GB2136909A - Tower structure - Google Patents

Tower structure Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2136909A
GB2136909A GB08406653A GB8406653A GB2136909A GB 2136909 A GB2136909 A GB 2136909A GB 08406653 A GB08406653 A GB 08406653A GB 8406653 A GB8406653 A GB 8406653A GB 2136909 A GB2136909 A GB 2136909A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
tower structure
tubular
plates
foot
sleeve means
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Withdrawn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
GB08406653A
Other versions
GB8406653D0 (en
Inventor
Jan Meek
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.)
HEEREMA ENGINEERING
Original Assignee
HEEREMA ENGINEERING
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 HEEREMA ENGINEERING filed Critical HEEREMA ENGINEERING
Publication of GB8406653D0 publication Critical patent/GB8406653D0/en
Publication of GB2136909A publication Critical patent/GB2136909A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02BHYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
    • E02B17/00Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
    • E02B17/0004Nodal points
    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E02HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
    • E02BHYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
    • E02B17/00Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
    • E02B2017/0056Platforms with supporting legs
    • E02B2017/0065Monopile structures

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Joining Of Building Structures In Genera (AREA)
  • Bridges Or Land Bridges (AREA)
  • Buildings Adapted To Withstand Abnormal External Influences (AREA)

Description

1
GB 2 136 909 A 1
SPECIFICATION Tower structure
This invention relates to a tower structure and more particularly to the configuration of a joint at 5 a foot of a tower structure.
According to the invention there is provided a tower structure having at least two tubular elements having longitudinal axes which meet at a foot for the structure, each tubular element being 10 connected to at least two flat metal plates, said plates being symmetrically spaced one on each side of the longitudinal axis of their associated tubular element, plate means for providing a gradual transition between flat plates and their 15 associated tubular element to form a continuous surface between each flat plate and its associated tubular element, the joint between the at least two tubular elements being effected by joining together their associated flat plates, and sleeve 20 means for receiving one or more piles therethrough whereby to anchor the foot, the sleeve means being rigidly attached directly or indirectly to the said flat plates with the axis of the sleeve means in a plane parallel to or coincident 25 with the plane of the axes of the tubular elements.
By way of example an embodiment of the invention, and a modification thereof, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
30 Figure 1 shows an offshore tower structure,
Figure 2 is a detail of the joint at a foot of the structure,
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the foot in a vertical plane,
35 Figure 4 is a sectional view of the foot along the lines CC,
Figure 5 is a sectional view of the foot along the lines DD,
Figure 6 is a view of an alternative arrangement 40 of the joint at a foot of the structure, and
Figure 7 is a sectional view of the foot along the lines EE.
A joint configuration in accordance with the invention forms a connection in a tower structure 45 between at least two round tubular metal elements having longitudinal axes which meet at a foot for the structure. In an embodiment of the invention, which is shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, the tower structure 100 is for 50 supporting an offshore platform 101 and is of the kind described in our copending British Application No. 8307639 which is anchored to the sea bed by means of piles. The joint at the foot of this tower structure 100 occurs at the junction 55 of each of three support legs 12 with an apex 16 of a trinagulated base frame comprising tubular frame members 10 and bracing struts 17. The joint at each foot of the structure in this embodiment includes a tubular metal sleeve 60 member 18 through which there can be driven a pile for anchoring the structure on the sea bed 102. The configuration of the joint between the support legs 12 and the central column 11 is the subject of our copending British Application No.
65 8212699.
The configuration of the joint at each foot forms an all-welded connection between the five tubular metal elements 10, 12, 17 and 18. The joint comprises a pair of flat metal plates 20 of 70 generally triangular shape (see Figures 3, 4 and 5), having one corner 21 preferably rounded and the other two corners 22 pointed. The plates 20 lie parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axes of both frame members 10 and at a distance apart 75 approximately equal to the diameter of frame members 10. Further metal plates 24 and 25 are arranged to lie at right angles to plates 20 with the outer plate 24 extending around and being welded to the outer peripheral edges of plates 20. Plates 80 24 and 25 also terminate in pointed ends 26 and these, together with pointed ends 22 of plates 20, are arranged to form an abutment for the end of each frame member 10 which has been cut off square to form an edge 23. Further, curved 85 triangular-shaped metal plates 30 are welded in position to complete the attachment of each frame member 10 with plates 20, 24 and 25, one edge 31 of each curved triangular-shaped plate 30 having been shaped to conform to the contour 90 of end edge 23 of each frame member 10. Four such curved triangular-shaped plates 30 are needed for each frame member 10, and the result is a gradual transition over a continuous surface from the circular cross-section of frame member g5 10 to the rectangular cross-section of the wedge-shaped structure which is defined by plates 20, 24 and 25. In practice, small stub sections 10a (Figure 4) may initially be welded in position as shown prior to the frame members 10 themselves, 1 oo the final connection of the frame members 10 being effected on site along field joints W.
