CN219969958U - Buoy assembly for offshore platform and offshore platform - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a buoy assembly for an offshore platform, comprising: at least one annular air bag and a fixing structure for fixing the annular air bag; the fixed knot constructs including center stand, annular gasbag cover on center stand. The central upright post can bear the load of most of the pontoon assemblies, so that the pontoon assemblies with the annular air bags have higher structural strength than the ordinary rubber pontoon assemblies, are not easy to damage and have higher safety.

Description

Buoy assembly for offshore platform and offshore platform

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of buoys, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a buoy assembly for an offshore platform and an offshore platform.

Background

The offshore floating structure is a foundation for constructing an offshore platform, and the existing offshore floating structure is usually a steel hull and is formed by combining a plurality of steel pontoons. For example, a column floating type wind power foundation, and the inside of a steel ship body is designed in a form of a stiffened plate, so as to provide buoyancy, stability and resistance to external water pressure for the floating body or bear other internal and external loads.

Steel structural pontoons are typically heavy, relatively expensive to build and material, and are also susceptible to seawater corrosion; the inflatable rubber buoy for replacing the steel buoy is fixed in a binding mode or by adopting a metal frame, wherein the binding is not suitable for long-time use, a large amount of steel is consumed in manufacturing of the metal frame, friction can be generated between the inflatable rubber buoy and the rubber buoy under the wave disturbance of seawater, and the service life of the rubber buoy is greatly reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides a buoy assembly for an offshore platform and an offshore platform to improve structural strength of the buoy assembly and save manufacturing costs.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a buoy assembly for an offshore platform, comprising: at least one annular air bag and a fixing structure for fixing the annular air bag; the fixed knot constructs including center stand, annular gasbag cover on center stand.

In some possible embodiments, the securing structure further comprises an annular cap structure; the top cap structure sets up the top at least one annular gasbag, and when the flotation pontoon subassembly was located the sea water, the top cap structure was spacing at least one annular gasbag.

In some possible embodiments, the fixation structure further comprises an annular pressure relief structure; the decompression structure is arranged below the at least one annular air bag, and is used for decompressing the dynamic pressure of the seawater when the pontoon assembly is positioned in the seawater.

In some possible embodiments, the securing structure further comprises a flange structure; the center upright post sequentially penetrates through the centers of the decompression structure, the annular air bag and the top cover structure and is fixedly connected with the top cover structure and the decompression structure through the flange structure.

In some possible embodiments, the pontoon assembly further comprises: a ballast structure for balancing the buoyancy and gravity of the pontoon assembly; the ballast structure is disposed below the fixed structure.

In some possible embodiments, the inner peripheral dimension of the annular bladder matches the outer peripheral dimension of the center post so that the center post is able to penetrate the center of the annular bladder and does not rub against the annular bladder.

In some possible embodiments, the annular bladder is made of a lightweight material that is resistant to corrosion.

In some possible embodiments, the center post is made of steel material.

In some possible embodiments, the roof structure is made of steel material.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides an offshore platform comprising: a walking frame platform; one or more pontoon assemblies according to the first aspect; the pontoon assembly is fixedly connected with the walking frame platform and is used for providing buoyancy for the walking frame platform.

In the utility model, the pontoon assembly comprises an annular air bag and a fixing structure for fixing the annular air bag, wherein the fixing structure comprises a central upright post, when the pontoon assembly is positioned in sea water, the annular air bag sleeved on the central upright post is fixed by the central upright post, and the central upright post can bear the load of most of the pontoon assembly, so that the pontoon assembly with the annular air bag has higher structural strength, is not easy to damage and has higher safety compared with a common rubber pontoon; furthermore, the central upright post uses a small amount of steel, so that the manufacturing cost can be saved; the annular air bag is lighter than a common rubber pontoon, can be rapidly manufactured in a modularized manner, and is convenient to install, detach and replace.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a steel pontoon structure according to the related art;

FIG. 2 is a first cross-sectional view of a buoy assembly for an offshore platform in an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a second cross-sectional view of a buoy assembly for an offshore platform in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, the same numbers in different drawings refer to the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary examples are not representative of all implementations consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus consistent with some aspects of the disclosure as detailed in the accompanying claims.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure following the general principles of the disclosure and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

In order to illustrate the technical solutions described in the present disclosure, the following description is made by specific embodiments.

