Abstract:
In response to the technical bottlenecks of the traditional through-bottom steel cable method in deep-water shipwreck salvage operations, underwater hyperbaric welding technology was introduced, and a complete underwater hyperbaric dry welding salvage equipment system was proposed and developed. The system consists of eight major subsystems: chamber, propulsion, buoyancy and attitude regulation, sealing, robotic arm, hyperbaric welding, pressure regulation, and auxiliary subsystems. It is designed to achieve lateral adsorption sealing, construct a dry welding environment at water depths shallower than 300 m, and complete the welding operations between the shipwreck side plate and the eye plate using a six-degree-of-freedom welding robot. To verify the reliability of the equipment, finite element strength verification was conducted on the welding chamber structure; a hyperelastic constitutive model was established for the hyperbaric adsorption sealing rubber ring, and numerical simulation was performed. Additionally, hyperbaric adsorption sealing performance tests and pool welding verification tests were carried out. The results indicate that the structural strength of the chamber meets the operational requirements at a water depth of 300 m; the rubber sealing ring can achieve reliable sealing under a hyperbaric environment of 3 MPa; the pool welding tests verify the feasibility of the equipment and the robot for underwater welding operations. It provides a brand-new technical approach for deep-water shipwreck salvage and is of great significance for promoting the technological upgrading of the Chinese rescue and salvage industry.