Design and Experimental Research of Underwater Maintenance Vehicle for Seabed Pipelines

The preservation of seabed pipelines in China is increasing day by day. Due to the particularity of the seabed environment, it is very difficult to examine and maintain subsea pipelines in service. Maintenance using underwater vehicle is an important mean and is a new trend of offshore pipeline maintenance. A kind of special-purpose underwater vehicle for subsea pipeline maintenance operation was developed. Its overall structure, functional characteristics, operation modes and measurement and control methods were introduced. The stability of the underwater vehicle during subsea pipeline operation was calculated, and the basic functions were tested in water pool. The results showed that the underwater vehicle can meet the stability requirements of seabed pipeline examination and maintenance operation in China, and has good resistance to external impact loads.