METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR BURYING A PIPELINE IN A BED OF A BODY OF WATER

Abstract

A method for burying a pipeline in a bed of a body of water which includes: making a trench with a bottom surface in a bed of a body of water via a bed working vehicle advanced in an advancing direction; advancing a floating unit in the body of water; releasing a pipeline in the body of water via a tensioner and along a lay device tilted in an adjustable manner and constrained to the floating unit; guiding the pipeline to the bottom surface of the trench via a guide vehicle advanced on the bed of the body of water; and controlling the tensioner, the floating unit, the lay device, the bed working vehicle, and the guide vehicle to minimize stress along the pipeline.

Claims

1 to 20. (canceled)

21. A method of burying a pipeline, the method comprising: making a trench with a bottom surface in a bed of a body of water by a bed working vehicle advanced in an advancing direction; advancing, substantially in the advancing direction, a floating unit in the body of water; controlling a release of the pipeline from the floating unit by at least one tensioner and along a tiltable lay device mounted on the floating unit such that the pipeline forms a single curve with an upward-facing concavity between the lay device and the bottom surface of the trench; guiding the pipeline to the bottom surface of the trench by a guide vehicle advanced, substantially in the advancing direction, along the trench; and controlling the floating unit, the bed working vehicle, and the guide vehicle as a function of an advancement of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device to minimize stress along the pipeline in a section of the pipeline extending between the floating unit and the bottom surface of the trench.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein guiding the pipeline comprises coupling the guide vehicle to the pipeline by a guide device, the position of the guide device being adjustable with respect to the guide vehicle by at least one of: a force control and a position control.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the guide device is adjustable in at least one direction between a direction parallel to the advancing direction and a burying direction perpendicular to the advancing direction.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising acquiring an average advancing speed of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising controlling an average advancing speed of the bed working vehicle and of the guide vehicle as a function of the acquired average advancing speed of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising controlling the advancing of the bed working vehicle and the guide vehicle in synchronism with the advancing of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising advancing the floating unit in synchronism with the advancing of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the pipeline comprises an external tubular portion which is discontinuous along the generatrices of the pipeline.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the external tubular portion defines a plurality of rings alternating with a plurality of annular grooves.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the external tubular portion defines a helical groove and a series of coils separated from each other by the helical groove.

31. A pipeline burying system comprising: a bed working vehicle advanceable in an advancing direction and configured to make a trench with a bottom surface in a bed of a body of water; a floating unit advanceable in the body of water substantially in the advancing direction; a tiltable lay device mounted on the floating unit such that responsive to the pipeline advancing along the tiltable lay device, the pipeline forms a single curve with an upward-facing concavity between the tiltable lay device and the bottom surface of the trench; at least one tensioner configured to control a release of the pipeline; a guide vehicle advanceable along the trench substantially in the advancing direction and configured to guide the pipeline to the bottom surface of the trench; and a control unit configured to control the floating unit, the bed working vehicle, and the guide vehicle as a function of the advancement of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device to minimize stress along a section of the pipeline extending between the floating unit and the bottom surface of the trench.

32. The pipeline burying system of claim 31, wherein the guide vehicle comprises a guide device configured to be coupled to the pipeline and which is controllable, by the control unit, in at least one of a force a position with respect to the guide vehicle.

33. The pipeline burying system of claim 32, wherein the guide device is adjustable in at least one direction between a direction parallel to the advancing direction and a burying direction perpendicular to the advancing direction.

34. The pipeline burying system of claim 31, wherein the control unit is configured to acquire an average advancing speed of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device.

35. The pipeline burying system of claim 34, wherein the control unit is configured to control an average advancing speed of the bed working vehicle and the guide vehicle as a function of the acquired average advancing speed of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device.

36. The pipeline burying system of claim 31, wherein the control unit is configured to control an advancement of the bed working vehicle and the guide vehicle in synchronism with the advancement of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device.

37. The pipeline burying system of claim 31, wherein the control unit is configured to advance the floating unit in synchronism with the advancement of the pipeline along the tiltable lay device.

38. The pipeline burying system of claim 31, wherein the pipeline comprises an external tubular portion which is discontinuous along the generatrices of the pipeline.

39. The pipeline burying system of claim 38, wherein the external tubular portion defines plurality of rings alternating with a plurality of annular grooves.

