Rig piling clamp apparatus

摘要

A process involving the utilization of a clamp apparatus positioned around a pile to be driven into the seabed through the jacket leg and supported on the top end portion of the jacket leg itself. The apparatus involved in this process would comprise a pair of hemispherical sections hinged together at a common edge moveable between opened and closed positions opposite the hinged edge. There is further provided hydraulic means for effecting movement of the sections engaging or disengaging the piling. On the inner wall of each hemisphere there is further provided a plurality of protrusions, constructed of soft metal or the like, so that the outermost face of each protrusion engages the wall of the piling when the apparatus is in the closed position and engaged around the pile. The downward movement of the pile in the jacket leg is controlled by the loosening or tightening of the clamp apparatus by use of the hydraulic means attached thereto.