EP3693515A1

EP3693515A1 - Pile installation template

Info

Publication number: EP3693515A1
Application number: EP20155280.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Cornelis Rombout
Original assignee: Temporary Works Design Engineering BV
Current assignee: Temporary Works Design Engineering BV
Priority date: 2019-02-11
Filing date: 2020-02-04
Publication date: 2020-08-12
Also published as: NL2022553B1

Abstract

Pile installation template (1) comprising guide means (2, 2', 2'') for guiding a pile (3), and comprising a baseplate (4) or mud mat to be placed on a bottom, preferably a sea bottom, so as to support the template (1), wherein the baseplate (4) or mud mat is equipped with a skirt (5) embodied as a wall that extends downwardly from the baseplate (4) or mud mat, wherein the baseplate (4) or mud mat and the skirt (5) together define a receptacle (6) suitable to receive material from the bottom on which the baseplate (4) or mud mat is placeable, and wherein the baseplate (4) or mud mat is provided with a vibratory driver (7).

Description

The invention relates to a pile installation template comprising guide means for guiding a pile, and comprising a baseplate or mud mat to be placed on a bottom, preferably a sea bottom, so as to support the template. Within the scope of this invention the guide means can be embodied in different ways, for instance as a roller box or roller boxes, or as a sleeve or sleeves.
EP 2 492 402 discloses such a positioning template comprising a number of mutually connected sleeves arranged in a geometric pattern and adapted to receive and guide one or more piles to be driven into a bottom below water level. Each of the sleeves comprises a mechanism with which support ribs are displaceable in the radial direction of the sleeve between a radially inward support position for the pile, and a radially more outward position in which the support ribs are released from the pile. Each of the sleeves is further equipped with a baseplate to be placed on the underwater bottom. The baseplate is also known as mud mat.
Although EP 2 492 402 discloses a pile installation template with plural sleeves for placement of multiple piles into the ground, the instant invention has more broader application and is not restricted to a template with plural sleeves, but can also be applied with a template with a single sleeve to drive a monopile into the ground. In fact the invention may as already indicated in the preamble not even apply sleeve(s) for guiding the pile(s), but may instead make use of a so-called roller box or boxes to guide the pile(s). To reflect this, the general term guide means is used in many places throughout this specification, rather then the more specific terms 'sleeve' and 'roller box', which are however both covered by this invention.
CN 106 498 947 , DE 10 2012 021 001 , CN 106 087 928 , EP 3 147 408 , DE 103 57 392 , WO2015/028020 , and WO99/51821 all disclose that the baseplate or mud mat is equipped with a skirt embodied as a wall that extends downwardly from the baseplate or mud mat, wherein the baseplate or mud mat and the skirt together define a receptacle suitable to receive material from the bottom on which the baseplate or mud mat is placeable.
According to the invention a pile installation template with the features of one or more of the appended claims is proposed.
In a first aspect of the invention the baseplate or mud mat is provided with a vibratory driver. The application of the vibratory driver reduces the operational time required for secure placement of the template on the bottom and into the ground. Moreover it is easier to level the template by appropriately using the vibratory driver(s) of the template.
The skirt thus can be driven into the bottom, preferably up to the point that the baseplate or mud mat engages the bottom. The skirt being driven into the bottom provides several advantages, notably:

▪ Higher bearing capacity of the mud mat with skirt.
▪ In some soil conditions the bearing capacity is now sufficient where it could not be achieved by regular mud mats without skirt, for example in Taiwan.
▪ The mud mat with skirt has also a pulling capacity which
- ▪ reduces the required bearing capacity of the mud mat, since this is partly defined by the so-called moment of the template at which it overturns due to environmental loads.
- ▪ enables to reduce the weight of the template in comparison with a mud mat without skirt, wherein the template should have sufficient weight to be self-standing.
▪ The template exhibits a shortening of operational time in comparison with using suction buckets for anchoring to the ground.
▪ Easier to remove from the ground than suction buckets
▪ Less sensitive to earthquakes
▪ Better control of the verticality of the template
▪ Require less deck space
▪ Better resistance to dynamic loading.

The vibratory driver can be effectively used to drive the skirt at least partially into the bottom, and preferably up to the point that the mud mat engages the bottom.
Suitably the vibratory driver is of the type embodied with rotating eccentric weights. This type of vibratory driver is well known to the skilled person, and requires no further elucidation. A typical example of such a vibratory driver is for instance disclosed by US 9,873,997 .
As mentioned the invention can be applied on a template wherein the guide means are embodied with one selected from the group comprising a roller box and a sleeve, either plural or single. In a suitable embodiment the template comprises guide means that are embodied with multiple sleeves, each sleeve being equipped to guide a single pile, wherein the sleeves are interconnected with a truss work to provide a sturdy construction with high positional accuracy.
It is further preferable that the template is provided with one or more constraining rods, and hydraulic cylinders that operate on the baseplates or mud mats for levelling of the template, wherein the said constraining rods are arranged essentially horizontal and connected to the template between the baseplates or mud mats to prevent that transversal loads may affect the hydraulic cylinders. This feature can be applied in addition or separate from all the abovementioned other features of the template of the invention.
The invention will hereinafter be further elucidated with reference to the drawing of some nonlimiting exemplary embodiments of pile installation templates according to the invention.
The drawing shows in:

figure 1 a single pile template useable for driving a monopile into the ground;
figure 2 a pile installation template with multiple sleeves useable for driving multiple piles into the ground; and
figure 3 an isometric view from below to one of the sleeves of the pile installation template of figure 2.

