JP7763682B2 - Grout injection management device, grout injection management method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to technology for injecting grout material into gaps.

When injecting various types of grout materials, such as mortar, into gaps between structures, managing the injection amount is important. For example, Patent Document 1 describes installing a pressure sensor to measure the grout injection pressure, a flow meter to measure the flow rate of injected grout per unit time, and an integrating flow meter to measure the integrated amount over time between the pressure pump and the grout injection port of the cable sheath, and displaying the time progression of the measurement data output from these pressure sensors, flow meter, and integrating flow meter on a display.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-133397

In structures constructed in coastal areas or offshore, the bottom of the gap into which grout should be injected may be below the water level, and part of the gap may contain water (liquid). When grout is injected into such a gap containing liquid, some of the injected grout becomes cloudy with the liquid in the gap. Therefore, even if an amount of grout equivalent to the volume of the gap is injected, some of the grout may become cloudy with the liquid or be discharged, potentially preventing the grout from performing its intended function.

The present invention therefore aims to enable the injection of an appropriate amount of grout material into a gap that has liquid in at least part of the space.

In order to solve the above problems, the grout injection management device of the present invention is characterized by comprising : a pressure sensor provided in a gap formed between a first structure and a second structure, the gap having liquid in at least a portion of the space; an injection unit that injects grout into the gap; a calculation unit that calculates the amount of grout injected into the gap using the pressure from the grout injected into the gap by the injection unit detected by the pressure sensor, the specific gravity of the liquid and/or the grout, and the height dimension of the gap; and an output unit that outputs information according to the calculation result by the calculation unit.

The pressure sensor may be provided at least at the lowermost end of the gap.

The pressure sensors may be provided at a plurality of positions spaced apart in the height direction of the gap.

The first structure may be a foundation pile installed from the bottom of the water toward above the water surface, the second structure may be a lower connecting member connected to the foundation pile, and the pressure sensors may be provided at multiple positions spaced circumferentially on the inner surface of the lower connecting member or the outer surface of the foundation pile.

The system may include an injection pressure detection unit that detects the injection pressure of the grout material injected into the gap by the injection unit, and the output unit may output information corresponding to the detected injection pressure.

The system may include an injection position detection unit that detects the injection position of the grout material, and the output unit may output information corresponding to the detected injection position.

A flow rate detection unit may be provided in the path along which the grout material is pumped into the gap to detect the flow rate of the grout material, and the calculation unit may calculate the amount of grout material to be used based on the detected flow rate.

A recording unit may be provided to record information related to the calculated or detected results.

Furthermore, the grout injection management method of the present invention is characterized by comprising the steps of : a pressure pump injecting grout into a gap formed between a first structure and a second structure, the gap having liquid in at least a portion of the space ; a pressure sensor provided in the gap detecting the pressure from the grout injected into the gap by the pressure pump; an information processing device calculating the amount of grout injected into the gap by the pressure pump using the pressure detected by the pressure sensor, the specific gravity of the liquid and/or the grout, and the height dimension of the gap; and a step of the information processing device outputting information according to the result of the calculation in the calculating step.

Furthermore, the program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the following processes: acquiring the specific gravity of the liquid filling at least a portion of the gap formed between a first structure and a second structure and/or the grout material to be injected into the gap; acquiring the height dimension of the gap; acquiring the pressure from the grout material injected into the gap detected by a pressure sensor provided in the gap; calculating the amount of grout material injected into the gap using the specific gravity acquired in the specific gravity acquisition process, the dimension acquired in the dimension acquisition process, and the pressure acquired in the pressure acquisition process; and outputting information corresponding to the amount of grout material calculated in the calculation process .

The present invention makes it possible to check the amount of grout injected and the injection status in real time into gaps that have liquid in at least some of the space, and to inject the appropriate amount of grout.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a grout material injection management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the connection portion between the foundation pile and the lower connecting member. FIG. 10 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the connection portion between the foundation pile and the lower connecting member. 1A and 1B are enlarged vertical cross-sectional views of the connection between the foundation pile and the lower joint member during grout injection. (a) A diagram of the situation before grout injection into the gap, (b) A diagram of the situation after grout injection into the gap has started, and (c) A diagram of the situation after grout has been filled into the gap. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the grout material injection management device. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display on a computer. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display on a computer. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display on a computer.