40. The pipeline burying system of claim 38, wherein the external tubular portion defines a plurality of coils and a helical groove defining the coils.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Further characteristics and advantages of the present disclosure will become clear from the description that follows of a non-limitative embodying example, with reference to the figures in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0043] FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, with parts in section and parts removed for clarity, of a pipeline made in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0044] FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, with parts in section and parts removed for clarity, of a variant of the pipeline in FIG. 1;

[0045] FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevation view, with parts removed for clarity, of a system configured to lay a pipeline on the bed of the body of water in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG. 4 is a perspective view, with parts removed for clarity, of a bed working vehicle for the bed of the body of water;

[0047] FIG. 5 is a perspective view, with parts removed for clarity, of a guide vehicle of the pipeline;

[0048] FIG. 6 is a front view, with parts in section and parts removed for clarity, of the guide vehicle in FIG. 5 in an operating step;

[0049] FIG. 7 is a diagram, with parts removed for clarity, of the control of the system forming the subject-matter of the present disclosure; and

[0050] FIG. 8 is a sectional view, with parts removed for clarity, of an alternative embodiment of the system in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates a pipeline as a whole, which extends along a longitudinal axis A. The pipeline 1 comprises an internal tubular portion 2, defined by a metal cylinder, an intermediate tubular portion 3, defined by a protective polymer layer, and an external tubular portion 4, defined by a layer of concrete or Gunite and having the function of weighing down the pipeline 1.

[0052] In the case shown in FIG. 1, the external tubular portion 4 of the pipeline 1 has annular grooves 5 so as to form a plurality of rings 6 spaced out respectively from each other and which, in the case shown, have a constant distribution pitch.

[0053] In the variant in FIG. 2, the external tubular portion 4 of the pipeline 1, has a helical groove 7 so as to define a series of coils 8 spaced apart from each other.

[0054] In both embodiments, the external tubular portion 4 is discontinuous along the generatrices of the outer face of the pipeline 1 and enables bending of the pipeline 1 with relatively small radii of curvature without causing the external tubular portion 4 to crumble and/or damage to the pipeline 1.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 3, the present disclosure is directed to a system configured to bury the pipeline 1 in a bed 9 of a body of water 10. The system lays and simultaneously buries the pipeline 1 along a path P. The system comprises a floating unit 11, a bed working vehicle 12 advanced in an advancing direction D1 parallel to the path P, and a plurality of guide vehicles 13 also advanced in the advancing direction D1 along the path P. The floating unit 11 comprises a floating structure 14, a lay device 15 installed on the floating structure 14, and a control unit 16, which is connected to the bed working vehicle 12 and to the guide vehicles 13. In greater detail, the floating structure 14 is configured to transport bed working vehicles 12 and the guide vehicles 13. The lay device 15 is configured to operate with a maximum inclination of 40 for laying the pipeline 1 on beds at a depth of between 15 meters and 50 meters. In particular, the inclination of the lay device 15 is in the range between 10 and 40, such as between 15 and 35, and even more specifically between 15 and 30. The lay device 15 enables creating a single curve with an upward-facing concavity in the pipeline 1 and the large inclination of the lay device 15 enables creating curves with adequate radii of curvature despite the shallowness of the bed 9. In the case shown, the lay device 15 comprises two tensioners 17, a plurality of work stations 18, and a launch ramp 19.

[0056] The floating unit 11 is equipped with a dynamic positioning system which is part of the control unit 16 and comprises, in this case, thrusters 20, which are controlled by the control unit 16. Alternatively, in shallow waters, the floating unit 11 is maneuvered by anchors (not shown in the accompanying drawings).

[0057] The function of the bed working vehicle 12 is to break up a portion of the bed 9 without removing the broken-up material. In the case shown, the bed working vehicle 12 is advanced in the advancing direction D1, does not directly interact with the laying of the pipeline 1, and is connected to the control unit 16 by an umbilical 21. In other words, the bed working vehicle 12 performs preconditioning of the bed 9 and is advanced in front of the guide vehicles 13 at a predetermined design distance from the guide vehicles 13.

[0058] It should be appreciated that the design distance is variable and constitutes a compensation: for example, if the bed working vehicle 12 is forced to stop for a relatively short period due to a problem, it is not necessary to interrupt the laying and burying operations of the pipeline 1. In other words, the bed working vehicle 12 can be advanced in a continuous manner even when the laying of the pipeline 1 is performed stepwise. Vice versa, relatively short interruptions in preconditioning operations or temporary slowdowns of the bed working vehicle 12 do not affect laying operations. The design distance between the bed working vehicle 12 and the first of the guide vehicles 13 constitutes a compensation for possible different advancing speeds of the bed working vehicle 12 and the guide vehicles 13.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 6, the trench T has a bottom surface 22 and two side surfaces 23, where the space delimited by the bottom surface 22 and the side surfaces 23 is full of broken-up material.

