SUBSEA BOOMING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DEPLOYING A SUBSEA BOOMING SYSTEM

Abstract

A subsea blooming system and method of deploying a subsea blooming system includes a first buoyant module, a first line extending downwardly from the first buoyant module, a first ballast module affixed adjacent an end of the first line, at least one boom translatably connected to the first line, and a variable buoyant module cooperative with the boom. The first buoyant module is positively and non-variably buoyant. The first ballast module is negatively and non-variably buoyant. The boom includes a plurality of booms that are connected in end-to-end relationship in a desired array.

Claims

1. A subsea blooming system comprising: a first buoyant module; a first line extending downwardly from said first buoyant module; a first ballast module affixed adjacent to an end of said first line; at least one boom translatably connected to said first line; and a variably buoyant module cooperative with said at least one boom.

2. The subsea blooming system of claim 1, said first buoyant module being positively and non-variably buoyant, said first buoyant module affixed adjacent an end of said first line opposite said first ballast module.

3. The subsea blooming system of claim 1, said first ballast module being negatively and non-variably buoyant, said first ballast module adapted to constantly contact a mudline.

4. The subsea blooming system of claim 1, said at least one boom being a longitudinal member.

5. The subsea blooming system of claim 4, said at least one boom comprising a plurality of booms that are connected in end-to-end relationship, said plurality of booms being in a desired array.

6. The subsea blooming system of claim 5, said desired array selected from the group consisting of an enclosure, a cup and a deflector.

7. The subsea blooming system of claim 1, said variable buoyancy module being adjustable between positive buoyancy and negative buoyancy, said at least one boom floating on a surface of the body of water when said variable buoyancy module is positively buoyant, said at least one boom sinking to a mudline when said variable buoyancy module is negatively buoyant.

8. The subsea blooming system of claim 1, further comprising: a second buoyant module in spaced relation to said first buoyant module; a second line extending downwardly from said second buoyant module; a second ballast module affixed adjacent an end of said second line, said at least one boom having an end translatably mounted to said second line.

9. The subsea blooming system of claim 1, further comprising: a ship having a line-deploying reel thereon, said line-deploying reel being cooperative with said first line so as to deploy said first line.

10. A method of deploying a subsea blooming system, the method comprising: lowering a weight to a mudline such that the weight resides on the mudline; affixing a buoy to a first line extending from said weight such that said buoy floats on a surface of a body of water; inflating a variable buoyant module that is affixed to a boom; and deflating the variable buoyant module so as to lower the boom toward the mudline.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: assembling additional booms in generally end-to-end relationship at the surface so as to form an array of booms.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: affixing the variable buoyant module to the boom.

13. The method of claim 11, said array being either an enclosure, a cup, or a deflector.

14. The method of claim 10, said weight being a ballast module that is negatively and non-variably buoyant, said buoy being positively and non-variably buoyant.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising: lowering another weight on a second line toward the mudline such that the another weight resides on the mudline, said second line being in spaced relation to said first line; and affixing the boom to said second line.

16. The method of claim 15, said boom comprising a plurality of booms mounted together in end-to-end relationship, one end of said plurality of booms being affixed to said first line, an opposite end of said plurality of booms being affixed to said second line.

17. The method of claim 15, said boom having another variable buoyant module connected thereto, the step of lowering comprising: deflating the another variable buoyant module so as to lower the boom along the second line.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising: inflating the variable buoyant module so as to cause the boom to rise to the surface of the body of water.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising: vacuuming a pollutant from within the array of booms.

20. The method of claim 10, further comprising: affixing the line to the weight; and deploying the line and the affixed weight from a ship into the body of water.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing the subsea booming system in accordance with the present invention.

[0043] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0044] FIG. 3 shows an initial step in the deployment of the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0045] FIG. 4 shows a subsequent step in the deployment of the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0046] FIG. 5 shows a further subsequent step in the deployment of the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0047] FIG. 6 shows still a further step in the deployment of the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0048] FIG. 7 shows a further step in the deployment of the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0049] FIG. 8 illustrates the pollutant removal step associated with the deployment of the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0050] FIG. 9 shows the step of removing the subsea booming system from of the mudline of the present invention.

[0051] FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration of an enclosure formed by the booms of the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0052] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a cup-like array of the booms in the subsea booming system of the present invention.

[0053] FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a deflector array associated with the subsea booming system of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0054] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown the subsea booming system 10 in accordance with the present invention. The subsea booming system includes a first buoyant module 12, a first line 14 extending downwardly from the first fixed buoyant module 12, a first bottom ballast module 16 affixed to an end of the line 14 opposite the first fixed buoyant module 12, a first boom 18 translatably mounted on the first line 14 and a variable buoyant module 20 cooperative with the first boom 18.

