KR20160103566A - Floating structure having spudcan - Google Patents

Abstract

According to one aspect of the present invention, a floating structure having a spud can comprises: a main body floating on water; a leg coupled to be vertically ascended and descended to the main body; a spud can disposed in a lower portion of the leg and having a plurality of nozzles; a piping unit supplying seawater to the nozzles; and a valve unit installed on the piping unit to control an amount of seawater supplied to the nozzles.

Description

[0001] Floating structure having spudcan [0002]

The present invention relates to a floating structure having a spud can with legs that can be jacketed in a hull such as a floating structure, a jack-up platform, a jack-up barge, and the like.

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 jack-up mode due to the nature 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 on the seabed, and the main body is lifted up along the leg so that the main body is separated from the sea surface 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.

These floating structures must be removed from the area when the work is completed or an emergency situation such as a storm is encountered. In this case, the body should descend along the legs to a level that can float back to sea level, and the legs must be lifted. However, if the spud-can, which is the lower end of the leg, is firmly fixed to the seabed, the leg can not be lifted. If a plurality of legs are provided, if only one of the legs can not be lifted, a large accident may occur, in which the body loses balance and collapses. Even if the main body does not lose balance, the main body may fall down due to a storm or the like.

Accordingly, a plurality of nozzles are formed in the direction toward the bottom so that the spud can is jetted with seawater so as to more easily detach the spud can from the seabed. At this time, the plurality of nozzles are supplied with seawater through one pipeline and are discharged.

However, some nozzles may be clogged by mud etc. on the seabed and the seawater can not be blown out under normal pressure. When the clogging phenomenon of some nozzles occurs, there is a possibility that the sprue can can not be separated from the bottom surface normally, and improvement is demanded.

United States Patent No. 8011857 (September 6, 2011)

Embodiments of the present invention provide a floating structure having a spud can with an improved structure to adjust the valve for seawater supply even if the nozzle is clogged and to pierce the nozzle by adding additional pressure to the clogged nozzle.

A floating structure having a spud can according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a body capable of floating in water; A leg vertically coupled to the main body so as to be able to move up and down; A spud can disposed at a lower portion of the leg and including a plurality of nozzles; A piping unit for supplying seawater to the plurality of nozzles; And a valve unit installed on the piping unit to adjust the amount of seawater supplied to the plurality of nozzles.

According to the present embodiment, the control unit may further include a control unit for controlling opening and closing of the valve unit according to whether or not the nozzles are closed. In order to additionally apply a water pressure to the clogged nozzle among the nozzles, Only the valve unit can be opened and the rest can be closed.

The valve unit may be installed separately for each of the plurality of nozzles.

The valve unit may be provided for each group by grouping the plurality of nozzles into zones.

Wherein the piping unit comprises: a first pipeline through which the seawater flows; A second pipe connected to the first pipe and transferring the introduced seawater to the plurality of nozzles; And a third pipe connected to the second pipe to supply seawater to each of the plurality of nozzles.

The valve unit may be installed in the third pipe.

According to the present embodiment as described above, it is possible to provide a controllable valve in a pipe for supplying seawater to the nozzle, without the necessity of providing a separate structure for piercing the clogged nozzle, and when a clogged nozzle is detected, The valve for supplying seawater is closed and only the valve for supplying seawater to the clogged nozzle portion is opened so that the water pressure can be raised to the clogged nozzle portion to pierce the nozzle.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce the inconvenience that a person approaches the clogged nozzle and clean the nozzle with a shovel, and if it is confirmed that the clogged nozzle is opened, the whole valve can be normally opened again and the seawater can be sprayed through the nozzles.

Also, if the valve is closed during the jack up operation, the amount of the initial mud can be limited to the pipe, and only the limited mode can be removed, so that the mud trapped in the nozzle can be removed only by the jetting press force.

Further, since it is possible to remotely adjust the valve, it is possible to take measures against the clogged nozzle efficiently without the need for the operator to directly approach it.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of a floating structure having a spud can according to this embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing part A of FIG. 1, and FIG.
3 and 4 are views schematically illustrating a nozzle cleaning process of a floating structure having a spud can according to the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In addition, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. For convenience of explanation, the size and shape of each constituent member shown may be exaggerated or reduced have.

