KR101422235B1

KR101422235B1 - Leg protection housing apparatus of floating structure

Info

Publication number: KR101422235B1
Application number: KR1020120074078A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 박주신; 구정본; 김국진; 조태민
Original assignee: 삼성중공업 주식회사
Priority date: 2012-07-06
Filing date: 2012-07-06
Publication date: 2014-07-24
Also published as: KR20140006630A

Abstract

A leg protector housing of a floating structure is disclosed. A leg protector housing of a floating structure having a navigation mode and a jack-up mode of the present invention includes a leg protector having a cover into which the leg is inserted and which can be moved along the leg, As shown in Fig.

Description

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

The present invention relates to a leg protector housing 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 the environmental conditions are satisfied, there is a problem that a very large area of space is required for installing the 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)

The leg protector for preventing damage to the leg is stored in the main body of the floating structure, and the leg protector can be selectively installed by moving the leg protector to a portion where the damage is likely to occur. .

According to one aspect of the present invention, a leg protector housing of a floating structure having a navigation mode and a jack up mode includes a leg protector having a cover into which the leg is inserted and movable along the leg, And a receiving portion provided on the floating structure for allowing the receiving portion to be provided.

The receiving portion may include a sliding door installed to open and close the receiving portion, and driving means for moving the sliding door.

The receiving portion may include a winch connected to the leg protector.

The cover may be provided with a guide portion so that the cover can be moved up and down along the leg.

The guide portion may be provided with a roller protruding from an inner surface of the cover so as to correspond to the cords of the legs.

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

The leg protector may include a bulb formed on an outer surface of the cover.

The leg protector can be stored in the accommodating portion and moved to a position where the leg protector is positioned at the risk of damaging the leg in the jack-up state, thereby preventing the cause of damage to the leg in advance .

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,
FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the leg protector shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3B is a sectional view showing a state where the leg is inserted into the leg protector,
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a leg protector housing according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the operation of the sliding door in Fig. 3, Fig. 5a showing a state in which the sliding door is closed, Fig. 5b showing in an opened state,
FIG. 6 is an operation diagram showing a state where the leg protectors of FIG. 3 are moved to a position where they meet with the sea surface,
7 is a schematic view showing an example of a bulb formed on the outer surface of the cover of the leg protector,
Fig. 8 is a schematic view showing another example of the bulb of Fig. 7,
Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the bulb of Fig. 7; 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. For example, a pinion gear and a motor are provided on the leg support portion 30, and a rack gear is formed on the leg 20, so that the leg 20 and the main body 10 Exercise 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 protects the legs 20 by moving a leg protector 100 to be described later in a jack-up state, and installs an offshore wind power generator using the crane 40. Once the installation is complete, you can proceed in the reverse order to initiate the flight again.

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. 3A is a perspective view of a leg protector installed in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the leg is inserted into the leg protector.

3A and 3B, 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 so that the cover 102 can be moved up and down 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, Lt; / RTI > 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 roller 112 and may be provided in a form projecting vertically from the inside of the cover 102 so that the cover 102 can be held in contact with any of a plurality of positions of the legs 20. In this embodiment, as the guide portion, for example, the rollers 112 arranged to correspond to the three cords 22 and protruded from the inner surface of the cover 102 are provided.

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. 3B, the roller 112 is inserted into the rack gear (not shown) 26 in parallel with the outer surface of the cord 22. In this state, the leg protector 100 can descend along the leg 20 by its own weight.

By arranging the rollers 112 in this way, the leg protectors 100 can move stably along the legs 20 in the vertical direction.

Further, the roller 112 may not largely fluctuate.

In the meantime, although the roller 112 is provided as a guide portion in this embodiment, the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a non-driven pinion gear is provided as a guide portion, and the pinion gear is rotated along the rack gear 26 so that the cover 102 can be moved up and down along the legs 20. [

The cover 102 may also 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 .

