EP0146332A2 - Barges and methods of increasing barge capacity - Google Patents

Barges and methods of increasing barge capacity Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0146332A2
EP0146332A2 EP84308601A EP84308601A EP0146332A2 EP 0146332 A2 EP0146332 A2 EP 0146332A2 EP 84308601 A EP84308601 A EP 84308601A EP 84308601 A EP84308601 A EP 84308601A EP 0146332 A2 EP0146332 A2 EP 0146332A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
barge
barges
apertures
bracket plates
pin
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP84308601A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Nico Deboer
Stafford J. Menard
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
McDermott International Inc
Original Assignee
McDermott International Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by McDermott International Inc filed Critical McDermott International Inc
Publication of EP0146332A2 publication Critical patent/EP0146332A2/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
    • B63B35/00—Vessels or similar floating structures specially adapted for specific purposes and not otherwise provided for
    • B63B35/44—Floating buildings, stores, drilling platforms, or workshops, e.g. carrying water-oil separating devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
    • B63B35/00—Vessels or similar floating structures specially adapted for specific purposes and not otherwise provided for
    • B63B35/34—Pontoons
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
    • B63B35/00—Vessels or similar floating structures specially adapted for specific purposes and not otherwise provided for
    • B63B35/28—Barges or lighters

Definitions

  • This invention relates to barges (e.g. barges for the transportation and/or launching of heavy structures such as prefabricated structural components of an offshore oil drilling platform such as a drill jacket) and to methods of increasing the capacity of barges.
  • barges e.g. barges for the transportation and/or launching of heavy structures such as prefabricated structural components of an offshore oil drilling platform such as a drill jacket
  • methods of increasing the capacity of barges e.g. barges for the transportation and/or launching of heavy structures such as prefabricated structural components of an offshore oil drilling platform such as a drill jacket
  • the jacket of an offshore drilling platform is an elongate tubular lattice that extends from a base to a deck of the platform, encloses conductor pipes, and to which deck modules are fitted.
  • the jacket is prefabricated onshore and loaded aboard a launch barge on its side by sliding it along skid rails onshore and then onto skid rails on the deck of the barge.
  • the launch barge is typically a flat-bottomed and flat-decked barge having a large clear deck space for receiving the jacket.
  • the jacket is temporarily welded to the barge with bracing material and then transported to the installation site.
  • the launch barge is fitted with a tilting mechanism by means of which the jacket can be caused to slide into the water.
  • the bracing is cut, jacks are employed to slide the jacket along the skid rails until its centre of gravity is properly located relative to the tilting mechanism, and the jacket is then slid off the tilting mechanism into the water.
  • Launch barges must be skillfully designed to accomodate the significant loads imposed by the weight of the jacket, the launch stresses, and the normal forces encountered while the barge is underway.
  • permanent alterations have had to be made to the barge. Such alterations include the permanent addition of sponsons, deck strapping, and additional barge length. The addition and removal of such additions is labour intensive, time consuming, and quite expensive.
  • the capacity of a barge may be readily and adjustably increased by the provision of means for releasably connecting a first barge and a second barge serially with bow end to stem end.
  • Two or more hinge assemblies mounted at laterally spaced intervals along mating ends of the first and second barges and substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the barges, interconnect the barges.
  • Each hinge assembly includes bracket plates, at least one being attached to one of the first and second barges and at least two being attached to the other barge and which longitudinally and vertically extend in an interleaved arrangement.
  • Each of the plates of the assembly includes an aperture extending laterally therethrough which is alignable with like apertures in the other plates of the assembly.
  • Means are provided for axially reciprocating a hinge pin into and out of the apertures of each hinge assembly to respectively connect and disconnect the first and second barges. When the barges are so connected, each is rotatable about the hinge pins relative to the other.
  • each hinge assembly includes three groups of laterally adjacent bracket plates, the bracket plates of each group being interconnected by a heavy walled pipe sleeve which extends through the apertures and through which the hinge pin is slidably received.
  • Two of the groups of brackets are connected to a first one of the barges and the third group is connected to the second one of the barges and extends into a space between the other two groups.
  • a floatable load carrying structure comprising a first barge, a second barge, and means for connecting the first barge and the second barge in end to end relation
  • the connecting means including at least two hinge assemblies mounted at spaced intervals along the mating ends of the first and second barges, each hinge assembly including: a plurality of longitudinally and vertically extending bracket plates, at least one of the bracket plates being attached to the first barge and others of the bracket plates being attached to the second barge, each of the bracket plates having an aperture therethrough which is alignable with the apertures of the other bracket plates; and an elongate pin insertable into and removable from the apertures to respectively connect and disconnect the first and second barges to allow rotation of the barges about the pin relative to each other when the barges are connected.
  • an extension for a first barge to increase the capacity thereof comprising a second barge and means for connecting the second barge to the first barge in end to end relation, the connecting means including at least two hinge assembly portions attached at spaced intervals along the mating end of the second barge, each hinge assembly portion including: at least one longitudinally and vertically extending bracket plate attached to the mating end of the second barge and having an aperture therethrough for aligning with like apertures in at least two bracket plates attached to the mating end of the first barge, and an elongate pin insertable into and removable from the apertures to respectively connect and disconnect the first and second barges to allow rotation of the barges about the pin relative to each other when the barges are connected.
  • a method of increasing the capacity of a first barge comprising attaching a plurality of bracket plates to ends of the first barge and a second barge, including attaching at least one bracket plate to an end of the first barge and other bracket plates to an end of the second barge, each bracket plate having an aperture therethrough which is alignable with the apertures of the other bracket plates, positioning the first and second barges in end to end relation and aligning the bracket plate apertures, and inserting an elongate pin into the apertures to connect the first and second barges whereby each barge is rotatable about the pin relative to the other.
