The apparatus and method described herein are believed to constitute substantial benefits towards the utility and performance of the hydrodynamic compaction machine which is defined in U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,543 and to the groundwater cleanup configuration described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,419,316. The current applicant was the sole inventor of both those patents, and is also the sole owner of the intellectual property associated with these.
The novelty cited here is a module to be incorporated within the existing hydrodynamic compactor, a machine which is mainly for use in the Ground Improvement sector of geotechnical engineering and environmental remediation, however, it may have some application in water well development and petroleum recovery from oil wells.
The environment in which the hydrodynamic compactor is typically put to work is within relatively weak or loose soils at some depth below the water table. Depending on the project, this tool will be deployed for the purposes of improving the engineering parameters on which the behavior of the soil, or other particulate mass, depends for stability. In other situations it may be employed to withdraw contaminated water from the ground surrounding it for environmental reasons. In such cases it is normal practice to push the machine down to the desired depth by applying an external vertical force to it. This force may be generated by such means as a custom designed hydraulic piston attached to a weighty deployment vehicle.
One of the benefits associated with the incorporation of the apparatus cited herein is its capacity to produce vertical impact blows internally at the bottom end of the apparatus, in combination with the friction-reduction of the outer cylindrical surface of the compactor by means of pressurized water exhausted locally. Taken together, these two factors could in many cases result in the machine entering the ground itself, without the need for any externally applied vertical force from a deployment vehicle.
In weaker ground environments, such as deltaic deposits and mine tailings of various gradations, the filter component of the well screen may be rendered inoperative by virtue of the open spaces between its helically wound wire filter being plugged by cohesive layers existing within the material to be treated. Here is where a second benefit of this apparatus can be brought into play, rectifying this situation by removing such smearing remotely. And, most importantly, accomplishing this while the machine is still at depth, in other words, without having to withdraw and expose the well screen above ground level. This is affected simply by the operator reversing the rotational direction of the drive shaft, thereby causing pressurized water jets to be emitting up between the ribs of the well screen, while at the same time causing the screen to vibrate vertically.
The upper part of both
In order to give some practical context to this module it is shown against the background of the lower part of the hydrodynamic compactor which is hereinafter referred to as its parent device, and to which it has particular application.
The difference between these two figures is that
For the purpose of describing the apparatus and explaining the method of its operation it is considered best to do so in the specific case of its embodiment as a module added to the existing hydrodynamic compaction machine.
The nose cone 30 is shaped to facilitate ground penetration, and it is formed from mild steel.
The uppermost component of the module 10 is a somewhat loosely fitting spline shaft 11 which is an integral part of the upper drive shaft 12. This shaft 12 is fixedly connected to the top of the spiral coupling 13.
The spline shaft 11 is provided with some vertical and lateral slack. This is to prevent vertical forces emanating from the dynamics involved in the movements of the module 10 having too intimate a connection with the main rotational drive 40, and thereby effecting mechanisms higher up the parent device. The lateral slack in spline shaft 11 also allows it to rise and fall, with minimal resistance, when moving in compliance with the excursions of the upper half 14 of the spiral coupling.
The spiral coupling 13 is made of heat-treated steel which is stress relieved and case hardened so as to endure repeated impact loading.
With reference to
The dead weight 19 is formed of metal, and advantageously, to some extent is composed of lead (Pb).
The bottom half of the spiral coupling 15 is supported vertically by retaining ring 20 inserted in the wall of the nose cone cavity 32.
All components in
The rotational freedom of the bottom half of the spiral coupling 15 is controlled by spring-loaded pawls 34 and 35 which are also fixed into the wall of the nose cone cavity 32. When the main rotational drive 40 is causing clockwise motion of the top half of the spiral coupling 14 the pawl 34 allows free rotation of the bottom half of the spiral coupling 15 and the two halves 14 and 15 remain in intimate contact as shown on
The dimensions of the hanger 17 are chosen so that when the two halves of the spiral coupling 13 are mated and moving together in the same direction, then the hanger 17 is held out of contact with the dead load 19.
On the other hand, as shown in
While 19 is being elevated the vacated space in the nose cone cavity 32 beneath it is filled by water 36 from the reservoir 45 entering through water conduits 37.
