Brown & Root, Inc.

William R Rochelle

Eberhard V Ranft

William S Tillinghast

Leroy N Larenzo

The invention relates to methods and apparatus for effecting deep water repair of pipelines especially during a pipelaying operation. A damaged portion of the pipeline is located and is prepared for receiving a pipeline plug member by cutting away the damaged portion leaving a prepared pipeline end section. The pipeline plug member is secured in a submersible repair frame which is lowered from a floating vessel into an operational relationship with the prepared pipeline end section. The plug member is aligned with the pipeline end section and is inserted into the end section. Thereafter, the plug member is sealingly secured in the pipeline end section and the repair frame is removed from its operational relationship with the pipeline. The pipeline is dewatered and the end section is then raised onto a floating vessel. The repair frame, in addition to including means for holding and manipulating the plug member, also has a manually operable control panel manipulating means for controlling operations of the repair frame, and a submersible vehicle docking station to position a submersible vehicle in an operative relationship to the control panel manipulating means. The repair frame is preferably lowered to the bottom of the body of water with a pick up line or a pilot line attached to the plug member.

Deep water repair methods and apparatus

The invention relates to a device for removing material from a submerged surface. The apparatus has a liquid manifold which supports downwardly directed liquid jets to dig or remove material and upwardly directed liquid jets to impel the removed material into the interior of a material removing housing and a gas manifold having a plurality of air jets to help urge the material into and through the material removing housing. Means are provided for dividing the liquid and gas manifolds into zones and for directing all of the supplied liquid and gas to one or more zones of the respective manifolds to either intensify and localize the effect of the fluids or to maintain the device in an operable condition when the source of gas and/or liquid is partially impaired.

Bottom jetting device

The method includes the steps of cleaning, priming, and coating pipe segments with a bituminous composition. The coated pipe segments are wrapped and carefully handled so as not to disturb the bituminous coating. Wire reinforcing cages are formed around the pipe segments and the individual pipe segments are then loaded into individual mold cars positioned end-to-end upon a first railway track assembly. The cars are then translated onto a first transfer car, which rides on a second track means, and are conveyed to a third railway track assembly comprising a plurality of parallel sets of rails. The mold cars are transferred abreast from the transfer car onto the third railway track assembly, filled with a cementitious weight coating material and fed into a drying kiln whereby the cementitious weight coating cures at least until the cement becomes self-supporting. The cars are then translated abreast onto a second transfer car, riding upon a fourth track assembly, positioned at the other end of the third railway means. The molds are opened and the weight coated pipe segments are removed. The empty mold cars are then transferred to the other end of the first railway track assembly where the individual mold cars are sequentially aligned with the other end of the first railway track means and translated onto the first track means in an end-to-end relationship, thus closing the handling loop.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

William R Rochelle