[0060] For the purposes of this description, the term trench identifies both a true trench where the broken-up material has been removed and a virtual trench where the material has not been removed, but only broken up.

[0061] Referring to FIG. 4, the bed working vehicle 12 comprises a frame 24, two variable flotation containers 25, two advancing devices 26 (in this case motorized belts 26 wrapped around the containers 25), and two tools 27 (the working positions of which can be adjusted with respect to the frame 24). In FIG. 4, the tools 27 are arranged in the rest position. In the working position, the tools 27 are entirely or partially arranged beneath the advancing devices 26. In this example, each tool 27 is mounted on a slide 28 sliding along a guide 29 of the frame 24 and selectively rotatable about the axis Al of the guide 29.

[0062] The bed working vehicle 12 also comprises blades 30 mounted on the frame 24 and configured to prevent material accumulating along the edges of the trench T (FIG. 3). For further details on the bed working vehicle 12, please make express reference to FIGS. 4 to 7 and the associated description from page 8, line 8 to page 10, line 28 of PCT Published Patent Application No. WO 2009/141,409, which are incorporated for reference in this description.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 5, each guide vehicle 13 is advanced in direction D1 and has the function of burying and guiding the pipeline 1 in the burying step. Each guide vehicle 13 comprises a frame 31, two advancing devices 32, in this case two motorized belts configured to be arranged on opposite sides with respect to the pipeline 1, and a burying device 33. The burying device 33 comprises four guides 34, each of which fixed to the frame 31, a slide 35 that is movable along the guides 34 in direction D2, a fluidization unit 36 to fluidize the broken-up ground mass, and two pumping units 37, each of which is fixed to the frame 31 and comprises a pump 38, such as a centrifugal pump with a lengthened suction tube (not shown in the accompanying drawings) configured to draw clean water, and an electric motor 39 configured to operate the respective pump 38. The fluidization unit 36 is fixed to the slide 35, which is connected to the guides 34 by motorized mechanisms 40 that enable positioning of the slide 35 in different positions with respect to the frame 31 and, in consequence, enable positioning the fluidization unit 36 at different depths in the broken-up ground mass, as better shown in FIG. 6. In this example, the guide vehicles 13 have the respective fluidization units 36 arranged at decreasing depths in the advancing direction D1 (FIG. 3), wherein the positions of the fluidization units 36 of FIG. 3 are purely indicative and the ideal position is determined by adjusting the position of the slides 35.

[0064] Each fluidization unit 36 comprises two tubular constructions 41 configured to be arranged on opposite sides of the pipeline 1, as shown in FIG. 5, and connected to each other by the guide device 42 to guide the pipeline 1 downwards and aid sinking the pipeline 1 into the fluidized ground mass. In the case shown in the accompanying drawings, the guide device 42 comprises a roller arranged in contact with the top part of the pipeline 1 and is movable in a motorized manner with respect to the guide vehicle 13 in both the advancing direction D1 and the burying direction D2.

[0065] Each tubular construction 41 comprises a series of tubes 43 and a tube 44 connected to the distal ends of tubes 43. The ends of tube 44 are bent so as to aid penetration of tube 44 into the broken-up ground mass in the advancing direction D1.

[0066] The guide vehicles 13 are connected to the control unit 16 by a suitable umbilical 45 (FIG. 3).

[0067] For further details on the guide vehicle 13, please make express reference to FIGS. 8 to 10D and the associated description from page 12, line 12 to page 14, line 11 of PCT Published Patent Application WO 2009/141,409, which are incorporated for reference in this description. It should be appreciated that the guide vehicle 13 differs from the burying vehicle of PCT Published Patent Application WO 2009/141,409 in that the maneuvering of the guide vehicle 13 is independent of the guide device 42.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 7, the control unit 16 manages the laying and burying parameters of the pipeline 1 in an integrated manner. In particular, the control unit 16 manages the floating unit 11, the bed working vehicle 12, the guide vehicles 13, only one of which is shown in FIG. 7, and the tensioners 17, only one of which is shown in FIG. 7.

[0069] The integrated management involves the control of all the parameters and the coordinated operation of actuators to relatively quickly perform the burying operations of the pipeline 1 without excessively stressing the pipeline 1 (FIG. 3).