  • a preferred embodiment of the invention described hereinbelow provides a variable capacity barge by the quick and inexpensive connection and disconnection of one or more barge extensions.
  • FIG. 1 shows a launch barge 10 for transporting and launching a prefabricated offshore structure such as a drill jacket (not shown).
  • the launch barge 10 is composed of two serially connected units, i.e. a secondary extension barge 12 which is releasably connected at its bow to a primary barge 11 at its stern in a manner described hereinafter.
  • the primary barge 11 is a conventional flat-bottomed and flat-decked barge modified by removal of a tilting mechanism, the so-called rocker arms, which generally are installed at one end of the barge for tilting and sliding the jacket from the deck 13 into the water.
  • a launchway extension 14 is fixed to the end of the primary barge 11 in a stationary manner in lieu of the conventional rocker arms.
  • the secondary extension barge 12 is outfitted with a pair of rocker arms 15 and 16 mounted at the end of the deck 17 of the barge 12 which is remote from the primary barge 11, that is, at the stern of the barge 12.
  • the launch barge 10 includes a pair of skid rails 18 and 19 mounted on and longitudinally extending along the length of each of the decks 13 and 17.
  • the skid rails 18 and 19 provide means for sliding the jacket onto and off of the barge.
  • the rocker arms 15 and 16 are longitudinally aligned with the skid rails 18 and 19 respectively.
  • the upper portion of the bow of the secondary barge 12 overlies a lower portion of the stem of the primary barge 11.
  • the length of the launchway extension 14 is truncated relative to the length of the rocker arm which it replaces so that it does not extend to, or beyond, the stern of the primary barge 11 and allows the bow of the secondary barge 12 freely to rotate through an arc on either side of the horizontal plane in which the decks normally extend without contacting the primary barge.
  • the primary barge 11 and the secondary barge 12 are releasably connected to each other at their mating ends by a series of integrally attached hinge assemblies 30 located at laterally spaced intervals along the mating ends.
  • Each hinge assembly 30 includes groups of brackets designated herein as padeye assemblies 31 and 32.
  • the radeye assembly 31 is connected to the mating end of the primary barge 11 and interleaved intermediate two laterally adjacent padeye assemblies 32 connected to the mating end of the secondary barge 12.
  • Each of the padeye assemblies 31 and 32 is composed of three vertically and longitudinally extending brackets 33 which are laterally spaced and interconnected by a heavy-walled pipe sleeve 34 extending through laterally aligned apertures 46 in each of the brackets 33.
  • the pipe sleeve 34 is weldably fixed to each of the brackets 33 that comprises a respective one of the padeye assemblies 31 or 32.
  • the three sleeves 34 of each hinge assembly 30 are axially alignable in an end to end mounting arrangement.
  • the brackets 33 are preferably connected to and extend vertically from the bottoms 36 and 37 of the respective barges 11 and 12 and are continuously vertically welded, at each side of one edge, along their length, and are spaced, at the opposite end, from the other barge when the barges are connected.
  • An arcuate facing plate 38 and 39 overlies and interconnects an extreme edge of each of the brackets 33 of each respective padeye assembly 31 and 32.
  • the laterally outermost brackets 33 of each assembly 31 and 32 are preferably aligned with bulkhead plates 35 of the respective barge to which the bracket is weld-united in order to strengthen the connection with the respective barges 11 and 12.
  • the barges 11 and 12 are interconnected by hinge pins 43 inserted in the apertures 46 to permit relative rotational movement between these units in response to water undulations which may be attenuated by well known means of buoyancy control. It is envisaged that the provision of such rotational movement between the barges 11 and 12 may allow a substantial reduction in the size of the rocker arms 15 and 16, although it may not be possible to eliminate the rocker arms altogether.
  • Each hinge assembly 30 includes a hydraulic actuator 40 comprising a cylinder 41 and a piston rod 42 integral with a piston (not shown) mounted slidably within the cylinder.
  • the piston rod 42 is longitudinally connected to a hinge pin 43 which may be retractably extended through a tubular housing 44 connected in end to end relation to an adjacent one of the pipe sleeves 34.
  • the piston rod 42 is designed for reciprocation of the hinge pin 43 axially into and out of the respective sleeves 34 of the padeye assemblies 31 and 32 of the respective hinge assembly 30.
  • the hydraulic actuator 40 may be energised by well-known means.
  • the actuator 40 is operable to connect and disconnect the barges 11 and 12 to and from each other by the respective insertion or extraction of the hinge pin 43 into or out of all of the sleeves 34 of a group of padeye assemblies 31, 32.
  • the activator 40 is fixedly connected to the barge 12 by attachment with a mounting plate 45. However, it may alternatively be connected to the barge 11.
  • a launch barge 10 embodying the present invention may comprise a primary barge 11 of about 198 m (650 feet) in length, with a beam of about 52 m (170 feet), connected to a secondary barge 12 of about 107 m (350 feet) in length, with a launch end width of about 76 m (250 feet), the depth of each barge 11 and 12 being about 12 m (40 feet).
  • the combined unit includes eight laterally spaced hinge assemblies 30 each including 51 mm (2 inch) thick brackets having lengths of about 3.66 m (12 feet), sleeves each with a 457 mm (18 inch) outer diameter, a 311 mm (12.25 inch) inner diameter, and a length of 635 mm (25 inches) for accomodating a 305 mm (12 inch) outer diameter pin.
  • Static calculations have indicated that such a combined flexible structure can accomodate a shear stress of about 158.8 MN (35.7 Mlbf) which is more than double the highest calculated shear load of about 76 MN (17 Mlbf) for a 488 m (1,600 foot) long, 76,200 tonne (75,000 ton) jacket.
  • the arrangement embodying the invention is provided to increase the capacity of existing barges to allow launching of jackets larger than the original design capacity of the barge without extensive rebuilding and reinforcement of the barge.
  • the arrangement embodying the invention is provided to permit fast attachment and disengagement while allowing each barge of the dual unit to be separated and used as separate launch barges when not being used in combination for transporting and launching very large jackets.
  • the components of the hinge assemblies may be mounted to barges having various lengths so that different barges can be readily combined to obtain relatively larger or smaller overall lengths.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Aiming, Guidance, Guns With A Light Source, Armor, Camouflage, And Targets (AREA)
  • Ship Loading And Unloading (AREA)
  • Electrical Discharge Machining, Electrochemical Machining, And Combined Machining (AREA)
  • Diaphragms For Electromechanical Transducers (AREA)
  • Paper (AREA)
EP84308601A 1983-12-19 1984-12-11 Barges and methods of increasing barge capacity Withdrawn EP0146332A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US56255983A 1983-12-19 1983-12-19
US562559 1983-12-19

