KR101411517B1 - Leg protection apparatus of floating structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A leg protector of a floating structure is disclosed. The leg protector of the floating structure of the present invention has a hollow in which a leg of a floating structure to be operated in a jack-up mode can be inserted, and a cover ; And driving means provided on the cover, for providing a driving force for moving the cover in the vertical direction along the leg.

Description

[0001] LEG PROTECTION APPARATUS OF FLOATING STRUCTURE [0002]

The present invention relates to a leg protector of a floating structure.

As the demand for environmentally friendly energy development grows, the development using wind power generators is getting popular all over the world. However, installation of wind turbines requires strict environmental conditions. For example, the place where the wind turbine is installed should be a place where a certain level of wind speed can be guaranteed to obtain significant rotation of the blade, and the pollution caused by the noise generated when driving the wind turbine should not be an issue do. Even if these environmental conditions are satisfied, a very large area of space is required to install a wind turbine generator.

In recent years, interest in offshore wind turbines has increased, which is relatively free from the above-mentioned constraints. Offshore wind turbines can be installed in a variety of ways, but generally they are constructed by dividing the components into several units, making them on land, and then transferring the units to sea for assembly.

A ship that moves offshore wind turbine units on the sea to the sea and installs offshore wind turbine generators is commonly referred to as a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV).

Wind turbine installation The ship can be operated in the transit mode and the jackup mode according to the characteristics of the operation. Specifically, the ship installed with the wind turbine moves to the navigation mode to the position where the off-axis wind turbine is to be installed. In sailing mode, the legs can be moved upward to reduce resistance by seawater. After that, the ship installed with the wind power generator is switched to the jack-up mode, the leg is lowered into the sea floor, and then the main body is lifted up along the leg so that the main body is separated from the sea level by a certain distance. When the main body reaches a certain position, the wind turbine installation ship stops the movement of the main body and installs the offshore wind turbine generator. When the installation is completed, proceed in the reverse order to move to the next installation position.

While this floating structure is in operation, the legs have a shape extending from the body floating above the sea surface to the seabed. At this time, various kinds of fatigue loads are applied to the legs due to wind, algae, waves, etc. In particular, the load due to the waves is greatest near the sea surface. Therefore, there is a great risk that legs are damaged, such as deformation, breakage, or the like, where the legs meet the sea surface.

If damage occurs at the portion where the leg meets the sea level, a load greater than the designed value is applied to the vertical movement of the leg when the mode of the floating structure is changed in the future. In some cases, the leg can not be moved up and down, It can cause serious accidents.

(Patent Document 1) United States Patent Application Publication No. US2010 / 0067989 (published on May 18, 2010)

(Patent Document 2) United States Patent Application Publication No. US2008 / 0247827 (published on September 10, 2008)

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a leg protector of a floating structure in which a leg protector capable of preventing damage to the leg can be moved to a place where there is a high risk of damage to the leg.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a cover comprising: a cover having a hollow into which a leg of a floating structure with a jack-up mode can be inserted, the cover being movable along the leg with the leg inserted into the hollow; And driving means provided on the cover, for providing a driving force for moving the cover in the vertical direction along the leg.

The cover may be provided with a guide portion for guiding the cover along the legs.

The guide portion may be provided with a pinion gear projecting from the inner surface of the cover to engage the rack gear provided in the leg.

The driving means may include a motor for rotating the pinion gear.

A stopper selectively protruded to be inserted between dentitions of the rack gear, and a fixing device having a solenoid which operates to move the stopper back and forth.

And a bulb formed on an outer surface of the cover.

The cover may include a ballast tank for regulating the depth of submersion, and a pump for regulating the amount of water contained in the ballast tank.

The embodiment of the present invention has the effect that the cause of the damage of the leg can be solved in advance by the fact that the leg protector is moved and positioned at the sea level portion where the risk of damaging the leg is great.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a floating structure according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a view showing a jack-up state of the floating structure of FIG. 1 in which the leg protector of the present invention is installed,
3 is a perspective view showing a leg protector provided in Fig. 2,
Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a state where the leg is inserted into the leg protector of Fig. 3,
Fig. 5 is a state diagram of a leg protector according to the operation of Fig. 4 electric motor,
6 is a schematic view showing an example of a bulb formed on the outer surface of the cover of the leg protector,
Fig. 7 is a schematic view showing another example of the bulb of Fig. 6,
Fig. 8 is a schematic view showing another example of the bulb of Fig. 6; Fig.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a floating structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a jack-up state of the floating structure of FIG.