The offshore platform can be fixed or actively floating on the sea surface, and can provide an offshore operation platform for offshore production operations or other activities. The method is widely applied to providing a fixed observation platform for building lighthouses, radar tables, hydrological observation stations and the like, and providing a large-scale operation platform for building offshore wharfs, drilling and production of submarine petroleum and oil gas, fishing, energy power generation and the like.

The primary structure that enables the offshore platform to float on the sea surface is a buoyant structure, typically a buoyant pontoon. The existing offshore floating structures are mostly steel pontoon structures in the form of three columns or four columns, and the steel pontoon structures are mainly formed by combining a plurality of steel hollow cylinders. Such as the three column form steel pontoon structure shown in fig. 1. The pontoon structure comprises three hollow steel pontoons 11 and connecting columns 12 for fixing the pontoons. The end of the pontoon, which is immersed in the sea surface, is provided with an opening. The steel pontoon 11 may also be internally ribbed to provide buoyancy, stability and resistance to external water pressure, or to withstand other internal and external loads. However, steel buoys have the disadvantages of heavy weight, high material and construction costs, susceptibility to seawater corrosion, high difficulty in processing, and high process requirements.

Besides the steel pontoon, the rubber inflatable pontoon is also applied to the floating of offshore platforms and ships on a large scale, but the rubber pontoon belongs to a flexible structure and cannot be well fixedly connected with other steel structures, and the rubber pontoon is only fixed by a binding mode or a metal frame, wherein the binding is only suitable for short-time use, and the metal frame is used for fixing, so that firstly, additional steel cost can be generated, secondly, the metal outer frame and the rubber pontoon are rubbed relatively under wave disturbance, so that the rubber itself has great damage effect, and the service life of the rubber pontoon is greatly reduced.

To solve the above problems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a buoy assembly for an offshore platform, which may be applied to the above offshore platform, to provide a buoyancy force floating on the sea surface to the offshore platform.

FIG. 2 is a first cross-sectional view of a buoy assembly for an offshore platform in an embodiment of the disclosure, see FIG. 2, buoy assembly 20 comprising: an annular air bag 201 and a fixing structure 202 for fixing the annular air bag 201; the fixed structure comprises a central upright 2021, and the annular air bag 201 is sleeved on the central upright 2021.

Illustratively, in fig. 2, the number of annular bladders 201 is 5, and in the pontoon assembly 20, the 5 annular bladders 201 are sleeved on the center column 2021, and the 5 annular bladders 201 are stacked in sequence in a direction perpendicular to the sea level, wherein the center column 2021 serves to fix the 5 annular bladders 201.

It should be noted that the number of annular air bags 201 in fig. 2 is 5, which is merely an example, and the number of annular air bags 201 in the buoy assembly 20 may be other numbers, and specifically, the number of annular air bags may be determined according to the amount of buoyancy required by the buoy assembly 20 on the offshore platform, which is not limited by the embodiment of the disclosure.

When the pontoon assembly 20 is located in seawater, the center column 2021 takes over the force of the entire pontoon assembly 20, such as the bending moment shear force of waves, so the center column 2021 needs to be checked for strength so that the center column 2021 will not deform and structurally fail during use.

In some possible embodiments, the annular balloon 201 has a sealed hollow cavity.

It will be appreciated that the annular bladder 201 is configured to have a hollow cavity into which compressed air may be injected within the interior of the annular bladder 201 (i.e., the hollow cavity) to support the outer shape of the annular bladder 201. The closed space ensures that the hollow cavity is not filled with seawater, ensuring the usability of the pontoon assembly 20.

The shape of the annular air bag 201 may be circular, elliptical, etc., and may be specifically set according to actual circumstances, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In some possible embodiments, the annular bladder 201 is made of a lightweight material that is resistant to corrosion.