An example of an embodiment of the present invention will now be described. The grout injection management device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for injecting grout into gaps between structures. In this grout injection management device 100, grout mixed in a grout manufacturing device 1 is pumped by a pressure pump 2 through a group of transport pipes 3, which correspond to a path for pumping the grout, to an injection port 5 provided on a structure 4. In this embodiment, the structure 4 is, for example, a pier or a bottom-mounted offshore wind power generation device, and is primarily composed of foundation piles 4a (first structures) installed from the bottom of the water toward the water surface, and sheath pipes and transition pieces (second structures) corresponding to lower connecting members connected to the foundation piles 4a. The following description will use a bottom-mounted offshore wind power generation device as an example, using transition pieces as the lower connecting members. Both the foundation pile 4a and transition piece 4b have a hollow cylindrical structure, with the inner diameter of the lower part of the transition piece 4b being larger than the outer diameter of the upper part of the foundation pile 4a, and the transition piece 4b fitting into the head of the foundation pile 4a while maintaining a specified gap and height. The specified gap, the space between the outer surface of the foundation pile 4a and the inner surface of the transition piece 4b, corresponds to the gap into which grout material is injected.

A portion of the transport pipe 3 is configured as a robot arm 6 that bends, rotates, and moves using a joint mechanism. Each joint mechanism of the robot arm 6 is equipped with an angle sensor 7 that measures the angle between the two arms before and after the joint mechanism. A PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) 8 controls the operation of the robot arm 6 based on the measurement values of each angle sensor 7. The PLC 8 is connected to a router modem 10 via a wireless communication unit 9a so that it can communicate wirelessly.

The transport pipe 3 is also equipped with a pressure sensor 11 that measures the injection pressure of the grout material being pumped through the pipe, and a flow rate sensor 12 that measures the flow rate of the pumped grout material. The pressure sensor 11 and flow rate sensor 12 are connected to a router modem 10 via a wireless communication unit 9b. A wireless communication unit 9c is provided at a predetermined position above the water surface of the transition piece 4b, connecting data from a pressure sensor 18 (described below) to the router modem 10. The router modem 10 is connected to an information processing device 13 and a cloud system 15 on a network 14. The information processing device 13 is connected to various peripheral devices such as a display 16 and a printer 17.

The information processing device 13 includes hardware for implementing a computer, such as a processor, memory, storage, communication devices, input devices, output devices, and buses connecting these. Each function of the information processing device 13 is realized by loading specific software (programs) onto the processor, memory, and other hardware, causing the processor to perform calculations, control communications via communication devices, acquire data transmitted from other devices, and control at least one of reading and writing data from and to the memory and storage.

Here, Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the connection between the foundation pile 4a and the transition piece 4b, and Figure 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing this connection. As mentioned above, the foundation pile 4a is a structure installed from the water bottom toward the water surface, and the transition piece 4b is a structure equivalent to the lower connecting member connected to the foundation pile 4a. A gap g is formed between the outer surface of the foundation pile 4a and the inner surface of the transition piece 4b. In Figure 2, S represents the water surface, and at least a portion of the gap g is located below the water surface S. The transition piece 4b is supported by a jack or the like and fitted into the foundation pile 4a, which has been driven into the water bottom, from above the foundation pile 4a. Therefore, at least a portion of the space within the gap g between the transition piece 4b and the foundation pile 4a contains water (liquid).

A pressure sensor 18 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the transition piece 4b or the outer peripheral surface of the foundation pile 4a to detect the pressure from the grout material injected into the gap g. As shown in Figure 2, this pressure sensor 18 is provided at least at the lowest end of the gap g, and as shown in Figure 3, it is provided at multiple positions (four positions in Figure 3) spaced circumferentially on the inner peripheral surface of the transition piece 4b or the outer peripheral surface of the foundation pile 4a.

This pressure sensor 18 is connected to the wireless communication unit 9c shown in Figure 1, and its detected value is transmitted to the information processing device 13 via the router modem 10.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the connection between the foundation pile 4a and the transition piece 4b during grout injection. The condition inside the gap g between the foundation pile 4a and the transition piece 4b is shown in chronological order from Figure 4(a) to Figure 4(b) and then to Figure 4(c). Figure 4(a) shows the state of the connection when grout injection begins. At the time of Figure 4(a), the pressure sensor 18 detects the pressure (water pressure value) received from the liquid in the gap g. The lower end of the gap g is sealed by a sealing member 20 made of rubber or the like.

When grout material is injected into gap g through injection port 5, as illustrated in Figure 4(b), grout material G gradually accumulates from the bottom end of gap g in the direction of arrow a (upward). As the bottom end is blocked by sealing member 20, water equivalent to the volume of grout material G accumulated in gap g is forced out from the open top end of gap g in the direction of arrow b into the hollow portion of foundation pile 4a. At this time, the portion of grout material G near the top end accumulated in gap g becomes cloudy with the water in gap g. It is desirable to locate injection port 5 above sealing member 20, at a position where the height of the grout falling to sealing member 20 is low.