1 and 2, a floating structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 10 capable of floating in water, a leg 20 extending vertically through the main body 10, And leg supports 30 that relatively move the legs 20 and the main body 10 in the vertical direction and support the legs 20.

The floating structure 1 may be a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) or a jack-up platform. In this embodiment, the floating structure 1 is a wind turbine installation vessel I'll explain it to you. However, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to this, and any floating structure having a jack-up mode to be described later may be included in the scope of the present invention.

The body 10 may have a planar structure of a floating rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 1, and may be formed in a structure having a wide width, a low height, and a short length as compared with a general commercial line (for example, a container line) . However, this is merely an example, and the body 10 according to the teachings of the present invention may have any three-dimensional structure in which the legs 20 and the leg supports 30 can be installed.

The main body 10 can be loaded with the load 2 according to the function of the floating structure 1. A blade, a nacelle, a tower, or the like, which is a part of an offshore wind power generator, can be loaded as the object 2 to be loaded on the main body 10 and the loading unit 2 for fixing the object 2 to the main body 10 (12) may be provided. The type and loading method of the load 2 shown in Fig. 1 are merely an example, and the load 2 can be loaded in various forms within the scope of the present invention. For example, the blades and nacelle can be loaded separately from each other, and the load 2 can be a riser pipe if the floating structure 1 is a jack-up platform.

In addition, the main body 10 may be provided with a propulsion device (not shown) for movement and position control.

A plurality of legs 20 may be provided depending on the purpose of use of the floating structure 1. In the embodiment of the present invention, a total of four legs 20 are provided, one pair at each of the port and starboard sides of the main body 10 I will explain what is provided as an example.

The leg 20 is installed to penetrate the main body 10 in the vertical direction and a leg well 35 through which the leg 20 passes is formed in the main body 10. The legs 20 can be moved downward of the main body 10 and fixed to the seabed so that they are rigid enough to withstand the load of the main body 10 in the jack-up state of FIG. 2, , A triangular truss structure, or the like. In the present embodiment, the legs 20 are formed in a triangular truss structure.

The leg support portion 30 is provided at a position corresponding to the leg well 35 so that the leg 20 can pass therethrough and the leg support portion 30 is provided at a position corresponding to the leg well 35, . Specifically, the leg support portion 30 is provided with a driving device such as a motor, and the leg portion 20 is moved up and down with respect to the main body 10 by the operation of the driving device, In the vertical direction. A pinion gear and a motor are provided on the leg supporting portion 30 and a rack gear 26 is formed on the leg 20 so that the leg 20 and the main body 10 Relative motion can be achieved.

The vertical movement of the leg 20 and the main body 10 in the present embodiment means that the leg 20 moves in the vertical direction with respect to the main body 10 and that the main body 10 moves in the vertical direction relative to the leg 20 It will be understood that the present invention includes both moving in the up and down direction.

On the other hand, the main body 10 may be provided with a crane 40 capable of installing the offshore wind power generator by transporting the loads 2 such as blades, nacelles, and towers.

The floating structure 1 having the above configuration can be operated in a transit mode and a jackup mode.

The floating structure (1) moves to the navigation mode to the position where the offshore wind turbine is to be installed. In the general navigation mode, the floating structure 1 can move in a state in which the legs 20 are moved upward in order to reduce the resistance by the legs 20.

The floating structure 1 can be moved to the target position and then accurately positioned for lowering the leg 20 using dynamic positioning. The automatic position control can be continued until the leg 20 descends and touches the seabed.

Thereafter, the floating structure 1 is switched to the jack-up mode to insert the legs 20 into the seabed B. Fig. In this process, the legs 20 can be moved downwardly of the main body 10 by the gravity and the driving device of the leg support 30.

When the lower end of the leg 20 touches the seabed B, the leg 20 can no longer move downward. In this state, the floating structure 1 actuates the driving device of the leg support 30 to move the main body 10 upward along the legs 20. The load of the main body 10 acts to force the leg 20 into the seabed B so that the leg 20 penetrates into the seabed B and is fixed.