It will be appreciated that when the pontoon assembly 20 is located in sea water, at least a portion of the pontoon assembly 20 is located below sea level, and the annular bladder 201 may be formed of a material having corrosion resistance to ensure a longer life span of the pontoon assembly 20 due to the high degree of corrosiveness of sea water. For example, it may be made of polytetrafluoroethylene (poly tetra fluoroethylene, PTFE), rubber, or the like.

In some possible embodiments, referring to fig. 2, the fixation structure 202 further includes an annular cap structure 2022; the top cover structure 2022 is disposed above the annular bladder 201, and the top cover structure 2022 limits the annular bladder 201 when the buoy assembly 20 is in the sea.

It will be appreciated that when the pontoon assembly 20 is located in sea water, the annular air bag 201 has a buoyancy that is upwards perpendicular to the sea level, at which time, to secure the annular air bag 201, a roof structure 2022 is used to position the annular air bag 201, wherein the roof structure 2022 is secured to the central upright 2021 such that the roof structure 2022 does not move upwards due to the buoyancy imparted by the annular air bag 201.

It should be noted that, the annular air bags 201 in the buoy assembly 20 shown in fig. 2 are arranged in a cylindrical shape, and in practical use, the annular air bags 201 in different arrangements can be designed according to the buoyancy, stability requirement, water plane requirement and hydrodynamic force of the seawater required by the buoy assembly 20; FIG. 3 is a second cross-sectional view of a buoy assembly for an offshore platform in an embodiment of the disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3, wherein a plurality of annular bladders 201 in buoy assembly 20 decrease in diameter from bottom to top, and wherein the plurality of annular bladders 201 are stacked together to form a conical shape; the arrangement of the annular air bags 201 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited, and the arrangement of the annular air bags 201 may be designed according to actual needs, for example, the diameters of the annular air bags 201 increase gradually from bottom to top, or the annular air bags 201 are irregularly arranged. In addition, the shape and size of the roof structure 2022 may be designed according to the annular air bags 201 arranged at the uppermost layer, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the fixing manner of the annular air bag 201 nested on the central upright 2021 can increase the structural strength of the annular air bag 201, is not easy to deform due to being squeezed, and can bear larger load.

In some possible embodiments, the center post 2021 is made of a steel material.

It will be appreciated that the central upright 2021 needs to have a certain rigidity, and is made of steel material.

In some possible embodiments, the top cover structure 2022 is made of a steel material.

It will be appreciated that the top cover structure 2022 limits the annular air bag 201, and needs to have a certain rigidity so as not to deform, so that the top cover structure can be made of steel materials.

It should be noted that, compared to the pontoon assembly fixed by using the metal frame, in the embodiment of the disclosure, only the central upright column 2021 and the top cover structure 2022 are made of steel materials, so that steel materials can be saved, the pontoon assembly 20 can be made to have smaller mass, and meanwhile, the pontoon abrasion phenomenon caused by the relative friction between the metal frame and the pontoon under the wave disturbance is avoided.

In some possible embodiments, referring to fig. 2, the fixation structure 202 further includes an annular pressure relief structure 2023; a pressure relief structure 2023 is provided below the annular bladder 201, the pressure relief structure 2023 being used to relieve the dynamic pressure of the sea water when the buoy assembly 20 is in the sea.

It will be appreciated that when the pontoon assembly 20 is positioned in the sea, a portion of the pontoon assembly 20 is positioned below the sea level due to buoyancy and gravity, and that flowing sea water enters the gap between the annular bladder 201 and the center column 2021. At this time, the flowing seawater brings a larger pressure to the pontoon assembly 20, and in order to reduce this pressure, a pressure reducing structure 2023 is provided below the annular air bag 201, so that the pressure of the flowing seawater to the pontoon assembly 20 can be reduced,

the pressure reducing structure may be a pressure reducing orifice plate, or may be any other structure capable of reducing the dynamic pressure of the liquid, which is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the disclosed embodiment, as the flowing seawater passes through the pressure relief structure (e.g., pressure relief orifice plate), a pressure drop may occur at the pressure relief orifice of the pressure relief orifice plate due to localized drag losses, thereby reducing the pressure of the flowing seawater against the pontoon assembly 20.