The attachment of the bracing struts 17 is by similar means to that described above, with flat metal plates 32 being welded in position between 105 plates 20 and extending from the front edge 36 of plates 20 back to the outer edge and plate 24. In this case, the bracing strut 17 is of lesser diameter than the separation of both plates 20 and plates 32. This means that four additional 110 triangular metal plates 34, as well as the four usual specially-shaped metal plates 33, must be used to effect aligned connection of the bracing strut 17. As before, plates 33 are shaped along one edge to conform to the contour of the 115 squared-off end edge 35 of the bracing strut 17, and the result is a gradual transition over a continuous surface from the circular cross-section of the bracing strut to the rectangular cross-section of the braced wedge-shaped structure that 120 is defined by plates 20, 24, 25 and 32. Again as before, small stub sections 17a (Figure 4) may initially be welded in position prior to the bracing struts 17 themselves, the final connection of the bracing struts 17 being effected on site along field 125 joints X.
The connection of the support legs 12 is similar in principle to the above described connections, there being a pair of parallel metal plates 40 welded in position on top of upper plate 20. Plates
2
GB 2 136 909 A 2
40 are spaced apart by a distance approximately equal to the diameter of the supprt leg 12. The plates 40 are aligned with and parallel to plates 32 which, as described earlier, are welded in 5 between plates 20. A flat metal plate 44,
terminating at its upper end in a point, is welded in position along the edges of plates 40 with its bottom edge abutting upper plate 20. A gusset plate 47 is welded in between plates 20 to brace 10 the wedge-shaped section at this point, and a gusset plate 51 is welded between plates 40 towards the upper end thereof. A triangular-shaped plate 43 is also welded in position and, together with the pointed ends 41 of plates 40 15 and 44, forms an abutment for the support leg 12. As before, specially-shaped curved triangular plates 45 are used to complete the connection of the support leg 12. These curved plates 45 have been shaped along one edge 46 to conform to the 20 contour of squared-off end edge 42 of the support leg 12, resulting in a gradual transition over a continuous surface from the circular cross-section of the support leg to the rectangular cross-section defined by plates 40,43 and 44. Once again, for 25 convenience, small stub sections 12a are initially welded in position prior to the support legs 12, the final connection of the support legs being effected on site along field joints Y.
For the connection of the sleeve member 18, a 30 metal plate 50 is welded in position across a pair of level edges which are defined in each plate 40. Plate 50 and plates 20 each have a hole therein in order to receive the sleeve member 18. The sleeve member is braced in position by means of plates 35 52 and J53 which are welded between it and plates 47 and 32 respectively (Figure 5).
The sleeve member 18 is arranged with its axis in the same plane as the plane defined by the axes of the support leg 12 and the bracing strut 17, 40 which is a vertical plane. Furthermore, the axis of the sleeve member 18 passes through the point of intersection between the axes of the support leg 12 and the bracing strut 17. This means that when a pile is driven through the sleeve member 45 18 into the sea bed, the result is a well-braced stable anchorage for the foot of the structure.
In deeper waters, a single pile may not be able to provide adequate anchorage for the foot of the structure. Thus, in an alternative embodiment, 50 which is shown in Figures 6 and 7, three sleeve members 80, 81, 82 are provided in the joint at each foot of the structure. Th e middle sleeve member 81 has its axis in the same plane as the plane defined by the axes of the support by 12 and 55 the bracing strut 17, which again is a vertical plane, and the axes of the outer two sleeve members 80 and 82 lie parallel to this plane, and preferably also vertically. Again, the axis of the middle sleeve member 81 passes through the 60 point of intersection between the axes of the support leg 12 and the bracing strut 17. Of course, in this alternative embodiment, the shape of some of the support plates in the joint will be different from those of the first embodiment. In particular,
65 the pair of flat plates 83 are larger than their counterparts, plates 20, and top plate 84 which retains the sleeve members 80, 81 and 82 at their upper ends is also larger than its counterpart, plate 50. The result, once again, when a pile is driven 70 through each of the sleeve members into the sea bed is a well-braced, stable anchorage for the foot of the structure.
Of course, it will be understood that the joint configuration would be equally as suitable for 75 anchoring the foot of a land-based construction as for the offshore tower structure described above. The number of sleeve members in the joint could also be varied, of course, depending upon the number of piles considered necessary for firmly 80 anchoring each foot, although it is not essential that each pile must have its own individual sleeve member.