5 is a schematic plan view showing the operation of the sliding door of FIG. 3. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the sliding door is closed, FIG. 5B shows a state in which the sliding door is closed, FIG. 6 is an operation diagram showing a state in which the leg protectors of FIG. 3 are moved to a position where they meet with the sea surface.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, the leg protector housing according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 120 for housing the leg protectors 100 in a sailing mode. The leg protector 100 is accommodated and accommodated in the receiving portion 120 when the floating structure 1 is in the navigation mode and is positioned at a position where the leg protector 100 is retracted from the receiving portion 120 in the jack- .

A sliding door 140 is provided under the receiving part 120 and the receiving part 120 can be opened and closed according to the operation of the sliding door 140.

The sliding door 140 may be opened by the driving means 160 as shown in FIG. 5B in a closed state as shown in FIG. 5A. For example, an electric motor or a hydraulic cylinder may be used as the driving means 160 Can be used. In this embodiment, the hydraulic cylinder is provided as the driving means 160 as an example.

The receptacle 120 may be formed on the lower side of the leg well 35 and the receptacle 120 may be provided with a winch 180 connected to the leg protector 100 by a wire. The winch 180 can move the leg protectors 100 in the vertical direction by winding or unwinding the wires.

Alternatively, although not specifically shown and described, the leg promotion 100 may be driven by itself.

In the navigation mode, the leg protectors 100 are stored in the accommodating portion 120 in which the sliding doors 140 are closed. When the legs 20 are moved downward in the jack-up mode and are put on the seabed B , The sliding door 140 may be opened and then the winch 180 may be released to move downward along the legs 20.

Specifically, in the navigation mode, the leg protector 100 is moved in a state where the sliding door 140 is stored in the accommodating portion 120 in which the sliding door 140 is inserted in a state where the leg 20 moved upward of the main body 10 is fitted.

Next, 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 legs 20 are moved downwardly in the jack-up mode, the driving means of the electric motor or the hydraulic cylinder 160 is operated so that the sliding door 140 is opened to open the receiving portion 120 Open. After the sliding door 140 is opened, the winch 180 is operated or the leg protector 100 is driven by itself to move the leg protector 100 along the leg 20, The amount of water stored in the ballast tank 114 is adjusted.

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 1 is completed, the leg protector 100 is moved upward to be accommodated in the accommodating portion 120, and the accommodating portion 120 can be closed by the sliding door 140 .

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

To effectively reduce this phenomenon, the leg protector housing 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. 7 to 9 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 wedge shaped bulb 240 as shown in Figures 7 and 8 and is designed to be arranged asymmetrically with the pair facing each other, , It is possible to suppress vortex generation 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. 9, the spiral-shaped bulb 260 and the wedge-shaped bulb 240 may be formed in combination, or may be combined as bulbs of various other shapes.

In the leg protector storage device of the floating structure of the present invention constructed as described above, in the navigation mode, the leg protectors 100 are moved in a state accommodated in the accommodating portion 120 in the floating structure 1, By positioning the leg protectors 100 in the legs 20 where they meet, the damage to the legs 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
30: leg support 35: leg well
40: crane 50: sprung can
100: Leg protector 120:
140: sliding door 160: driving means
180: winch 220: streamlined shape bulb
240: Wedge-shaped bulb 260: Spiral-shaped bulb

Claims

A leg protector housing of a floating structure having a navigation mode and a jack up mode,
A leg protector including a cover into which the leg is inserted, the leg protector being movable along the leg;
And a receiving portion recessed inwardly of the floating structure along the periphery of the leg well of the floating structure so as to receive the leg protector inside the floating structure,
Wherein the accommodating portion includes a sliding door installed to open and close the accommodating portion,
And driving means for moving the sliding door,
Wherein the sliding door is closed in the navigation mode so that the leg protector can be moved in a state of being stored inside the floating structure and the leg is moved downward in the jack- Of the leg protector.

delete

The method according to claim 1,
And a winch connected to the leg protector is installed in the accommodating portion of the leg protector.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the cover is provided with a guide portion so that the cover can be moved up and down along the leg.

5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the guide portion is provided so as to correspond to the cords of the legs and is provided with a roller protruding from an inner side surface of the cover.

The method according to claim 1,
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.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the leg protector includes a bulb formed on an outer surface of the cover.