On the other hand, terms including an ordinal number such as a first or a second may be used to describe various elements, but the constituent elements are not limited by the terms, and the terms may refer to a constituent element from another constituent element It is used only for the purpose of discrimination.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of a floating structure having a spud can according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a portion A of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a nozzle cleaning process of a floating structure having a spud can according to an example.

1, 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 penetrating the main body 10 in the up and down direction, a leg 20, And a leg support 30 such as a jacking unit that relatively moves the main body 10 in the up and down direction and supports the leg 20 through the leg wells.

According to the design of the floating structure 1, the body 10, the leg wells, the leg supports 30, the crane 40 and the propulsion device (not shown) can be manufactured to have various types or structures, But the present invention is not limited to the contents shown in Fig.

For example, when the floating structure 1 is a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) or a jack-up platform as an example, the main body 10 may include a wind power generator installation ship hull The concept of the present invention with respect to the floating structure 1 may not be limited to a specific ship structure and the floating structure 1 having a jack-up mode described below may all be included in the scope of the present invention. have.

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.

Depending on the function of the floating structure 1, the main body 10 can be further loaded with a load (not shown) such as a blade, a nacelle and a tower, which are components of an offshore wind power generator. Further, when the floating structure 1 is a jack-up platform, the load (not shown) may be a riser pipe.

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 a vertical direction and a leg well (not shown) through which the leg 20 passes may be 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. 1, , A triangular truss structure, or the like. 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.

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

The floating structure (1) moves the sea level (S) in 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 B. [

Thereafter, the floating structure 1 is switched to the jack-up mode to set the legs 20 on 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.

A spud can 100 is provided at the lower end of the leg 20 so that the spud can 100 of the leg 20 can be fixedly attached to the seabed B when the leg 20 is lowered.

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. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the method of switching the floating structure 1 to the jack-up state or the floating state is merely an example, and various changes can be made within the scope of the idea of the present invention.

The spud can body 100 is disposed at the lower portion of the leg 20 and includes a spud can body 110, a seawater storage unit 120, a seawater inlet 121, a nozzle 122 And a valve unit 123. The piping unit 200 may be installed in the spud can body 110. [

The spur can body 110 may be provided in a substantially disc shape, and a plurality of nozzles 122 may be disposed at regular intervals in the seawater storage unit 120 provided therein. The seawater flowing into the seawater storage unit 120 is supplied through the seawater inlet 121. At this time, the supplied seawater can be introduced through a separate non-illustrated pump. The pump is provided on the side of the main body 10 and can supply the surrounding sea water.

A plurality of nozzles 122 may be provided in various shapes. Which can be variously configured according to the environment to which the sprue can 100 is applied. In addition, the nozzle 122 may be formed to face the bottom surface B of the seabed so that the pressure of the seawater injected through the nozzle 122 makes the spud can 100 according to the present embodiment more easily reach the bottom of the seabed So that it can be separated from the surface (B).

The valve unit 123 may be installed in the piping unit 200 for supplying seawater to the nozzle 122. The valve unit 123 may be installed individually for each of the plurality of nozzles 122, and may be provided for each group by grouping the plurality of nozzles 122 by zones. 3 and 4, the valve unit 123 is provided on the third pipe 230 constituting the piping unit 200 to be described later, and is provided separately with the nozzle 122, It is possible to decide whether or not to supply seawater to each of them.

According to the present embodiment, the valve unit 123 is controlled to open or close depending on whether or not the nozzle 122 is closed, and the valve unit 123 corresponding to the normal nozzle 122 in conjunction with the control signal of the control unit And only the valve unit 123 corresponding to the clogged nozzle 122 is opened so that additional water pressure can be applied to the clogged nozzle 122 side. This will be described later.