[0070] In particular, the following parameters are controlled on the bed working vehicle 12: [0071] Advancing speed V by controlling the advancing speeds of each advancing device 26; [0072] Advancing direction D1 by controlling the difference between the speeds of the advancing devices 26; [0073] Working width L of the trench T by controlling the positioning of the tools 27 about the axes A1; [0074] Depth D of the trench T by controlling the position of the slide 28 along the guides 29.

[0075] In particular, the control unit 16 controls the following parameters of the guide vehicle 13: [0076] Advancing speed V of the guide vehicles 13 by controlling the speeds of the advancing devices 32; [0077] Advancing direction D1 of the guide vehicle 13 by controlling the differential speeds of the advancing devices 32; [0078] Depth D of the burying device 33; [0079] Flow rate Q of the pumps 38; and [0080] Position parallel to the advancing direction D1, and position parallel to the burying direction D2 of the guide device 42 with respect to the frame 31 of the guide vehicle 13.

[0081] Alternatively, the control unit 16 controls the force transmitted from the pipeline 1 to the guide device 42.

[0082] In particular, the control unit 16 controls at least one of the following parameters of the floating unit 11: [0083] Advancing speed VN of the floating unit 11 by controlling the propeller of the thrusters 20; [0084] Advancing direction O of the floating unit 11 by controlling the orientation of the thrusters 20; [0085] Inclination I of the lay device 15 and, in consequence, the advancing direction D3 of the pipeline 1 on the floating unit 11; [0086] Advancing speed VP of the pipeline 1 along the lay device by controlling the speed of the tensioners 17; and [0087] Tensile force F of the tensioners 17 on the pipeline 1.

[0088] The integrated management of the laying and burying parameters is defined based on design data that provides for burying the pipeline 1 along the predefined path P. The bed working vehicle 12 is advanced in the advancing direction D1 along the path P with an advancing speed equal to the slower speed between the average advancing speed of the laying operations and the average speed of working the bed permitted by the specific conditions of the bed 9. Other parameters such as the depth D and width L of the trench T follow design guidelines and affect the advancing speed V of the bed working vehicle 12.

[0089] The average speed of laying operations is generally dictated by the speed of assembly of the pipeline 1 on the floating unit 11.

[0090] The inclination of the lay device 15 is selected so as to result in an advancing direction D3 that forms a maximum angle of 40 with the advancing direction D1. The inclination of the lay device 15 is selected according to the depth of the bottom surface 22 of the trench T with respect to the level of the body of water 10. A considerable burying depth can significantly affect the overall depth with respect to the level of the body of water 10 due to the shallowness of the bed 9. In consequence, it is necessary to take the depth of the trench T into account, to plan the curved trajectory along which the pipeline 1 will be arranged in the laying operations.

[0091] Since the assembly operations of the pipeline 1 are performed stepwise, the control unit 16 controls the tensioners 17 so as to implement a stepwise advancement of the pipeline 1 in direction D3, and the guide vehicles 13 so as to advance the guide vehicles 13 stepwise as a function of the stepwise advancement of the pipeline 1 and the inclination I of advancing direction D3 with respect to advancing direction D1.

[0092] Due to the possibility of being positioned independently from the respective guide vehicles 13, the guide devices 42 enable guiding the pipeline 1 along a predetermined trajectory even in the event of non-optimal positioning of the guide vehicles 13. In consequence, the control unit 16 positions the guide devices 42 so as to keep the pipeline 1 as far as possible on the predetermined trajectory.

[0093] In practice, the integrated management enables keeping the pipeline 1 on the predetermined trajectory without imposing significant variations in curvature of the pipeline 1 ascribable to lack of coordination between the maneuvering of the floating unit 11, the tensioners 17, and the guide vehicles 13.

[0094] In the variant in FIG. 8, the bed working vehicle 12 is placed directly in front of the guide vehicles 13. According to this configuration, the bed working vehicle 12 advances stepwise together with the guide vehicles 13.

[0095] In the case in point, the bed working vehicle 12 performs an excavation (i.e., breaks up the material of the bed 9 and removes the broken-up material from the trench T). The guide vehicles 13, in addition to being equipped with devices 42 of the type described with reference to FIG. 5, have lateral walls 46 configured to support the side surfaces 23 of the trench T until the moment when the pipeline 1 is rested on the bottom surface 22 of the trench T. Once the pipeline 1 has been laid, the cave-in of the trench T no longer supported by the lateral walls 46 completes the burying operations of the pipeline.

[0096] Finally, it should be appreciated that variants can be made regarding the present disclosure with respect to the embodiments described with reference to the accompanying figures without departing from the scope of the claims. Accordingly, various changes and modifications to the presently disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.