Besides being used for decompressing the dynamic pressure of the sea, when the pontoon assembly 20 is located in the sea, the annular air bag 201 and the top cover structure 2022 can move relatively under the impact of the sea, and the decompressing structure 2023 can buffer the above relative movement, and meanwhile, the friction between the annular air bag 201 and the central upright post 2021 can be reduced, so that the annular air bag 201 can be protected from being damaged due to friction.

It should be noted that only one pressure reducing structure 2023 may be disposed in the pontoon assembly 20, that is, when there is only one annular air bag 201, the pressure reducing structure 2023 is disposed below the annular air bag 201; when there are a plurality of annular airbags 201, a pressure-reducing structure 2023 is provided below the lowermost annular airbag 201.

In some possible embodiments, referring to fig. 2, the fixation structure 202 further includes a flange structure 2024; the center pillar 2021 penetrates through the centers of the pressure-reducing structure 2023, the annular air bag 201 and the top cover structure 2022 in sequence, and is fixedly connected with the top cover structure 2022 and the pressure-reducing structure 2023 through a flange structure 2024.

It will be appreciated that the annular bladder 201, the top cover structure 2022, and the pressure relief structure 2023 are all annular, the central upright 2021 may extend through the centers of the pressure relief structure 2023, the annular bladder 201, and the top cover structure 2022 from bottom to top, respectively, and in order to prevent the flowing seawater from shifting the positions of the pressure relief structure 2023, the annular bladder 201, and the top cover structure 2022, the central upright 2021 may be provided with flange structures 2024 at both ends (i.e., the connection portions of the central upright 2021 and the pressure relief structure 2023 and the top cover structure 2022), and the flange structures 2024 may include two flanges to fix the central upright 2021 and the top cover structure 2022, and the central upright 2021 and the pressure relief structure 2023, respectively.

It should be noted that, the flange structure 2024 is fixed to both ends of the central upright 2021, and before use, the flange structure 2024 needs to be checked for strength, so that the flange structure 2024 will not deform and be structurally damaged under the impact of seawater.

In some possible embodiments, referring to fig. 2, the pontoon assembly 20 may further comprise: ballast structures 203 for balancing the buoyancy and gravity of the pontoon assemblies 20; the ballast structure 203 is disposed below the fixed structure 202.

It will be appreciated that, as shown in figure 2, in order to balance the buoyancy of the pontoon assembly 20 with the weight of the pontoon assembly 20 itself, and to design the depth at which the pontoon assembly 20 acts below sea level based on design requirements, a ballast structure 203 may be added to the pontoon assembly 20 to lower the center of gravity of the pontoon assembly 20, the ballast structure 203 being disposed at the end of the fixed structure 202 submerged in the sea and connected to a pressure relief structure 2023 in the fixed structure 202.

It should be noted that, the offshore platform providing different functions needs to be fixed at different locations on the sea, for example, the offshore terminal needs to provide an offshore platform above the sea level, the lighthouse using tidal power needs to have the generator set submerged below the sea level, and so on. Thus, by adding different weights and sizes of ballast structures 203 to enable buoy assembly 20 to float in seawater at different depths, buoy assembly 20 is enabled to meet different functional requirements of the offshore platform.

Illustratively, the ballast structure 203 may be cast using concrete. The ballast structure 203 is manufactured by concrete casting, so that the manufacturing cost is low, and the casting shape can be set according to actual needs, so that the stability of the pontoon assembly 20 is improved.

It should be noted that when the pontoon assembly 20 is located in the sea, the annular bladder 201 provides buoyancy and transmits the buoyancy to the roof structure 2022, and at the same time, the annular bladder 201 provides an upward pulling force to the ballast structure 203 of the pontoon assembly 20 so that the pontoon assembly 20 can float in the sea.

In some possible embodiments, the inner peripheral dimension of the annular bladder 201 matches the outer peripheral dimension of the center post 2021 such that the center post 2021 is able to penetrate the center of the annular bladder 201 and does not rub against the annular bladder 201.