The piping unit 200 includes a first pipe 210 for supplying seawater, a second pipe 220 connected to the first pipe 210 for transferring seawater introduced into the plurality of nozzles 122, And a third pipe 230 connected to the pipe 220 for supplying seawater to the nozzle 122. At this time, the valve unit 123 may be installed in the third pipe 230.

A control unit (not shown) for controlling opening and closing of the valve unit 123 may be installed on the main body 10 side.

Meanwhile, a musk box 125 may be provided near the center of the spud can body 110, and the mud of the peripheral portion may be sucked through the mud box 125.

Hereinafter, the operation of the spped can 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

When the spud can 100 is to be separated from the bottom floor B of the seabed, the seawater is sprayed through the nozzle 122 using a predetermined pump so that the spud can 100 can be easily removed from the bottom floor B So that they can leave. However, the nozzle of the sprue can 100 may be clogged with a mud or the like for a long period of time. In this case, seawater may not be sprayed through the clogged nozzle 122.

When the clogged nozzle 122 is sensed and the seawater injection is sensed only in some of the nozzles 122, the control unit determines that the valve unit 123 corresponding to the clogged nozzle 122 is normally opened The valve unit 123 corresponding to the operating nozzle 122 can be closed. Since the flow rate of the seawater flowing through the first pipe 210 is kept constant, the pressure of the seawater branched through the second pipe 220 is kept the same. However, the pressure of the seawater branched to each of the nozzles 122 through the third pipe 230 is concentrated toward the openings of the nozzles 122 of the valve unit 123, The pressure is increased relative to the pressure of the seawater added on average. Thus, as the pressure of seawater on the clogged nozzles 122 increases, the clogged nozzles 122 can be more easily pierced.

According to the present embodiment as described above, the valve unit 123 is provided in the piping for supplying the seawater to the nozzle 122 without inconvenience of providing a separate structure for piercing the clogged nozzle 122, When the clogged nozzle 122 is detected, the valve unit 123 for supplying seawater to the normal nozzle 122 is closed and only the valve unit 123 for supplying seawater to the clogged nozzle 122 is opened, The water pressure can be raised to the nozzle 122 and the nozzle 122 can be pierced.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce the inconvenience that the person approaches the nozzle 122 directly clogged and clean the nozzle 122 with a spade or the like. When it is confirmed that the clogged nozzle 122 is opened, So that the seawater can be sprayed through the nozzles 122.

In addition, when the valve unit 123 is closed during the jack-up operation, the amount of the initial mud entering the pipe can be limited, and only the limited mode can be removed. Therefore, You can remove the mud.

Further, since it is possible to remotely adjust the valve, it is possible to take measures against the clogged nozzle efficiently without the need for the operator to directly approach it.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The present invention can be variously modified and changed by those skilled in the art, and it is also within the scope of the present invention.

B; Bottom floor S; Sea level
10; A body 20; Leg
30; The leg support 40 cranes
100; Spurd can 110; Spur can body
120; A seawater storage 121; Seawater inflow section
122; Nozzle 123; Valve unit
200; A piping unit 210; The first piping
220; A second pipe 230; Third piping

Claims (6)

A body that can float in water;
A leg vertically coupled to the main body so as to be able to move up and down;
A spud can disposed at a lower portion of the leg and including a plurality of nozzles;
A piping unit for supplying seawater to the plurality of nozzles; And
And a valve unit installed on the piping unit to adjust the amount of seawater supplied to the plurality of nozzles. The method according to claim 1,
And a control unit for controlling opening and closing of the valve unit according to whether or not the nozzles are closed,
Wherein the control unit opens only the valve unit corresponding to the clogged nozzle and closes the rest to additionally apply a water pressure to the clogged nozzle among the nozzles. The valve unit according to claim 1,
And each of the plurality of nozzles is provided separately. The valve unit according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of nozzles are grouped by zones and installed one by one for each group. The apparatus according to claim 1,
A first pipe through which the seawater flows;
A second pipe connected to the first pipe and transferring the introduced seawater to the plurality of nozzles; And
And a third pipe connected to the second pipe to supply seawater to each of the plurality of nozzles. 6. The method of claim 5,
And the valve unit is installed in the third pipe.

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