The detection value of pressure sensor 18 at this time corresponds to the pressure exerted by the grout G and water present in gap g. Because the specific gravity of grout is generally greater than that of water, the detection value of pressure sensor 18 will be greater than the detection value in Figure 4(a). At this time, the specific gravity and specific gravity difference between the liquid in the gap and the grout being injected are used to monitor and confirm the difference with the detection value in Figure 4(a), thereby making it possible to determine the amount of grout G injected into gap g. Because pressure sensor 18 is located at the lowest end of gap g, it is possible to determine the injection amount from the early stages of grout injection, compared to, for example, when pressure sensor 18 is located relatively higher in gap g.

When a sufficient amount of grout G is further injected into gap g through injection port 5, the entire gap g will be filled with grout G, as shown in Figure 4(c). At this time, the grout G, which is mixed with the water in gap g in Figure 4(b), is pushed out from the open portion at the top end of gap g in the direction of arrow b into the hollow portion of the foundation pile 4a. In other words, in Figure 4(c), the grout G in gap g is not mixed with the water (or the degree of turbidity is extremely small). Grout G in this state can perform its intended function as grout.

The detection value of the pressure sensor 18 at this time detects the pressure exerted by the grout material G present in the gap g. In other words, if the specific gravity of the grout material G is s and the height of the gap g is h, the detection value ΣP of the pressure sensor 18 is a value equivalent to s × h. Therefore, by monitoring the detection value of the pressure sensor 18, it is possible to determine whether the gap g has been filled with grout material that is not cloudy with water (or is only slightly cloudy). This determination can be made more accurately by using an appropriate representative value, such as the average value or the minimum value of the detection values of multiple pressure sensors 18. It is also desirable to install a water pressure sensor (not shown) on the outer surface of the transition piece 4b at approximately the same water depth as the pressure sensor 18, which detects a water pressure of 1 or more, and use the detection value of this water pressure sensor to consider the effects of water surface fluctuations due to waves, etc. In this case, too, using a representative value, such as the average value or the minimum value of the detection values of multiple water pressure sensors, can be expected to improve accuracy.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the grout injection management device 100. In Figure 5, the injection unit 21 is a means for injecting grout material G into the gap g, and is realized by a pressure pump 2, transport piping 3, injection port 5, PLC 8, etc.

The grout pressure detection unit 22 is a means for detecting the pressure exerted by the grout material G within the gap g, and is realized by a pressure sensor 18 provided on the inner surface of the transition piece 4b or the outer surface of the foundation pile 4a. The detected value by the grout pressure detection unit 22 is transmitted to the information processing device 13 via the wireless communication unit 9c and router modem 10.

The injection pressure detection unit 23 is a means for detecting the injection pressure of the grout material G injected into the gap g by the injection unit 21, and is realized by a pressure sensor 11 provided in the transport pipe 3. The value detected by the injection pressure detection unit 23 is transmitted to the information processing device 13 via the wireless communication unit 9b and router modem 10.

The flow rate detection unit 24 is a means for detecting the flow rate of the grout material injected into the gap g by the injection unit 21, and is realized by a flow rate sensor 12 provided in the transport pipe 3. The value detected by the flow rate detection unit 24 is transmitted to the information processing device 13 via the wireless communication unit 9b and router modem 10.

The injection position detection unit 25 is a means for detecting the grout material G outlet at the tip of the robot arm 6, i.e., the injection position where the grout material is injected from the transport pipe 3, and is realized by the angle sensor 7 provided in the joint mechanism of the robot arm 6 and the individual length and angle of the robot arm 6. The detection value by the injection position detection unit 25 is transmitted to the information processing device 13 via the wireless communication unit 9a and router modem 10.

In FIG. 5, the acquisition unit 131, calculation unit 132, output unit 133, and recording unit 134 are realized by the information processing device 13. The acquisition unit 131 acquires various data from outside the information processing device 13 (for example, from the above-mentioned detection units 22 to 26, etc.).

The calculation unit 132 calculates the amount of water in the gap g and/or the amount of grout injected into the gap g by the injection unit 21. More specifically, as described with reference to Figures 4(a), (b), and (c), the calculation unit 132 calculates the amount of grout G injected into the gap g using the value detected by the grout pressure detection unit 22, the specific gravities of the water and grout, and the height dimension of the gap g. The amount of grout injected into the gap g here refers to the amount of grout that is capable of performing its intended function in the gap g (not mixed with water or with only a very small degree of turbidity) out of the total amount of grout G pumped into the gap g (e.g., the converted value of the flow rate detected by the flow rate detection unit 24). The calculation unit 132 also calculates the amount of grout used based on the flow rate of the grout detected by the flow rate detection unit 24. The amount used here refers to the total amount of grout pumped into the gap g.

