Walking Carriage for Offshore Subsea Intervention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for subsea intervention on offshore platforms, such as using divers or ROVs, are costly, risky, and limited in depth and mobility, especially when dealing with vertical structures like conductors and riser pipes, as they require manual operation and are prone to entanglement or collision risks.
Innovation Solution
A remotely-operated carriage system that can walk along and around elongate members, equipped with individually-operable clamps and a walk drive, allowing for axial and rotational movement to carry and deploy payloads, including wear sleeves, while avoiding obstacles and aligning with the structural axis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If divers are used for subsea intervention, then human capability to perform tasks is improved, but safety risks and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic tool is self-propelled along the conductor using its own walking mechanism with clamps, eliminating the need for external deployment systems or human intervention. The tool autonomously navigates the subsea environment to perform inspection and maintenance tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical human operator system with an automated robotic system that uses clamps and walking mechanisms to navigate and perform tasks on the conductor, eliminating safety risks associated with diver intervention.
2Reliability
If ROVs are used for subsea intervention, then operational safety is improved, but mobility and reliability worsen due to tether entanglement and collision risks
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic tool propels itself along the conductor using a walking mechanism with clamps that grip and release sequentially, eliminating the need for external tethers or cables that could become entangled. The tool moves autonomously up and down the vertical structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The walking mechanism uses multiple clamps distributed along the tool's length that operate independently in sequence, allowing the tool to navigate complex geometries and obstacles on the conductor without requiring a continuous tether connection.
3Device complexity
If conventional climbing tools are used, then simplicity is improved, but adaptability to vertical structures worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The tool employs dynamically operating clamps that can open and close independently to adapt to the conductor's presence. The walking mechanism adjusts its motion sequence based on whether a conductor is detected, allowing the same simple mechanism to handle both vertical and horizontal configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The walking mechanism with multiple clamps is designed to function on both vertical conductors and horizontal pipes, making the tool universally applicable to different orientations and types of offshore structures without requiring separate specialized equipment.
Data Source
AI summary
A carriage arranged to walk along an elongate member while carrying a payload includes individually-operable clamps that are spaced axially along a common longitudinal axis. An axially-extensible frame connects the clamps. At least one of the clamps is attached to the frame via a rotationally-displaceable coupling for relative angular movement between that clamp and the frame about the longitudinal axis. The carriage can carry the payload to a subsea worksite by opening and closing the clamps to release and grip the elongate member in a sequence that includes moving the leading clamp forward when the leading clamp is open and moving the trailing clamp forward when the leading clamp is closed. At the worksite, installation force can be applied to the payload in a forward direction by moving the leading clamp forward when the leading clamp is open and the trailing clamp is closed.