Method of joining two portions of an underwater pipeline laid on the bed of a body of water to conduct fluid and/or gas

摘要

A method of joining two portions of an underwater pipeline laid on the bed of a body of water to conduct fluid and/or gas, the method including: joining a telescopic sleeve, having a first coupling head, to a first end of a first pipeline portion above the body of water; laying the first end, the telescopic sleeve, and the first coupling head on the bed of the body of water; joining a second coupling head to a second end of a second pipeline portion above the body of water; laying the second end and the second coupling head on the bed of the body of water, close to the first coupling head; roughly aligning the first and second coupling head in the body of water; and clamping the first and second coupling head to each other in the body of water.

主权项

1. A method of joining two portions of an underwater pipeline laid on the bed of a body of water to conduct fluid; the method comprising the steps of:
joining a telescopic sleeve to a first end of a first pipeline portion above the body of water, the telescopic sleeve comprising a first coupling head, the first coupling head comprising a first flange comprising
a first face facing away from the first end of the first pipeline portion; anda second face facing toward the first end of the first pipeline portion, the second face sloping radially inward and toward the first face to form a first acute angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the first pipeline portion; laying the first end, the telescopic sleeve, and the first coupling head on the bed of the body of water; joining a second coupling head to a second end of a second pipeline portion above the body of water, the second coupling head comprising a second flange comprising
a third face facing away from the second end of the second pipeline portion and configured to mate with the first face of the first flange; anda fourth face facing toward the second end of the second pipeline portion, the fourth face sloping radially inward and toward the third face to form a second acute angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the second pipeline portion; laying the second end and the second coupling head on the bed of the body of water close to the first coupling head; roughly aligning the first and second coupling heads in the body of water; and clamping the first and second coupling heads to each other in the body of water using a clamping device, the clamping device having an annular body defining a fifth sloping face configured to mate with the second face of the first flange, and a sixth sloping face configured to mate with the fourth face of the second flange, wherein clamping the first and second coupling heads using the clamping device comprises drawing the fifth face toward the sixth face such that the fifth face engages the second face and the sixth face engages the fourth face, and simultaneously extending the telescopic sleeve and automatically self-centering the first and second coupling heads to accurately align the first and second coupling heads.