The output unit 133 outputs information according to the calculation results by the calculation unit 132. "Output" here includes all forms of output, such as display on the display 16, transmission or distribution to the cloud system 15 or other external devices, and printing by the printer 17. The output unit 133 displays the various calculation results by the calculation unit 132 on the display 16, along with their progression over time, either on the same screen or by switching between screens. This allows the worker to visually check in real time the amount of grout material injected, the progress of the injection work, and whether or not there are any abnormalities.

For example, as illustrated in the upper part of Figure 6, the output unit 133 displays on the display 16 the time progression of the results of calculating the amount of grout injected into the gap g using the value detected by the grout pressure detection unit 22, the specific gravity of the water and/or grout, and the height dimension of the gap g. The graph in the upper part of Figure 6 illustrates the time progression of the amount of grout injected into the gap g, where the amount of grout not mixed with water in the gap g is set to 100. Note that in the graph in the upper part of Figure 6, the vertical axis is "%" and the horizontal axis is time (min), but the vertical axis may also be "m3" or "MPa." The output unit 133 may print out a printout showing this time progression from the printer 19, or may transmit and store data showing this time progression to the cloud system 15, etc.

The output unit 133 also outputs information corresponding to the injection pressure of the grout material detected by the injection pressure detection unit 23. For example, as illustrated in the lower part of Figure 6, the output unit 133 displays on the display 16 the time progression of the injection pressure of the grout material detected by the injection pressure detection unit 23 together with its control limit value. In the graph in the lower part of Figure 6, the vertical axis represents the injection pressure (MPa) of the grout material, and the horizontal axis represents time (min). The output unit 133 may also print out from the printer 17 a printed matter displaying the time progression of the injection pressure of the grout material detected by the injection pressure detection unit 23 together with its control limit value, or may transmit data indicating this time progression to the cloud system 15 or the like for storage. Similarly, the output unit 133 may also output information corresponding to the flow rate of the grout material detected by the flow rate detection unit 24.

The output unit 133 also outputs information corresponding to the injection position detected by the injection position detection unit 25. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the output unit 133 may display on the display 16 the posture and tip of the robot arm 6 (i.e., the injection position of the grout material) together with the position of the injection port 5 in a vertical plane (the plane on the left side of the figure), and also display on the display 16 together with the position of the injection port 5 in a horizontal plane (the plane on the right side of the figure).

In Figure 6, the recording unit 134 records information regarding the results calculated by the calculation unit 132 and the results detected by the grout material pressure detection unit 22, injection pressure detection unit 23, flow rate detection unit 24, and position detection unit 26.

The results output or recorded in this way serve as management data for the grout injection work, and can be submitted to the client and other relevant organizations as evidence that the grout injection work has been carried out properly.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to inject an appropriate amount of grout into the gaps of a structure so that it can perform its intended function.

The above embodiment may be modified as follows. For example, in the above embodiment, the first structure is a foundation pile installed from the bottom of the water toward the water surface, and the second structure is a lower connecting member connected to the foundation pile, but this is not limited to these examples. The first structure and the second structure may be any structure as long as at least a portion of the gap formed between them contains liquid, and the gap is a target for injecting grout material.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the pressure sensor 18 (grout material pressure detection unit) was located at the lowest end of the gap g, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the pressure sensors 18 may be located at multiple positions spaced apart in the height direction of the gap g. In this case, the display 16 may display a screen such as the one shown in Figure 8. Here, it is assumed that three pressure sensors 18 are located spaced apart in the height direction of the gap g. In Figure 8, the solid line corresponding to the "lower pressure gauge" indicates the temporal progression of the detection value of the pressure sensor 18 located at the lowest of the three pressure gauge sensors. The solid line corresponding to the "middle pressure gauge" indicates the temporal progression of the detection value of the pressure sensor 18 located at the middle of the three pressure gauge sensors. The solid line corresponding to the "pressure gauge" indicates the temporal progression of the detection value of the pressure sensor 18 located at the highest of the three pressure gauge sensors. Furthermore, the dashed line corresponding to the "lower control value" is the detection value that the pressure sensor 18 should detect when an amount of grout material calculated from the product of the height dimension of the gap g based on the position of the pressure sensor 18 located at the bottom and the specific gravity of the grout material has accumulated in the gap g; the dashed line corresponding to the "middle control value" is the detection value that the pressure sensor 18 should detect when an amount of grout material calculated from the product of the height dimension of the gap g based on the position of the pressure sensor 18 located at the middle and the specific gravity of the grout material has accumulated in the gap g; and the dashed line corresponding to the "upper control value" is the detection value that the pressure sensor 18 should detect when an amount of grout material calculated from the product of the height dimension of the gap g based on the position of the pressure sensor 18 located at the top and the specific gravity of the grout material has accumulated in the gap g. In the graph in Figure 8, the detection values of each pressure sensor 18 reach their respective control values at 40 minutes into the injection, which means that at this point grout material that is not mixed with water has accumulated in the gap g.