Whenever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same or similar parts.
As mentioned the instant invention is not restricted to a template 1 with plural sleeves 2" as (part of) guide means 2 as is shown in figure 2, but can also be applied with a template 1 with a single sleeve. Instead of using a sleeve or sleeves as (part of the) guide means 2 it is also possible to use a roller box or roller boxes 2' as (part of the) guide means 2 as is shown in figure 1. Figure 1 shows a template 1 which can be used to drive a monopile into the ground.
Figure 2 further shows that optionally the guide means 2 embodied with sleeves 2" can be provided with a catcher 9 to facilitate the introduction of a pile 3 into the sleeves 2". Also optionally the guide means 2 embodied with sleeves 2" can be provided with a release organ 10 to selectively clamp or release the pile 3 that is received in the sleeves 2". Obvious examples of how the release organ 10 may be construed are provided by for instance EP 2 492 402 and WO2017/155402 . When a roller box or boxes 2' are used as (part of the) guide means 2 as depicted in figure 1, these roller boxes 2" can also function as release organ 10 to selectively clamp or release the pile 3 that is guided by the roller boxes 2'.
As mentioned figure 2 relates to a pile installation template 1 with multiple sleeves 2 and this figure shows that the sleeves 2 are interconnected by a truss work 8. Conventionally levelling of the template is done with a guide frame or winches from deck level. According to the invention levelling can be done otherwise, i.e. the template 1 is provided with one or more essentially horizontal constraining rods 12, wherein for levelling hydraulic cylinders 11 are applied that operate on the baseplates 4 or mud mats of the template 1. The said constraining rods 12 are connected to the template 1 between the baseplates 4 or mud mats to prevent that transversal loads may affect the hydraulic cylinders 11.
Both figure 1 and figure 2 show that the baseplate 4 or mud mat is equipped with a skirt 5 embodied as a wall that extends downwardly from the baseplate 4 or mud mat. The construction is best understood from figure 3 which shows that the baseplate 4 or mud mat and the skirt 5 together define a receptacle 6 that is arranged to receive material from the bottom on which the baseplate 4 or mud mat is placeable.
In the figures 1 - 3 it is shown that the baseplate 4 or mud mat is provided with a vibratory driver 7. There are particular advantages when the vibratory driver 7 is applied to a baseplate 4 which has a skirt 5, notably that the vibratory driver 7 can be effectively used for driving the skirt 5 at least partially into the ground. Preferably the skirt 5 will be driven so far into the ground that the mud mat 4 will engage the ground.
It is remarked that the vibratory driver 7 is also effective for removing the mud mat 4 with the skirt 5 from the ground.
Although the invention has been discussed in the foregoing with reference to exemplary embodiments of the pile installation template of the invention, the invention is not restricted to this particular embodiment which can be varied in many ways without departing from the invention. The discussed exemplary embodiments shall therefore not be used to construe the appended claims strictly in accordance therewith. On the contrary the embodiments are merely intended to explain the wording of the appended claims without intent to limit the claims to these exemplary embodiments. The scope of protection of the invention shall therefore be construed in accordance with the appended claims only, wherein a possible ambiguity in the wording of the claims shall be resolved using these exemplary embodiments.

Claims

Pile installation template (1) comprising guide means (2, 2', 2") for guiding a pile (3), and comprising a baseplate (4) or mud mat to be placed on a bottom, preferably a sea bottom, so as to support the template (1), wherein the baseplate (4) or mud mat is equipped with a skirt (5) embodied as a wall that extends downwardly from the baseplate (4) or mud mat, wherein the baseplate (4) or mud mat and the skirt (5) together define a receptacle (6) suitable to receive material from the bottom on which the baseplate (4) or mud mat is placeable, characterized in that the baseplate (4) or mud mat is provided with a vibratory driver (7).
Pile installation template according to claim 1, characterized in that the baseplate (4) or mud mat is provided with a vibratory driver (7) to drive the skirt (5) at least partially into the bottom.
Pile installation template according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the vibratory driver (7) is of the type embodied with rotating eccentric weights.
Pile installation template according to any one of claims 1 - 3, characterized in that the guide means (2, 2', 2") are embodied with one selected from the group comprising a roller box (2') and a sleeve (2").
Pile installation template according to any one of claims 1 - 4, characterized in that the template (1) comprises guide means (2, 2', 2") that are embodied with multiple sleeves (2"), each sleeve (2") being equipped to guide a single pile (3), wherein the sleeves (2") are interconnected with a truss work (8).
Pile installation template according to any one of claims 1 - 6, characterized in that the template (1) is provided with one or more constraining rods (12), and hydraulic cylinders (11) that operate on the baseplates (4) or mud mats for levelling of the template (1), wherein the said constraining rods (12) are arranged essentially horizontal and connected to the template (1) between the baseplates (4) or mud mats to prevent that transversal loads may affect the hydraulic cylinders (11) .