There comes a crisis point each time the top half 14 completes a full (360°) horizontal counterclockwise turn, that is, as soon as the lower half 15 is no longer in a position to support the elevated state of 14. In consequence 14 falls down to its original height, and in so doing drops the deadweight 19 too. As 19 reoccupies its at-rest position within the nose cone 30 it instantly pressurizes the water 36 which has, during the excursion of 30, entered that vacated space.
Water conduits 37 provided escape passageways for this water 36. This plurality of holes 37 are drilled from a groove 38 which extends around the top perimeter of the shoulder of the nose cone 33 immediately beneath the well screen ribs 43 and of the same width as the ribs. The inclination of these holes is made so as to align with the bottom shape of that inner cavity 32. This geometric arrangement avoids the possibility of pressurized water 36 being inadvertently blocked in the event that the discharge ends of these vents 37 emerge directly beneath the well screen ribs 43.
The parts of the parent device above the nose cone, and which contribute to its viability are as follows: the main rotational drive 40; the well screen 41 comprised of its filter element 42 and its supporting ribs 43; and the structural supporting perforated pipe 44. The well screen 41 and the perforated pipe 44 admit water flow from the ground water outside the parent device so as to provision the water reservoir 45.
The well screen 41 is made of stainless steel.
In each of its geotechnical applications the apparatus would be incorporated into the hydrodynamic compactor poker as its bottommost module. The poker with the module protected within this elongated cylindrical steel device would be positioned over the ground at the desired location by a mobile crane, or similar hoisting device.
In order to enter the ground penetration mode the procedure would be as follows:
a. The normal dewatering function would be deactivated.
b. Water would be added to the top of the deployment casing in order to fill the reservoir above the module and to flood the lower part of the well screen and its perforated support tube.
c. The drive shaft would be activate in the counterclockwise rotation at a rate of about 15 to 30 RPM.
d. The nose cone would be set on the ground and the hoisting line slackened.
In this mode the pawls will deny rotation of the lower half of the spiral coupling and cause the upper half to be superelevated, lifting the dead load with it. Each time it completes a full rotation (360°) the top half will fall back onto the lower half again. Thus, each completed rotation of the drive shaft will result in both a vertically downward hammer blow to the nose cone, and a simultaneous expulsion of water out of the well screen into the surrounding ground. This extruded water serves to diminish the lateral soil pressures which would otherwise restrain the cylindrical body from moving downwardly, while the hammer blows actively impel further penetration.
It is essential that for the duration of the penetration mode the hoisting line should remain slack. However, when the module is used in its alternate screen de-smearing mode, while all other mechanical procedures are exactly the same, the hoisting line should remain taut, so as to hold the hardware at the fixed elevation chosen by the operator.
During normal operation of the hydrodynamic compactor indications of well screen smearing/blockage will be evidenced by a reduction of seepage water discharge from the top of the deployment casing. At, or just below this point, or below a known cohesive seam/layer, the hoisting line should be locked in place and the same procedure as described above for the penetration mode enacted.
With the poker suspended in the ground by the hoisting line the tamping action of the dead weight will cause vertical vibration along the length of the well screen and will produce inertial forces tending to shake loose soil caught in the openings of the helically wound wire. Simultaneously, pressurized jets of water rush up the vertical spaces between the well screen ribs and the perforated pipe as a result of its forced expulsion from beneath the dead weight as it reoccupies the cone cavity. These streams of water are conveyed through water conduits of the nose cone and discharge into the circumferential water groove inside the cone collar.
It is believed that the combined effects of the vertical vibrations and the pressurized water jets washing action will be sufficient to result in the removal of finer grained soils types from smearing the well screen and thereby restoring the permeability of the water intake filter. By the operator choosing to initiate this remote screen cleansing procedure, the original permeability of the well screen filter may be restored, while the hydrodynamic compacter remains at depth within the ground.
Despite the fact that the foregoing description of the apparatus has been, for convenience of illustration, explained in terms of the specific embodiment restraints required by the particular demands of the hydrodynamic compactor's geometry, it will be obvious to those familiar/expert in the fields of water well installation and maintenance, and to petroleum drilling contractors, that this novelty can readily be adapted so as to be of some utility in their work.
For instance, in terms of water well installation it is possible that, in certain weaker soils, this apparatus would allow screens to be set in place and developed without the need for drilling a borehole. Also, it seems obvious that a modification of this tool could be used to renew the former conductivity of older wells, be they either sources of water or of petroleum.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent application No. 62/520,845 filed Jun. 16, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20180363264 A1 | Dec 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62520845 | Jun 2017 | US |