Method and apparatus for a buoyancy vessel for deep-sea mining

Abstract

A buoyancy system for an underwater autonomous vehicle is provided. The buoyancy system includes one or more pressure vessels, a primary pump connected to each of the one or more pressure vessels with the primary pump configured to pump liquid from the one or more pressure vessels. The buoyancy system further includes a controller communicatively coupled to the primary pump and configured to operate the main pump, and a power source configured to provide power to the controller and the primary pump. Each pressure vessel includes a cylindrical shell with an inner surface, spaced apart axial support members disposed on the inner surface of the cylindrical shell, and radial support plates between the axial support members.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A buoyancy system for an underwater autonomous vehicle, the buoyancy system comprises:
 one or more pressure vessels, each pressure vessel comprising:
 a cylindrical shell; 
 spaced apart axial support members disposed on an inner surface of the cylindrical shell; and 
 radial support plates between the axial support members; 
   a primary pump connected to each of the one or more pressure vessels, wherein the primary pump is configured to pump liquid out of the one or more pressure vessels during operation of the buoyancy system;   a controller communicatively coupled to the primary pump and configured to operate the main pump; and
 a power source configured to provide power to the controller and the primary pump. 
   
     
     
         2 . The buoyancy system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first pump connected to each of the one or more pressure vessels via a liquid inlet valve, the first pump configured to pump liquid into each of the one or more pressure vessels when commanded by the controller; and   a second pump connected to each of the one or more pressure vessels via a gas inlet valve, the second pump configured to pump in gas to each of the one or more pressure vessels when commanded by the controller.   
     
     
         3 . The buoyancy system of  claim 1 , wherein a volume of a liquid within each of the one or more pressure vessels is independently controlled via operation of the primary pump. 
     
     
         4 . The buoyancy system of  claim 1 , wherein the axial support members are disposed lengthwise the cylindrical shell and the radial support plates are disposed on a circumference of the cylindrical shell. 
     
     
         5 . The buoyancy system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more vessels contain a first volume of a liquid and a second volume of a gas at a ratio adjusted by operation of the primary pump. 
     
     
         6 . The buoyancy system of  claim 5 , wherein the liquid is at least one of sea water, filtered sea water, desalinated water, or de-ionized water and the gas is at least one of air or filtered air. 
     
     
         7 . The buoyancy system of  claim 1 , wherein the axial support members and the radial support plates comprise aluminum. 
     
     
         8 . The buoyancy system of  claim 1 , wherein the axial support members are metal extrusions with a hexagonal cross section. 
     
     
         9 . The buoyancy system of  claim 1 , wherein the primary pump is a high-pressure hydraulic piston pump with a pumping rate proportional to a payload collection rate of the underwater autonomous vehicle so that for every net kilogram of payload collected by the underwater autonomous vehicle, an equal mass of liquid is pumped out of the one or more pressure vessels. 
     
     
         10 . The buoyancy system of  claim 1 , wherein the buoyancy system is configured to operate at underwater depths between about 5 km and about 6 km. 
     
     
         11 . A deep-sea mining system, the system comprising:
 a dynamic buoyancy system with one or more pressure vessels connected to one or more primary pumps, wherein the one or more pressure vessels comprise:
 a cylindrical shell; 
 spaced apart axial support members covering a portion of an inner surface of the cylindrical shell; and 
 radial support plates between the axial support members; 
   an autonomous underwater vehicle; and   an ore collection system;   wherein the dynamic buoyancy system is configured to dynamically control a buoyancy of the deep-sea mining system by adjusting via the one or more primary pumps a ratio of a gas volume to a liquid volume contained in the one or more pressure vessels.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the axial support members are disposed lengthwise the cylindrical shell and the radial support plates are disposed along a circumference of the cylindrical shell. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein multiple rows of radial support plates are disposed along a height of the cylindrical shell. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein a spacing between two adjacent rows of radial support plates is about 25 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the radial support plates have a thickness of about 4 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more primary pumps have a combined output of about 500 kW or about 670 hp. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the dynamic buoyancy system further comprises:
 a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more primary pumps and configured to operate the one or more main pumps; and   a power source configured to provide power to the controller and the one or more primary pumps.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the liquid volume is at least one of sea water, filtered sea water, desalinated water, or de-ionized water and the gas volume is at least one of air or filtered air. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the dynamic buoyancy system further comprises:
 a first pump connected to each of the one or more pressure vessels via a liquid inlet valve, the first pump configured to pump liquid into each of the one or more pressure vessels when commanded by the controller; and   a second pump connected to each of the one or more pressure vessels via a gas inlet valve, the second pump configured to pump gas to each of the one or more pressure vessels when commanded by the controller.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more primary pumps are high-pressure hydraulic piston pumps with a combined pumping rate proportional to a payload collection rate of the deep-sea mining system so that for every net kilogram of payload collected, an equal mass of liquid is pumped out of the one or more pressure vessels.