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Abstract Submarine pipelines are subject to complex working loads, environmental loads, and accident risks for a long time and have excellent failure probability. The underwater dry maintenance method can apply the land maintenance technology to the seabed and achieve the maintenance quality on the land. Therefore, we designed a dry cabin for underwater operations that can achieve pipeline inspection and repair. For pipeline inspection, a 3D laser scanning mechanism was designed to map the external features of the pipeline, and an ultrasonic non-destructive detection mechanism was designed to detect metal internal defects such as pipeline corrosion and cracks. For pipeline repair, a composite material winding mechanism was designed to wrap and reinforce the pipeline. Moreover, establishing a stable seal between the dry cabin and the pipeline is a prerequisite for safe underwater dry operations. Therefore, a new type D seal strip composed of rubber and EPDM foam was designed. The comprehensive optimal structure of seal strip was obtained based on the Response Surface Methodology. In the near future, we will carry out sea trial application to verify the functions of the device.
Chen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.