Abstract: An internally stabilized earth wall is disclosed along with facing elements suitable for construction of that wall in a wet marine environment. The wall elements include footer panels and wall panels, each of which is provided with a pivotally attached planar array of reinforcing members. The reinforcing members are hingedly mounted so as to be lowered in a vertical plane to a substantially horizontal posture on top of a lift of particulate material. According to the method, the footer panels are suspended and properly positioned by a stationary crane while crushed stone is dumped into position beneath the footer so as to support it.

Abstract: A clamping device secures a hydraulic hose bundle to a tubular riser system or to a wireline and comprises a generally cylindrical clamping body having an axial passage therethrough. The clamping body is formed having first and second semi-cylindrical body members and pivotal mount means provides pivotal movement of the first and second body members between an open and a closed position. First clamping means secures the first and second body members in the closed position and second clamping means releasably attaches the cylindrical clamping body to the tubular riser system or to a wireline.

Abstract: A device for positioning an off-shore platform (1) on a previously-installed support structure. Said platform has support piles (6) designed to rest on legs (4) of the support structure.The device includes means for bringing said support piles towards said legs which are provided with centering cones (5). Each pile is constituted by a tube containing a rod (13) associated with a damping unit (8). The lower portion of the rod (13) has a centering pin (16) and extends below the lower end of the pile in the damping unit rest position.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for lowering and positioning a pipe line onto the bottom of deep water, the pipe line being assembled from pipe sections on deck of a ship, which pipe line from the bottom of the water extends upwardly according to a curved path (18) followed by a straight portion (17) and finally by a second curved part, the pipe line being held under tension by the ship to maintain the radius of curvature (R) sufficiently large tensioning is performed from the ship directly on the rectilinear part (17) of the pipe line while above the point of engagement of the tensional force the pipe line is subjected to a bending moment only. The apparatus preferably has a rotatable tube (2) in the ship through which the upper part of the pipe line extends vertically upwardly into a derrick (15) for assembling purposes.

Abstract: An improved offshore submarine storage facility in the ocean and like water bodies for storing liquified energy gases and similar liquid materials under pressure and at cryogenic temperatures is disclosed. The facility includes a two-part insulated submarine storage tank positioned at a selected depth in the water for storing said materials, wherein the two parts thereof move in a slidably sealing engagement relative to each other to form an insulated compression storage chamber. The tank also includes ambient water pressure transfer means for transferring external ambient water pressure to the materials stored therein. Mechanical pressure transfer devices increase the pressure applied to the materials stored therein to achieve a total pressure which promotes and aids maintenance of liquid state of the stored cryogenic materials.

Abstract: This is a wave dissipation caisson made of concrete wherein trapezoidal wing pieces having an appropriate number of holes are fixed in combination to the inside of a box-type frame formed only by angled sections of a framework. The caisson has a permeable structure wherein the waves advancing into the frame are shifted and divided by wing pieces so as for the energy of the waves to be dissipated and is placed on a seabed to be utilized as a revetment and a breakwater.

Abstract: A procedure for constructing a concrete lined underground chamber along a bore hole drilled within the earth. Such chambers serve as access work chambers for carrying out other various drilling and mining operations, such as, for example, horizontal drilling operations for steam enhanced recovery of oil. In constructing the lined chamber, the bore hole is initially drilled in the earth to a predetermined depth at which the chamber is to be constructed. In a first belling operation, a first bell-shaped chamber is formed. A substantial portion of the floor of this first chamber is then covered with a mound of gravel material. The remainder of the first chamber is then filled with concrete. Subsequently the bore hole is redrilled to a depth extending below the bottom of the first chamber and a second belling operation is carried out for forming a second bell-shaped chamber.

Abstract: Expandable tubular mandrels have lengthwise sections the upper ends of which are joined by a head. Hydraulically operated piston-cylinder units within the mandrel are spaced apart lengthwise of the sections and connected to the mandrel in a manner such that the axis of each unit extends lengthwise of the mandrel and expanding and contracting forces are applied to the mandrel sections when the units are operated to vary their overall length, to effect mandrel expansion when their overall lengths are changed in one direction and mandrel retraction when changed in the opposite direction.

Abstract: A method is described for the confinement and isolation of waste materials, especially those that are toxic or otherwise hazardous such as radioactive wastes. The waste material, either contained or uncontained, is emplaced in a underground or surface excavation and encased with backfill or barrier material formed of molten modified sulfur cement or modified sulfur concrete that then cools into a hard, durable, corrosion resistant mass.

Abstract: An offshore construction in which a floatable platform is supported through raisable and lowerable support legs directly or indirectly on the sea bed. At least two cable winches for each support leg are arranged as lifting equipment on the platform. One cable winch is connected through a single cable line with the lower end of a support leg. The other cable winch displays a multiple cable line guided around two pulley blocks. One of these pulley blocks is arranged on the support leg. In order to be able to employ the lifting equipment even in the case of great support leg lengths, the other pulley block is arranged on a ring. This ring surrounds the support leg and is detachably connected through a locking device with the platform.