[0055] The first fixed buoyant module 12 is positioned adjacent to one end of the boom 18. The first line 14 extends downwardly from the first fixed buoyant module 12 downwardly toward the mudline 22 of the body of water 24. As can be seen, the first bottom ballast module 16 is positioned on or in the mudline 22. The first boom 18 will extend along with the mudline 22 so as to provide a containment surface thereon.

[0056] A second fixed buoyant module 26 is positioned on the surface 28 of the body of water 24. The second fixed buoyant module 26 is in spaced relationship to the first fixed buoyant module 12. A second line 30 extends downwardly from the second fixed buoyant module 26. A second bottom ballast module 32 is at an end of the line 30 and positioned at the mudline 22. A second boom 34 is positioned on the mudline 22 and is cooperative with the second line 30 so as to lower along the line 30. The second boom 34 is connected in end-to-end relationship with the first boom 18 so as to further provide a containment array. A third fixed buoyant module 36 is positioned at the surface 28 of the body of water 24 in spaced relationship to the second fixed buoyant module 26 and the first fixed buoyant module 12. A line 38 extends downwardly from the third fixed buoyant module 36. A third bottom ballast module 40 is affixed to the end of the third line 38 opposite the third fixed buoyant module 38 and resides on the mudline 22. The second boom 38 is cooperative with the third line 38 so as to be translatable with respect to the third line 38 and the second line 30 so as to be lowered to the mudline 22. A second variable buoyant module 42 is cooperative with the second boom 38 so as to achieve the requisite buoyancy of the boom 38 for the purposes of raising and lowering the boom 38.

[0057] A ship 44 is located on the surface 28 of the body of water 24. The ship 44 can include the requisite reeling equipment and a storage area so that each of the components associated with subsea booming system 10 of the present invention can be either delivered from or retrieved onto the deck of the ship 44.

[0058] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the subsea booming system 10. It can be seen that the first fixed buoyancy module 12 is located at the top of the subsea booming system 10. The first fixed buoyant module 12 is positively buoyant and non-variably buoyant. The fixed buoyancy ensures that the first boom 12 remains proud from the mudline once on the bottom. A first fixed buoyancy module 12 has a buoyancy that is calculated so that the bottom ballast module 16 is prevented from bottom fluctuation or flutter and so as to control the descent rate of the boom 18 in the event of a failure of the variable buoyant module 20. The material of the first fixed buoyant module 12 should be compressible so as to allow for minimum storage dimensions and for ease of deployment and recovery from the reel unit. The variable buoyant module 20 is variably buoyant so as to allow for adjustment from positive to neutral buoyancy. During deployment and recovery, the variable buoyant module 12 is used to control the descent and ascent of the boom 18 to or from the mudline 22 through the water column. The variable buoyant module 20 is designed to incorporate the ability to adjust buoyancy from the surface (i.e. with a whip connected to the module and attached to the guide wire) and provide the ability to float the variable buoyant module 20 on the surface 28 of the body of water 24 so as to facilitate deployment in recovery with a conventional surface asset. A skirt 46 is shown on the line 14. The skirt 46 is impermeable. As such, it prevents the migration of hydrocarbons and contaminated sediment through the boom 18. It can be made of a single or double walled material that does not retain water or hydrocarbons.

[0059] The bottom ballast module 16 is negatively and non-variably buoyant. The bottom ballast module 16 can be a clump weight which is a fixed ballast to ensure that the boom 18 remains in place and in constant contact with the mudline. The bottom ballast module 16 has a ballast that is calculated so that it is sufficiently more than the fixed buoyant module 12 regard to prevent bottom fluctuation or flutter. The ballast materials should be selected to allow for minimum storage dimensions and ease of deployment and recovery.

[0060] The subsea booming system 10 is designed to provide underwater/mudline booming capabilities not currently available in the market. The system 10 is designed to provide an economical and efficient solution for underwater heavy oil and chemical containment using conventional surface booming techniques and deployment equipment. The open top design prevents entrapment of marine life. Cameras or laser density measuring devices can be attached to the boom to monitor effectiveness once deployed. The system can be rapidly deployed and used in depths up to 500 feet and is suitable for use in conditions of the four knots. The system 10 is configured for capture, containment, diversion, deflection or exclusion operations.

[0061] FIG. 3 shows an initial step of the deployment of the subsea booming system 10 of the present invention. In FIG. 3, it can be seen that the ship 44 is traveling on the surface 28 of the body of water 24. In FIG. 10, the bottom ballast module 16 has been affixed to the first line 14 and lowered by a reel 50 located on the ship 44. The first bottom ballast module 16 will reside on the mudline 22 at the bottom of the body of water 24. The first line 18 extends upwardly toward the surface 28. The first fixed buoyant module 12 is then attached to the upper end of the first line 18 so that the first fixed buoyant module 12 will float on the surface 28 of the body of water. The first variable buoyant module 20 is deployed from the ship 44 much like a conventional boom. It is stored, deployed and recovered from the reel unit 50 off the stern of the ship 44. The variable buoyant module 20, along with one end of the boom 18, will be translatably mounted on to the line first line 14. During deployment, the variable buoyant module 20 is inflated to provide positive buoyancy so as to allow for the boom 18 to be floated on the surface 28 of the water 24.

