SUBMERGED FLUID INDUCTION DEVICE FOR TRANSPORT OF PARTICULATE SOLIDS

A method and apparatus for the transport of sand or silt underlying or adjoining a body of water using a submerged fluid induction device is disclosed. The device includes an open bottom and comprises an enclosure which is submerged below the top surface of the sand. One or more apertured pipes, supplied with a pressurized fluidizing medium such as seawater, are positioned below the enclosure. The apertured pipe(s) fluidize the sand underlying the enclosure to induce it up into the enclosure and out an opening at one end of the enclosure. A sump enclosure receives the fluidized sand discharged from the enclosure, and a jet pump within the sump enclosure, having its own associated fluidizing pipe, pumps the fluidized sand through a transport pipe to a remote discharge point. The device as described prevents the build up of sand in the region overlying the enclosure.