Abstract: A precast concrete pile is provided which has spaced apart concavities disposed in its inner or outer peripheral wall surface. The spaced apart concavities partially extend into the wall surface and terminate with frangible end portions. These end portions break under pressure of mortar pumped into the pile body, thereby forming apertures through which the mortar flows from the pile into the ground adjacent the pile. The precast concrete pile, after being driven into the ground, has a hydraulic sealing apparatus suspended at a desired level within the pile. The hydraulic sealing apparatus is filled with oil to cause radial swelling of the rubber packing to seal off a hollow space within the pile under the packing, and mortar is pumped under pressure into the sealed space until the concavities burst open to enable internal mortar to penetrate the ground surrounding the pile.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and apparatus for tension compensation in the tension legs used to moor a floating platform to the sea floor. The apparatus includes one or more hydraulic jacks, each having a cylinder coupled through a load block to a tension leg, and having a piston cooperating with a load block plug coupled to the floating platform. An accumulator supplies hydraulic fluid to the jacks to compensatingly adjust the relative position of the piston and cylinder to selectively maintain the tension loading of the tension leg.

Abstract: An assembly of mine roof supports each of which has a control member and a hydraulically-operated member, e.g. a cantilever. The cantilevers operate one after the other in a predetermined sequence in response to actuation of one of the control members.Each cantilever is associated with a pressure-operated control valve and two serially-connected control valves which normally prevent operation of a cantilever in response to actuation of a control member unless the next-before cantilever in the series has completed its operation and the control member which caused that next-before cantilever to operate has been actuated.

Abstract: A system or apparatus for constructing a shoring structure of elongate, interlocking sheet piling members is disclosed which includes a workman support platform controllable by the workman thereon so as to position the workman near the upper end of a vertical piling member partially imbedded or "tacked" in the ground for guiding another piling member hoisted vertically thereabove into interlocking, threading engagement with the previously tacked piling member. A guide for aiding the alignment or threading of the interlocking piling members is disclosed. A method of constructing such a shoring structure is also disclosed.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method of producing and laying on the ground a ballasted mat defined by two layers of sheet material joined together along parallel lines and enclosing particulate ballast material by providing two sources of sheet material and continuously drawing the sheet material from the sources under the influence of the ballasted mat, continuously leading the sheet material to meet in generally overlapped relationship, seaming the sheet material to enclose at least two parallel compartments, continuously filling the two parallel compartments with particulate ballast material, continuously advancing the sources of sheet material over the ground adapted to be covered by the ballasted mat, continuously lowering the ballasted mat to the ground during the formation thereof and during the advancing of the sources of sheet material in timed relationship to the drawing of the sheet material from the two sheet material sources, and seaming cross-wise the end of each ballasted mat and the adjacent end

Abstract: Underwater devices, particularly bushings for centering and/or anchoring a guide line relative to a hollow guide post in a guidance system, are equipped with latch means which can be unlatched by the same remotely operated tool employed to retrieve the device after unlatching.

Abstract: Agitation shafts provided with agitation vanes at lower portions thereof are fixed rotatably around a support cylinder to form a soft ground hardening machine. A direction control unit is provided at a lower portion of the support cylinder so as to control the direction in which the machine is inserted into and withdrawn from the soft ground. In a method of hardening the soft ground by using this machine, the direction in which the machine is inserted into and withdrawn from the soft ground is controlled as the direction in which the machine is being inserted into or withdrawn from the soft ground is measured.

Abstract: This invention relates to a floating production system for offshore development of oil and gas wells which employs an underwater buoy to decrease tension on flexible riser pipes used to connect a subsea pipeline to the floating vessel. The underwater buoy utilizes a cradle assembly having a drag balancing tail assembly to counteract the twisting moment applied to the cradle by current drag forces.

Abstract: A roof support assembly is constituted by a plurality of roof support units and a plurality of advance mechanisms. The units are positioned side-by-side along a longwall face of a mineral mining working. Each advance mechanism comprises a pair of generally parallel hydraulic advance rams and a guide rod system constituted by a pair of resilient generally parallel guide rods. Each guide rod system is attached, at one end, to a conveyor extending along the longwall face. The other end of each guide rod of each advance mechanism is attached to a respective slide piece which is slidably guided on a respective guide rail which is attached to a respective floor girder of a roof support unit. The slide pieces are attached to the piston rods of the hydraulic advance rams. The cylinders of the hydraulic advance rams are attached to one of the adjacent floor girders, and the slide piece attached to the piston rod of hydraulic advance ram is attached to the guide rod system.