The main body 10 may be spaced apart from the sea surface S by moving the main body 10 upward along the legs 20 so that the main body 10 is separated from the sea surface S, The state that is different from the set work position can be referred to as a jack-up state.

The floating structure 1 is installed in the jack-up state by using the crane 40, and when the installation work is completed, the operation can be started again in the reverse order of the above procedure.

The method of switching the floating structure 1 to the jack-up state is merely an example, and various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the leg 20 of the floating structure 1 of the present invention in a jack-up state has a shape extending from the main body 10 floating on the sea surface to the seabed. At this time, various kinds of fatigue loads are applied to the legs 20 due to winds, algae, waves, etc. In particular, the load due to the waves is greatest near the sea surface.

The leg protectors 100 can move up and down along the legs 20 to protect portions where the legs 20 meet the sea surface when the floating structure 1 is in the jack-up state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a leg protector installed in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the leg is inserted into the leg protector, and FIG. 5 is an operational view illustrating a state in which the leg protector of FIG. to be.

3 and 4, the leg protector 100 of the floating structure 1 includes a cover 102 having a hollow formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the leg 20, And a guide portion provided on the cover 102 so that the cover 102 can be moved in the vertical direction along the legs 20.

The shape of the cover 102 may be determined according to the shape of the legs 20. [ Although the present invention has been described with reference to the case where the cover 102 is also formed in the form of a triangular prism since the leg 20 is provided in a triangular truss structure, the present invention is not limited thereto, ), And can have any three-dimensional structure that can be protected.

Specifically, when the legs 20 are formed in a triangular truss structure, three cords 22 serving as pillars are arranged so as to form the vertices of a triangle, and the cords 22 are arranged by a bracket 24, As shown in Fig. The legs 20 may also include a rack gear 26 projecting from the cord 22 and extending along the length of the cord 22.

The guide portion may be a pinion gear 112 disposed to engage the legs and may be configured to be in contact with any of a plurality of positions of the legs 20 to project vertically from the inside of the cover 102 And the like. The pinion gear 112 protruding from the inner surface of the cover 102 is provided as a guide portion corresponding to the three cords 22 as an example.

The pinion gear 112 can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions by the driving means, for example, the electric motor 160 can be used as the driving means. The bevel gear is provided between the electric motor 160 and the pinion gear 112 as an example in which the driving force of the electric motor 160 is transmitted to the pinion gear 112. [

Specifically, when the leg 20 of the triangular truss structure is inserted into the cover 102 of the triangular prismatic leg protector 100 as shown in Fig. 4, the pinion gear 112 is engaged with the rack gear (not shown) of the cord 22 26). As the electric motor 160 is operated in this state, the leg protectors 100 can move along the legs 20.

By operating the electric motor 160 in a state where the pinion gear 112 is engaged with the rack gear 26 of the cord 22, the leg protectors 100 can move stably in the up and down directions along the legs 20 themselves .

For example, when the electric motor 160 is driven to rotate in one direction, the driving force causes the pinion gear 112 to rotate via the bevel gear, and the rotation of the pinion gear 112 causes the leg protector 100 to rotate, When the electric motor 160 is rotated to rotate in the opposite direction, the electric motor 160 is moved along the leg 20. In contrast,

When the operation of the electric motor 160 is stopped, the leg protector 100 moves the leg protector 100 (which is moved along the leg 20) since the rack gear 26 and the pinion gear 112 of the cord 22 are engaged with each other. ) Stops its movement. In order to fix the position of the leg protector 100 stopped in this way, the leg protector 100 may further include a fixing device.

The fastening device may include a stopper 120 selectively protruding to be inserted between teeth of the rack gear 26 and a solenoid 140 operating to move the stopper 120 back and forth. When the stopper 120 protrudes and is inserted between the tooth rows of the rack gear 26, the legprotein 10 can be stopped and fixed while moving along the legs 20.

On the other hand, the cover 102 may be provided with a ballast tank 114 for adjusting the depth at which the cover 102 is immersed in water, and a pump (not shown) for regulating the amount of water contained in the ballast tank 114 . The ballast tank 114 can be installed inside the cover 102 and is provided at the lower end of the cover 102. A pump (not shown) may be provided at one side of the cover 102 to adjust the amount of water stored in the ballast tank 114, and a predetermined pipe (not shown) may be installed in the cover 102. The depth of the cover 102 can be adjusted by adjusting the buoyancy acting on the cover 102 by the ballast tank 114 so that the position of the leg protector 100 can be appropriately adjusted according to the nature of the bird and the waves .

