible glove as an intermediary between the diver's hand and the welding tools. The glove creates a sealed interface that allows the diver to manipulate welding equipment from outside the welding chamber while maintaining the dry environment inside, eliminating the need for the diver to enter a large pressure chamber.
2Reliability
If a large pressure chamber vessel is used to accommodate divers for dry welding, then welding quality is improved, but the deployment time increases to several days
Solution Approach 1:
The invention separates the housing and welding chamber, allowing the compact housing to be quickly attached to the underwater structure while the welding chamber remains accessible to the diver. This eliminates the multi-day deployment process required for large pressure chamber vessels.
Solution Approach 2:
The diver can independently attach the compact housing to the underwater structure and immediately access the welding chamber through the flexible glove interface, eliminating the need for complex vessel deployment operations that require multiple days.
3Device complexity
If wet welding is performed in harsh marine environments, then equipment size and cost are reduced, but defect detection becomes difficult and weld quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the water from the welding chamber by filling it with gas through the gas supply, creating a dry environment for welding operations. This allows high-quality welding to be performed while keeping the overall equipment compact and the gas supply manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates an inert gas environment in the welding chamber to prevent water from contacting the weld area. This inert atmosphere protects the weld from water-induced defects while maintaining a compact equipment design, as the gas can be supplied through flexible hoses rather than requiring a large sealed chamber.
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 high-quality dry welding with reduced risks and costs, allowing for efficient inspection and repair of underwater structures at various depths, including those inaccessible with traditional vessels, while minimizing the size and weight of the equipment.
Implementation Method 1
supplying gas to the welding chamber through the gas supply forces water in the welding chamber to be discharged from the water exhaust
Implementation Method 2
using a gas curtain for visibility and pressure equalization
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to a device for underwater dry-welding of an area of an underwater structure arranged in a water mass, the device comprising a housing comprising a welding chamber, the welding chamber comprising a first side having an opening arranged to face the underwater structure when the housing is attached to the underwater structure, at least one working tool to be manipulated by a diver for working on the area to be welded, at least one working tool comprising at least a welding torch, a gas supply connected to the housing and configured to supply gas to the welding chamber thereof, wherein the gas supply and gas exhaust are configured to dewater at least a part of the welding chamber so as to provide therein an essentially dry environment, and wherein the housing further comprises a second side comprising a transparent window arranged to allow a diver to see both the area to be welded and the at least one working tool to be manipulated, one or more manipulation elements configured to allow the diver to manipulate the at least one working tool from a position outside the housing.