[0062] FIG. 4 shows that the variable buoyant module 20 and the first boom 18 are delivered off of the stern 52 of the ship 44. The variable buoyant module 18 allows the boom 18 to float on the surface 28 of the body of water 24. In particular, it can be seen that there is a tubular member 54 formed at the end of the first boom 18 through which the first line 14 will extend. The opposite end 56 of the first boom 18 is positioned so as to allow for the attachment of another variable buoyant module and another boom thereto. The first boom 18 can be a one hundred foot section of boom that can be either connected directly to an adjacent boom for attached to the clump weight assemblies at the surface. FIG. 4 further shows that the bottom ballast module 16 will be located adjacent to a pollutant 58 at the mudline 22.

[0063] FIG. 5 shows that the second boom 34 is affixed to the end 56 of the first boom 18. The variable buoyant module 42 is suitably inflated so that the second boom 34 can also float on the surface 28 of the body of water 24. The second line 38 is connected to the bottom ballast module 40. The bottom ballast module 40 is also located in or on the mudline 22 in spaced relationship to the first bottom ballast module 16 and generally adjacent to an opposite side of the pollutant 58. The second line 38 extends in spaced relationship to the first line 14. The second fixed buoyant module 36 is secured to an upper end of the second line 38 and also float on the surface 28 of the body of water 24. As such, FIG. 5 shows that the first boom 18 is connected to the second boom 34 and in which the first buoyant module 20 and the second buoyant module 42 cause the booms 18 and 34 to float on the surface 28 of the body of water 24. The booms 18 and 34 are now ready to be lowered to the mudline 22. The ship 44 is illustrated as moved out of position away from the booms 18 and 34.

[0064] FIG. 6 shows the initial deployment of the booms 18 and 34 downwardly toward the mudline 22. The variable buoyant modules 20 and 42 are adjusted so as to slowly convert the entire boom assembly to negative buoyancy and to allow the booms 18 and 36 to land gently onto the mudline 22 in a desired configuration or array. The ends of the booms 18 and 36 will slide downwardly along the respective lines 14 and 38 until the booms 18 and 36 reside over or around the pollutant 58 at the mudline 22.

[0065] FIG. 7 shows that the booms 18 and 36 are now positioned at the mudline 22. The variable buoyant modules 20 and 42 are suitably deflated so as to allow each of the booms 18 and 36 to drift slowly downwardly toward the mudline 22 and reside thereon. The lines 14 and 38 extend upwardly and are supported respectively at the surface 28 by the fixed buoyancy modules 12 and 36. Once in place, the hydrocarbons, sediment or chemicals are then contained in an area surrounded by the array of booms.

[0066] FIG. 8 shows that there is a suction line 60 that extends from the ship 44 and downwardly to the area contained within the array of the booms 18 and 34. The suction line 60 allows the hydrocarbons, sediment or chemicals of the pollutant 58 to be recovered to the surface. The suction line 60 can be associated with a vacuum dredge or submersible pump. Alternatively, the booms 18 and 34 can be used so as to deflect the pollutant 58 from a protected area.

[0067] FIG. 9 shows how the booms 18 and 34 are recovered back to the surface 28 of the body of water 24. In particular, the respective variable buoyant modules 20 and 42 are adjusted so as to return to positive buoyancy. The booms 18 and 34 can then be recovered at the surface 28 in the reverse manner as deployment. Similarly, the bottom ballast modules 16 and 32, along with the respective lines 14 and 38, can further be recovered at the surface 28.

[0068] FIG. 10 illustrates one array 70 of the various booms. In FIG. 10, it can be seen that the booms form an enclosure around the pollutant 72. As such, the pollutant 72 will be fully contained within the interior of the enclosure 70 formed by the boom. As such, the suction line 60 can be utilized so as to remove the pollutant 72 from the interior of the enclosure 70.

[0069] FIG. 11 shows the array of booms 80 in a cup-like configuration. The outer ends 82 and 84 are configured so as to funnel the pollutant 86 inwardly. As such, if the pollutants 86 are migrating along the mudline, the cup-shape configuration of the array 80 can be utilized so as to collect the pollutants. The suction line can then be utilized so as to remove the pollutants 86 from the collecting end of the cup-like configuration of the arrays 80.

[0070] FIG. 12 shows the array 90 of the booms in the form of a deflector. In certain circumstances, it is desirable to deflect the pollutants 92 away from a protected area. As such, the booms of the array 90 can be arranged in a generally linear or partially-linear configuration so that the flow or movement of the pollutants 92 is directed away from a protected area.

[0071] The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof. Various changes in the details of the illustrated construction can be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the true spirit of the invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.