The present invention may also be a grout injection management method for a method of injecting grout into a gap formed between a first structure and a second structure and having liquid in at least a portion of the space, the method comprising the steps of injecting grout into the gap while removing the liquid present in the gap until the liquid is replaced with grout, calculating the amount of liquid in the gap and/or the amount of grout injected into the gap in the injection step, and outputting information corresponding to the calculation results. The present invention may also be a program for causing a computer in an apparatus for injecting grout into a gap formed between a first structure and a second structure and having liquid in at least a portion of the space to execute the above method.

1 Grout manufacturing device, 2 Pressure pump, 3 Transport pipe, 4 Structure, 4a Foundation pile, 4b Transition piece, 5 Injection port, 6 Robot arm, 7 Angle sensor, 8 PLC, 9a, 9b, 9c Wireless communication unit, 10 Router modem, 11 Pressure sensor, 12 Flow rate sensor, 13 Information processing device, 14 Network, 15 Cloud system, 16 Display, 17 Printer, 18 Pressure sensor, 20 Sealing member, 21 Injection unit, 22 Grout material pressure detection unit, 23 Injection pressure detection unit, 24 Flow rate detection unit, 25 Injection position detection unit, 131 Acquisition unit, 132 Calculation unit, 133 Output unit, 134 Recording unit, S Water surface, g Gap, G Grout material, h Height.

Claims (10)

a pressure sensor provided in a gap formed between a first structure and a second structure, the gap having a liquid in at least a portion of the space;
an injection unit that injects grout material into the gap;
a calculation unit that calculates the amount of grout injected into the gap using the pressure from the grout injected into the gap by the injection unit detected by the pressure sensor, the specific gravity of the liquid and/or the grout, and the dimension of the gap in the height direction ;
and an output unit that outputs information according to a result of the calculation by the calculation unit. The grout injection management device according to claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensor is provided at least at the lowest end of the gap. The grout material injection management device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the pressure sensors are provided at a plurality of positions spaced apart in the height direction of the gap. the first structure is a foundation pile installed from the bottom of the water toward the water surface,
the second structure is a lower connecting member connected to the foundation pile,
The grout material injection management device described in any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the pressure sensors are provided at multiple positions spaced apart circumferentially on the inner surface of the lower joint member or the outer surface of the foundation pile. An injection pressure detection unit is provided to detect the injection pressure of the grout material injected into the gap by the injection unit,
The grout material injection management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that the output unit outputs information according to the detected injection pressure. an injection position detection unit that detects the injection position of the grout material;
The grout material injection management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , characterized in that the output unit outputs information according to the detected injection position. A flow rate detection unit is provided to detect a flow rate of the grout material in a path for pumping the grout material into the gap,
The grout injection management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , characterized in that the calculation unit calculates the amount of grout used based on the detected flow rate. The grout material injection management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , further comprising a recording unit that records information relating to the calculated results or the detected results. a pump injecting grout into a gap formed between the first structure and the second structure, the gap having a liquid in at least a portion of the gap ;
a step in which a pressure sensor provided in the gap detects a pressure from the grout material injected into the gap by the pressure pump;
an information processing device calculating an amount of grout material injected into the gap by the pressure pump using the pressure detected by the pressure sensor, the specific gravity of the liquid and/or the grout material, and the dimension of the gap in the height direction ;
a step of outputting information according to a result of the calculation in the calculating step by the information processing device . On the computer ,
A process of acquiring a specific gravity of a liquid filling at least a portion of a gap formed between the first structure and the second structure and/or a grout material to be injected into the gap;
obtaining a height dimension of the gap;
A process of acquiring a pressure from the grout material injected into the gap, detected by a pressure sensor provided in the gap;
a process of calculating an amount of grout material injected into the gap using the specific gravity acquired in the process of acquiring the specific gravity, the dimensions acquired in the process of acquiring the dimensions, and the pressure acquired in the process of acquiring the pressure ;
a process of outputting information according to the amount of grout material calculated in the calculating process;
A program to execute.