It will be appreciated that if the inner peripheral dimension of the annular bladder 201 is smaller than the outer peripheral dimension of the central upright 2021, the annular bladder 201 cannot be sleeved on the central upright 2021; if the inner peripheral dimension of the annular air bag 201 is far greater than the outer peripheral dimension of the central upright 2021, when the pontoon assembly 20 is positioned in the seawater, the annular air bag 201 moves in the horizontal direction due to the flow of the seawater, and friction is generated between the annular air bag 201 and the central upright 2021, so that the annular air bag 201 is damaged; therefore, the inner peripheral dimension of the annular bladder 201 should be slightly larger than the outer peripheral dimension of the center pillar 2021 (i.e., the inner peripheral dimension of the annular bladder 201 matches the outer peripheral dimension of the center pillar 2021) so that friction does not occur between the annular bladder 201 and the center pillar 2021.

It should be noted that the inner peripheral dimension of the annular airbag 201 and the outer peripheral dimension of the center pillar 2021 may be set according to the specific situation, and the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto in particular.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the pontoon assembly comprises an annular air bag and a fixing structure for fixing the annular air bag, wherein the fixing structure comprises a central upright post, when the pontoon assembly is positioned in sea water, the annular air bag sleeved on the central upright post is fixed by the central upright post, and the central upright post can bear the load of most of the pontoon assembly, so that the pontoon assembly with the annular air bag has higher structural strength, is not easy to damage and has higher safety compared with a common rubber pontoon; furthermore, the central upright post uses a small amount of steel, so that the manufacturing cost can be saved; the annular air bag is lighter than a common rubber pontoon, can be rapidly manufactured in a modularized manner, and is convenient to install, detach and replace.

Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an offshore platform including: a row rack platform, one or more pontoon assemblies 20 as described above; wherein, pontoon assembly 20 is fixedly connected with the row frame platform for providing buoyancy to the row frame platform.

By way of example, the offshore platform may be an offshore power generation platform for wind power generation, the offshore power generation platform comprising a racking platform and a pontoon assembly, the pontoon assembly being connected to the racking platform, the offshore power generation platform providing buoyancy through the pontoon assembly during use such that at least a portion of the offshore power generation platform is above sea level.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the sequence number of each step in the above embodiment does not mean that the execution sequence of each process should be determined by the function and the internal logic, and should not be construed as limiting the implementation process of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The above-described embodiments are only for illustrating the technical aspects of the present disclosure, and are not limiting thereof; although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may be modified or some of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the disclosure, and are intended to be included in the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims (10)

1. A pontoon assembly for an offshore platform, comprising: at least one annular air bag and a fixing structure for fixing the annular air bag;

the fixed structure comprises a central upright post, and the annular air bag is sleeved on the central upright post.

2. The pontoon assembly of claim 1, wherein the securing structure further comprises an annular roof structure;

the top cover structure is arranged above the at least one annular air bag, and limits the at least one annular air bag when the pontoon assembly is positioned in seawater.

3. The pontoon assembly of claim 2, wherein the fixed structure further comprises an annular pressure relief structure;

the decompression structure is arranged below the at least one annular air bag, and is used for decompressing the dynamic pressure of the seawater when the pontoon assembly is positioned in the seawater.

4. A pontoon assembly according to claim 3, wherein the fixing structure further comprises a flange structure;

the center upright post sequentially penetrates through the centers of the pressure reducing structure, the annular air bag and the top cover structure and is fixedly connected with the top cover structure and the pressure reducing structure through a flange structure.

5. The pontoon assembly of claim 1, wherein the pontoon assembly further comprises: a ballast structure for balancing the buoyancy and gravity of the pontoon assembly; the ballast structure is disposed below the fixed structure.

6. The pontoon assembly according to claim 1, wherein the annular air bag has an inner peripheral dimension that matches an outer peripheral dimension of the central column such that the central column is able to penetrate the center of the annular air bag and does not rub against the annular air bag.

7. The pontoon assembly of claim 1, wherein the annular bladder is made of a lightweight material having corrosion resistance.

8. The pontoon assembly according to claim 1, wherein the center column is made of steel material.

9. The pontoon assembly according to claim 2, wherein the top cover structure is made of steel material.

10. An offshore platform, comprising:

a walking frame platform;

one or more buoy assemblies according to any one of claims 1 to 9;

the pontoon assembly is fixedly connected with the walking frame platform and is used for providing buoyancy for the walking frame platform.