Experiment device for spudcan penetration and pullout of jack-up rig

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12492525-B2
Application number	US-202117410219-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 24, 2021
Priority date	Jul 26, 2021
Publication date	Dec 9, 2025
Grant date	Dec 9, 2025

Abstract

This disclosure provides an experiment device for spudcan penetration and pullout of a jack-up rig, comprising an experiment bench and a spudcan leg, and further comprising: a ballasting tank; supporting wheels provided on the experiment bench; a suspension rope wound around the supporting wheels with two ends being connected respectively to the spudcan leg and the ballasting tank, wherein the ballasting tank has a first state of being seated on the spudcan leg and a second state of being separated from the spudcan leg and suspended under the suspension rope, by configuring the ballasting tank to have two different states, the gravity of the ballasting tank can be used as both the penetration force and the pullout force, and eliminating the need to provide two loading devices to apply the penetration pressure and the pullout force respectively.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An experiment device for spudcan penetration and pullout of a jack-up rig, comprising an experiment bench and a spudcan leg, wherein the experiment device further comprises:
a ballasting tank; supporting wheels provided on the experiment bench; a suspension rope which is wound around the supporting wheels, and has two ends being connected respectively to the spudcan leg and the ballasting tank, wherein the ballasting tank has a first state of being seated on the spudcan leg and a second state of being separated from the spudcan leg and suspended under the suspension rope, when the ballasting tank is in the first state, a gravity of the ballasting tank acts as a penetration pressure exerting on the spudcan leg, and when the ballasting tank is in the second state, the gravity of the ballasting tank acts as a pullout force exerting on the spudcan leg through the suspension rope; and a linear driving device coupled to the ballasting tank, wherein the linear driving device makes the ballasting tank switch between the first state and the second state by driving the ballasting tank to move linearly in a horizontal direction perpendicular to a height direction of the spudcan leg.

2 . The experiment device according to claim 1 , wherein the ballasting tank has a water-containing cavity for containing water therein.

3 . The experiment device according to claim 2 , wherein the ballasting tank is provided with a water injection port communicating with the water-containing cavity, the experiment device further comprises a first water injection pipe connected to the water injection port, a second water injection pipe connected to a water supply source, and a water pump connected between the first water injection pipe and the second water injection pipe.

4 . The experiment device according to claim 3 , wherein the first water injection pipe is provided with a flow meter.

5 . The experiment device according to claim 2 , wherein the ballasting tank is provided with a plurality of water outlets communicating with the water-containing cavity, each of which is connected to one of a plurality of flushing pipes, the plurality of flushing pipes extend respectively to below middle of a pipe leg, and are arranged on an outer peripheral of the pipe leg.

6 . The experiment device according to claim 1 , wherein at least two supporting wheels are horizontally arranged on the experiment bench, with at least one being a first supporting wheel located directly above the spudcan leg and at least one being a second supporting wheel located horizontally outside of a pipe leg, and the suspension rope is wound around the first supporting wheel and the second supporting wheel.

7 . The experiment device according to claim 1 , wherein the experiment device further comprises a spudcan shoe fixed to a bottom of the spudcan leg, a soil pressure sensor and a pore water pressure sensor are mounted on a bottom surface of the spudcan leg.

8 . The experiment device according to claim 7 , wherein the experiment device further comprises a data acquisition system and a data processing system, the soil pressure sensor and the pore water pressure sensor are each electrically connected to the data acquisition system, and the data acquisition system is electrically connected to the data processing system.

9 . The experiment device according to claim 8 , wherein the experiment device further comprises a displacement sensor for measuring a displacement of the spudcan leg in spudcan penetration process and spudcan pullout process, the displacement sensor is mounted on the spudcan leg and is electrically connected to the data acquisition system.

10 . The experiment device according to claim 1 , wherein the experiment bench comprises a support truss which is disposed in the height direction;
the linear driving device is disposed in the horizontal direction, with one end connected to the support truss and an other end connected to a side wall of the ballasting tank.

Assignees

• Univ China Petroleum Beijing

Inventors

• Yin Qishuai
• Yang Jin
• Xu Dongsheng
• Fu Chao
• Wei Bo

Classifications

• G09B25/02

  of industrial processes; of machinery · CPC title

• E02B2017/0082

  Spudcans, skirts or extended feet · CPC title

• E02B17/0809 Primary

  the equipment being hydraulically actuated (outriggers for cranes B66C23/80) · CPC title

• E02B17/021 Primary

  with relative movement between supporting construction and platform · CPC title

• E02D33/00 Primary

  Testing foundations or foundation structures (testing methods and apparatus, see the relevant subclasses of class G01; testing structures or apparatus as regards function, in general, G01M; testing or determining chemical or physical properties, in general G01N) · CPC title