Claims (10)

1. A tower structure having at least two tubular 85 elements having longitudinal axes which meet at a foot for the structure, each tubular element being connected to at least two flat metal plates, said plates being symmetrically spaced one on each side of the longitudinal axis of their associated 90 tubular element, plate means for providing a gradual transition between the flat plates and their associated tubular element to form a continuous surface between each flat plate and its associated - tubular element, the joint between the at least two 95 tubular elements being effected by joining together their associated flat plates, and sleeve means for receiving one or more piles therethrough whereby to anchor the foot, the sleeve means being rigidly attached directly or
100 indirectly to the said flat plates with the axis of the sleeve means in a plane parallel to or coincident with the plane of the axes of the tubular elements.
2. A tower structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the axis of the sleeve means is arranged
105 to Pass through the point of intersection of the axes of the two tubular elements.
3. A tower structure as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the axis of the sleeve means is arranged vertically.
110
4. A tower structure as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sleeve means comprises a tubular sleeve for the or each pile.
5. A tower structure as claimed in any preceding claim wherein one of the tubular
115 elements is a horizontal bracing strut and the other tubular element is an inclined support leg.
6. A tower structure as claimed in claim 5 comprising two further tubular elements arranged one on either side of the bracing strut and forming
120 part of a base frame.
7. A tower structure as claimed in claim 7 wherein the base frame is horizontal.
8. A tower structure substantially as herienbefore described with reference to and as
125 shown in Figures 1 to 5 or in Figure 1 as modified by Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.
GB 2 136 909 A
9. A construction for supporting an offshore
10. A construction as claimed in claim 9 having platform incorporating a tower structure as 5 a central column and three support legs with a claimed in any preceding claim. foot at the bottom of each leg.
Printed in the United Kingdom for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Demand No. 8818935, 9/1984. Contractor's Code No. 6378. Published by the Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1AY, from which copies may be obtained.
GB08406653A 1983-03-18 1984-03-14 Tower structure Withdrawn GB2136909A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB838307642A GB8307642D0 (en) 1983-03-18 1983-03-18 Joint configuration

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB8406653D0 GB8406653D0 (en) 1984-04-18
GB2136909A true GB2136909A (en) 1984-09-26

Family

ID=10539876

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB838307642A Pending GB8307642D0 (en) 1983-03-18 1983-03-18 Joint configuration
GB08406653A Withdrawn GB2136909A (en) 1983-03-18 1984-03-14 Tower structure

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB838307642A Pending GB8307642D0 (en) 1983-03-18 1983-03-18 Joint configuration

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0122719A1 (en)
JP (1) JPS6023568A (en)
BR (1) BR8401304A (en)
GB (2) GB8307642D0 (en)
NO (1) NO841040L (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5332336A (en) * 1992-11-16 1994-07-26 Kvaerner Earl And Wright, Inc. Offshore base-supported column structure and method of installation

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS63223765A (en) * 1987-03-13 1988-09-19 Canon Inc Image forming device
GB2292405B (en) * 1994-08-19 1998-05-06 Mcdermott Int Inc Offshore structures
CN113123233B (en) * 2021-03-03 2022-11-25 中交二航局第二工程有限公司 Anchorage design and construction method

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
NO129103B (en) * 1967-09-01 1974-02-25 Ingbureau Marine Consultants B
US3585801A (en) * 1970-02-20 1971-06-22 Brown & Root Offshore tower
US3815372A (en) * 1972-05-18 1974-06-11 Texaco Inc Marine structure
GB2096673B (en) * 1981-03-04 1984-11-07 Platform Service Sa Offshore tower structures
GB2122711B (en) * 1982-04-30 1985-05-30 Heerema Engineering A joint arrangement

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5332336A (en) * 1992-11-16 1994-07-26 Kvaerner Earl And Wright, Inc. Offshore base-supported column structure and method of installation

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB8406653D0 (en) 1984-04-18
GB8307642D0 (en) 1983-04-27
NO841040L (en) 1984-09-19
BR8401304A (en) 1984-10-30
EP0122719A1 (en) 1984-10-24
JPS6023568A (en) 1985-02-06

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WAP Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1)