該項(xiàng)技術(shù)的研發(fā)源于對(duì)傳統(tǒng)造船與下水方式弊端的深入剖析,以及對(duì)更高效、更節(jié)能的新工藝的不斷探索。隨著全球船舶制造業(yè)的快速發(fā)展,傳統(tǒng)下水方式在占地面積、岸線依賴、施工周期、能耗成本等方面面臨諸多制約。在這一背景下,青島永泰的技術(shù)團(tuán)隊(duì)開創(chuàng)性地研發(fā)出“子船通過滾動(dòng)氣囊從母船下水”的新型工法。該技術(shù)通過在浮動(dòng)船臺(tái)或載運(yùn)駁船甲板上鋪設(shè)充氣滾動(dòng)氣囊,實(shí)現(xiàn)子船的安全、高效下水。整個(gè)過程通常沿船舶縱向進(jìn)行,且母船與子船的重量和尺寸比例可達(dá)1:1,即母船可承載并釋放與自身同等規(guī)模的船只。
該項(xiàng)技術(shù)的推廣應(yīng)用,為“海上造船”提供了切實(shí)可行的解決方案,大大減少了對(duì)岸基設(shè)施的依賴,節(jié)省了土地成本。同時(shí),借助母船運(yùn)輸并完成子船的下水操作,也顯著降低了拖帶運(yùn)輸?shù)馁M(fèi)用,提高了造船效率與靈活性,具有顯著的經(jīng)濟(jì)與社會(huì)效益。
目前,該技術(shù)已獲兩項(xiàng)國(guó)家知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)保護(hù)(授權(quán)號(hào):ZL201710181705.1),并在印尼和幾內(nèi)亞等地的多個(gè)項(xiàng)目中成功實(shí)施,已順利完成20余艘千噸級(jí)船舶的下水作業(yè),獲得了業(yè)內(nèi)廣泛認(rèn)可和業(yè)主的高度評(píng)價(jià)。
作為船用氣囊與護(hù)舷領(lǐng)域的領(lǐng)軍企業(yè),青島永泰始終堅(jiān)持以創(chuàng)新驅(qū)動(dòng)發(fā)展,以實(shí)用引領(lǐng)變革。未來,公司將繼續(xù)深耕核心技術(shù),不斷推進(jìn)海洋工程領(lǐng)域的技術(shù)進(jìn)步,助力中國(guó)智造走向更廣闊的國(guó)際舞臺(tái)。
After more than 20 years using experience, most shipyard are very familiar with the NEW technologies of marine launching airbags, which can also used as salvage airbag and water-blocking airbags, but there still are some end-users being not confident with it. So, Qingdao Evergreen summarize below advantages of these airbags to address customers’ concern:
1. Significant Cost Savings
? Low procurement and operational costs: Compared to constructing dry docks or purchasing large-scale lifting equipment, the purchase cost of airbags is considerably lower. Moreover, they eliminate the need for maintaining complex facilities over the long term, reducing capital investment by 30%-50%.
? Easy maintenance: Only regular inspections of the airbag’s exterior, valves, and other components are required, eliminating the need for specialized maintenance equipment and drastically reducing labor and time costs.
2. High Operational Flexibility and Stability
? Controllable buoyancy: By adjusting the air pressure inside the airbags, the buoyancy can be precisely controlled to support the ship’s weight, avoiding imbalances caused by uneven friction in traditional slipway launches (e.g., the detachment of skids leading to ship tilting, as seen in the North Korean destroyer incident).
? Flexible attitude adjustment: The ship’s tilt angle can be controlled by gradually deflating or inflating the airbags, ensuring a smoother launching process. For instance, the “aft tilting” technique mentioned in the references leverages gravity for a natural water entry, minimizing mechanical intervention risks.
3. Substantial Reduction in Safety Risks
? Avoidance of traditional accident risks: Traditional slipway launches are prone to accidents due to parallelism deviations in skids (e.g., the stern skid detaching first in the North Korean incident, causing hull damage) or sudden changes in friction coefficients. Airbags distribute risks evenly through uniform pressure bearing.
? Strong resistance to environmental disturbances: Airbags adapt well to changes in tides, wind, and other external factors, reducing the impact of sudden forces on the hull.
4. Outstanding Applicability and Convenience
? Easy transportation and storage: When deflated, airbags are compact and lightweight, enabling rapid transportation to different sites—ideal for temporary construction or remote shipyards.
? Versatile application: Suitable for ships of various tonnages (from small fishing boats to 5,000-ton destroyers) and complex terrains (e.g., inclined shorelines).
5. Improved Construction Efficiency
? Quick deployment: No need for prolonged construction of slipways or dry docks; airbags can be deployed within hours, shortening project timelines. For example, repairing the damaged hull in the North Korean incident took about two weeks, whereas airbag deployment would take only a few hours.
? Reusability: Airbags have a long lifespan (high-quality products can be reused over 50 times), making them suitable for multiple ship launches.
Case Comparison: Traditional Slipway vs. Airbag Launching
? North Korean Destroyer Incident (Traditional Slipway): Skid detachment caused hull imbalance and damage, requiring approximately two weeks for repairs.
? Airbag Solution: If airbags had been used, real-time attitude adjustments via pressure control could have prevented structural damage, reducing repair time to 2-3 days.
Summary
Marine launching airbags are the preferred choice for modern ship launches due to their low cost, high safety, and strong adaptability, suitable for all-sized shipyards or emergency repair scenarios. Their technical principles share similarities with water-blocking airbags for drainage pipes (e.g., the sealing performance and specification adaptability demonstrated in the Dalian case), both reflecting the flexible application of inflatable tools in engineering fields.