New Water Jet Promises to Boost Soil Cutting Capabilities
(Photo: James Fisher Subsea Excavation)
A new high velocity water jet, designed, developed and patented by subsea excavation specialist James Fisher Subsea Excavation (JFSE), a part of James Fisher and Sons plc, is engineered to facilitate the excavation of soils previously considered too dense to excavate using traditional mass/controlled flow techniques.
The centrally-located jetting systems move away from customary designs which place jets at the side of mass/controlled flow excavation (M/CFE) tools. JFSE said it is the only M/CFE provider that can place its jets centrally, and this new technology reduces velocity degradation and enables excavators to greatly boost soil cutting strength.
The jets will also improve efficiency where additional tooling was required to complete a project due to the density of the soils and will decrease operational time on a number of excavations, the manufacturer said.
The development of this new technology follows the recent launch of the MultiROV, an exclusive remotely operated vehicle (ROV) system which provides new levels of controllability and productivity, as well as the Twin T8000 which has the highest volume output of any subsea excavator, according to JFSE.
“We are committed to using our world-leading knowledge and expertise to continue to lead innovation in the sector. Our developments are all designed to bring very real, tangible benefits to our clients.
“Continuously evolving our service with advancements such as the centrally-located jetting system further cements our position as the leading and most versatile M/CFE provider in an ever-changing global market,” said Graham Murdoch, technical director at JFSE, commenting on this latest M/CFE innovation.
“Discussions with our clients identified this enhancement would offer significant benefits,” Murdoch continued. “We undertook a detailed computational fluid dynamics exercise to fully understand the effects of this setup and the results were impressive. We can now cut soils with shear strengths almost double that which any other M/CFE system can realize.”
The jets are now being fitted to JFSE tools which are stationed at strategic hubs in the U.K., UAE, Singapore, Venezuela, U.S., Brazil, China and Mexico.
JFSE’s fleet of 30 equipment spreads provides a non-contact form of excavation that eliminates the risks associated with other excavation methods. Further enhancing their capabilities, the tools have the additional benefit of real-time sonar imaging which enables precision excavation. The tools are used for applications including pipeline and cable trenching, deburial, rock dump dispersal and seabed clearance and preparations. The M/CFE spreads are suited for moving materials such as sand, silt and mud, drill cuttings, clay and rock dump.
February 2025
