• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.300-311
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• 2019

An ROV trencher is a type of heavy-duty work class ROV equipped with high-pressure water jet tools for cutting into the sea floor and burying cables. This kind of trencher is mostly used for PLIB operations. This paper introduces the development of this kind of ROV trencher, which has a 698 kW power system, with a 250 kW hydraulic system and two 224 kW water jet systems. The project was launched in January 2014. After four years of design, manufacturing, and system integration, we carried out two sea trials near the Yeongilman port (about 20-30 m in depth) in Pohang to evaluate the system performance in November 2017 and August 2018. Through tests, we found that most of specifications were satisfied, including a maximum bury depth of 3 m, maximum bury speed of 2 km/h, and maximum forward speed of 1.54 m/s.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.470-474
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• 2015

The demand for subsea cables and pipelines that transfer marine energy resources onshore has recently increased. Laying these underground after trenching is one engineering method to stabilize exposed subsea cables and pipelines. This experimental study found the optimum conditions for operating two types of waterjet arms mounted on an ROV trencher. A waterjet arm for trenching the seabed was scaled down at a ratio of 1:6, and a comparative analysis was conducted using diverse parameters. The results of this research provide a practical fundamental database to assist in making decisions about the ROV trencher performance in advance.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.361-370
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• 2020

We developed a heavy-duty work class ROV trencher named URI-T (Underwater robot it's trencher) that can conduct burial and maintenance tasks for underwater cables and small diameter pipelines. It requires various supporting systems, including a dynamic positioning (DP) vessel, launch and recovery system (LARS), A-frame, and winch in order to perform burial tasks because of its dimensions (6.5 m × 5.0 m × 4.5 m, 20 t) and the tough working environment. However, operating a DP vessel has disadvantages as it is expensive to rent and operate and it is difficult to adjust the working schedule for some domestic coast construction cases. In this paper, we propose a method using a barge instead of a DP vessel to avoid the above disadvantages. Although burying the cable and pipeline using a barge has lower working efficiency than a DP vessel, it can save construction expenses and does not require a large crew. The proposed method was applied over two months at the construction of the water supply in Yokji-do, and the results were verified.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.539-544
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• 2015

There is drift toward moving offshore structures operating sites to deep water that brings subsea systems and types of apparatus to meet more severe environment than onshore. At this moment, climatic condition and seabed state affect trenching efficiency so trenching process is need to make steady progress in a short time. This paper is research on estimation about construction performance of waterjet trenching machine mounted on ROV trencher. Optimal number of nozzles that can maximize trenching efficiency is selected by considering clearance and angle of nozzles through CFD. Then verified effectiveness of waterjet apparatus on the result of trenching depth and velocity by model test analogized performance for construction work of waterjet trenching machine.