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0146332A2 true EP0146332A2 (en) 1985-06-26

Family

ID=24246782

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP84308601A Withdrawn EP0146332A2 (en) 1983-12-19 1984-12-11 Barges and methods of increasing barge capacity

Country Status (6)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0146332A2 (es)
JP (1) JPS6175091A (es)
KR (1) KR850004433A (es)
AU (1) AU3657884A (es)
BR (1) BR8406492A (es)
ES (3) ES8604458A1 (es)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2347386A (en) * 1999-03-04 2000-09-06 David Lindsay Edwards Modular Marine Articulated Transportation Vessel
CN113525627A (zh) * 2021-08-10 2021-10-22 烟台中集来福士海洋工程有限公司 大型船舶的下水方法

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2347386A (en) * 1999-03-04 2000-09-06 David Lindsay Edwards Modular Marine Articulated Transportation Vessel
CN113525627A (zh) * 2021-08-10 2021-10-22 烟台中集来福士海洋工程有限公司 大型船舶的下水方法

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS6175091A (ja) 1986-04-17
ES538725A0 (es) 1986-02-01
ES8609105A1 (es) 1986-09-01
ES8604458A1 (es) 1986-02-01
KR850004433A (ko) 1985-07-15
ES8609104A1 (es) 1986-09-01
AU3657884A (en) 1985-06-27
ES548064A0 (es) 1986-09-01
BR8406492A (pt) 1985-10-15
ES548063A0 (es) 1986-09-01

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PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

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18W Application withdrawn

Withdrawal date: 19860415

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Inventor name: MENARD, STAFFORD J.

Inventor name: DEBOER, NICO