Santa Fe International Corporation

Elmer R Remkes

Nuke M Chang

William B Cook, Jr

The sea sled includes a pair of pontoons mounting depending rollers for straddling a pipeline disposed on the sea bottom. Water jets fluidize the sea bottom to form a trench in which the pipeline settles. The slurry formed by the water jets is removed from the trench by the eductor system which includes a pair of conduits each having a suction inlet at its lower end for location within the trench, a discharge at its upper end, a pair of pump nozzles each having an inlet external to the associated conduit and an outlet within the conduit directed toward the corresponding discharge, and a pair of primary nozzles respectively spaced from the inlet ends of the pump nozzles. A high pressure, low volume, fluid is pumped from the surface through the jet nozzles. The fluid emanating from the jet nozzles entrains ambient fluid and delivers low pressure, high volume, fluid through the respective pump nozzles to their corresponding discharges. The action of the pump nozzles in the conduits creates a suction whereby the slurry from the trench is pumped from the trench through the conduit and discharged to opposite sides of the trench.

Sea sled with jet pump for underwater trenching and slurry removal

The sea sled includes a pair of pontoons mounting depending rollers for straddling a pipeline disposed on the sea bottom. Water jets fluidize the sea bottom to form a trench in which the pipeline settles. The slurry formed by the water jets is removed from the trench by the eductor system which includes a pair of conduits each having a suction inlet at its lower end for location within the trench, a discharge at its upper end, a pair of pump nozzles each having an inlet external to the associated conduit and an outlet within the conduit directed toward the corresponding discharge, and a pair of primary nozzles, the outlet ends of which respectively project into the inlet ends of the pump nozzles. A high pressure, low volume, fluid is pumped from the surface through the jet nozzles. Ambient fluid is entrained with the high pressure, low volume fluid emanating from the jet nozzles in the respective pump nozzles to deliver low pressure, high volume fluid to their corresponding discharges. The action of the pump nozzles in the conduits creates a suction whereby the slurry from the trench is pumped from the trench through the conduits and discharged to opposite sides of the trench.

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Orange, CA, United States of America

Elmer R Remkes