2, 4 and 5, a leg protector according to an embodiment of the present invention is accommodated in a main body 10 of a floating structure 1 in a navigation mode, And is moved to a position for protecting the legs 20.

Specifically, in the navigation mode, the leg protector 100 closes the sliding door 180, as shown by the dotted line in Fig. 5, with the leg 20 moved upward of the main body 10 fitted, As shown in Fig.

Then, in the jack-up mode, when the main body 10 is separated from the sea surface S and reaches a predetermined working position, the leg protector 100 of FIG. 3 is moved to a position where it meets the sea surface. That is, when the leg 20 is moved downward in the jack-up mode and the leg 20 is moved into the seabed B, the sliding door 180 is opened and the leg protectors 100 are driven by the electric motor 160, The leg protector 100 is moved along the leg 20 to the position shown by the solid line and the amount of water stored in the ballast tank 114 is adjusted so that the leg protector 100 can be immersed in the water at a certain depth.

On the other hand, the portion of the leg 20 that meets the sea level may change. In this case, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the leg protector 100 can be moved up and down according to the change of the portion of the leg 10 that is in contact with the sea surface by rotating the electric motor 160 in the forward and reverse directions while retracting the stopper 120 .

Thereby, the leg 20 of the sea level surface where the load due to the waves act strongly can be protected.

After the desired operation of the floating structure 10 is completed, the leg protectors 100 can be moved upwards and received in the body 10 of the floating structure 1.

On the other hand, various types of vortex induced vibration may occur in the leg 20 of the sea level surface due to waves.

In order to effectively reduce the occurrence of such vortex induced vibration, the leg protector of the floating structure of the present invention may include a bulb on the outer surface of the cover 102 of the leg protector 100.

Figs. 6 to 8 show various examples of the bulb formed on the outer surface of the cover of the leg protector.

The bulb may be formed of a streamlined shaped bulb 220 or a wedge shaped bulb 240, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, such that the pair is designed to be slanted and asymmetrically opposed to one another, , It is possible to suppress eddy discharge around the cover 102. Also, the distance between each bulb 220 (240) can be set at a sufficiently large interval that flow interference does not occur.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the spiral protrusion bulb 260 and the wedge-shaped bulb 240 may be formed in combination, or may be combined as bulbs of various other shapes.

The leg protector of the floating structure according to the present invention configured as described above moves in a state in which the leg protector 100 is accommodated in the main body 10 of the floating structure 1 in the navigation mode, By locating the leg protectors 100 in the legs 20, damage to the legs 20 is effectively prevented.

In addition, the bulge formed on the outer surface of the body of the leg protector 100 can effectively suppress the swirling-induced vibration VIV.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. For example, a person skilled in the art can change the material, size and the like of each constituent element depending on the application field or can combine or substitute the embodiments in a form not explicitly disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and that such modified embodiments are included in the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention.

1: Floating structure 2: Loaded material
10: main body 20: leg
22: Code 26: Racks
30: leg support 35: leg well
40: Cranes 100: Leg protectors
112: Pinion gear 120: Stopper
140: Solenoid 160: Electric motor
220: streamlined shape bulb 240: wedge shaped bulb
260: spiral protrusion bulb

Claims (7)

A cover having a hollow into which a leg of a floating structure operated in a jack-up mode can be inserted, the cover moving up and down along the leg while the leg is inserted into the hollow; And driving means provided on the cover, for providing a driving force for moving the cover in the vertical direction along the leg,
A plurality of pinion gears protruding from the inner side surface of the cover to engage with the rack gear provided on the legs and to engage with the legs; A stopper selectively protruded to be inserted between teeth of the rack gear, and a fixing device having a solenoid for operating the stopper,
Wherein the cover comprises a ballast tank for adjusting the depth of immersion in water and a pump for regulating the amount of water contained in the ballast tank.
delete delete The method according to claim 1,
And the driving means is a motor for rotating the pinion gear.
delete The method according to claim 1,
And a bulb formed on an outer surface of the cover. delete

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