KR20230030751A - Wind Turbine Installation Vessel with leg that can be safely supported on soft ground - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention can prevent a spud can from descending to the ground too deep while preventing difficulty of changing dimensions of an entire vessel to expand the spud can area. A wind turbine installation vessel having a leg that can be safely supported on the soft ground of the present invention may comprise: a hull floating on the sea; a leg unit provided with pairs of legs provided to be able to ascend and descend on one side of the hull; and a mat part provided across a gap between the pair of legs and coming into contact with the ground when the leg unit is installed on the ground.

Description

Wind turbine installation vessel with leg that can be safely supported on soft ground {Wind Turbine Installation Vessel with leg that can be safely supported on soft ground}

The present invention relates to a wind turbine installation vessel having legs that can be safely supported on soft ground.

Offshore wind power generators are installed in such a way that parts are divided into several units, manufactured on land, and then the manufactured units are transported to the sea and assembled. When the unit of the offshore wind turbine manufactured on land is moved to the sea, it is installed on the sea by a ship that installs the offshore wind generator on the sea. Here, a vessel for installing an offshore wind turbine is generally referred to as a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV).

Due to the nature of the work, the wind turbine installation vessel may be operated in a transit mode and a jackup mode. For example, a wind power generator installation ship is moved to a location where an offshore wind power generator is to be installed in a sailing mode. In addition, the legs of the wind turbine installation vessel may maintain a state of being moved upward of the hull in order to reduce resistance due to seawater in the sailing mode.

After the wind turbine installation vessel is moved to the installation location, the wind turbine installation vessel may be switched to a jack-up mode and the legs may be lowered to be embedded in the seabed. At this time, a spud-can may be provided at the lower end of the leg to facilitate penetration into the seabed and increase gripping power. The leg is fixed to the seabed by penetrating the spud can to a certain depth into the seabed.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2020-0140123 (December 15, 2020)

On the other hand, due to the recent rapid growth of the offshore wind power generator market, the shortage of dedicated vessels responsible for the installation of large-capacity offshore wind power generators has become an issue. In addition, a large-scale wind farm construction project is being implemented in Korea, centering on the southwest coast. The characteristics of the southwestern sea area are composed of soft ground, and the spudcan penetrates 15m to 30m or more into the seabed. In order to reduce the penetration length, the spudcan contact area must be widened, but in the current arrangement, if the spudcan area per piece is changed, the size of the entire ship must be changed. If the bearing capacity of the ground is weak, the spud can continues to descend to the ground where a stable bearing capacity can be obtained.

Therefore, in order to avoid the difficulty of changing the dimensions of the entire ship to expand the spud can area, and to prevent the spud can from descending to too deep ground, it is necessary to develop a wind turbine installation ship equipped with legs that can be safely supported on soft ground. .

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a wind turbine installation vessel having legs that can be safely supported in soft ground, which can not descend to deep ground unless the size or cross-sectional area of individual spud cans is expanded.

The tasks of the present invention are not limited to the tasks mentioned above, and other tasks not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

One aspect of a wind power generator installation vessel having legs that can be safely supported on soft ground of the present invention for achieving the above object is a hull floating on the sea, and one or more legs provided to be able to go up and down from the hull. It may include a pair of leg units and a mat portion provided across between the pairs of legs and contacting the ground when the leg unit is installed on the ground.

The present invention further includes a driving unit for raising and lowering the mat unit, the mat unit is provided to be able to move up and down along the legs in the leg unit by the driving unit, and the leg unit is provided with the mat unit. A guide member for guiding the mat portion may be included in the leg.

The driving unit may include a mooring member connected to the mat and a winch drum for moving the mat by winding or unwinding the mooring member, and the guide member may include a guide rail on which the mat slides.

The mooring member may include any one of a chain and a rope, and the winch drum may be provided at least at both ends of the mat.

A spud can is provided at the lower part of the leg, and the mat part may be lowered adjacent to the spud can or stored in the hull.

Details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

In the wind power generator installation vessel having legs that can be safely supported on soft ground according to the present invention, the mat portion provided between the pair of legs can expand the area in contact with the ground, thereby increasing the grounding area, thereby reducing the overturning moment due to the external environmental load. stability can be increased. In addition, it can have the effect of compacting the ground with the self-load of the mat, so that the soft ground can be hardened, so that the size of the spud can and hull does not expand, and the leg does not enter deeply into the soft ground unnecessarily, and the leg is stable. support may be available.

1 is a view showing a state in which a mat part is in contact with the ground in a wind turbine installation ship having legs that can be safely supported on soft ground according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a view showing a state in which the mat portion of Figure 1 is stored in the hull.
Figure 3 is a view conceptually showing a lower view of a wind turbine installation vessel having legs that can be safely supported on soft ground according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them, will become clear with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms, only the present embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and the common knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs It is provided to fully inform the holder of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numbers designate like elements throughout the specification.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components regardless of reference numerals are given the same reference numerals, Description is omitted.

1 is a view showing a state in which the mat part is in contact with the ground in a wind power generator installation ship having legs that can be safely supported on soft ground according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing the mat part of FIG. 1 stored in the hull. 3 is a view conceptually showing a bottom view of a wind turbine installation vessel having legs that can be safely supported on soft ground according to some embodiments of the present invention.

1 to 3, a wind turbine installation vessel 100 having legs that can be safely supported on soft ground according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hull 110, a leg unit 120, and a mat unit 140 ) and a driving unit 150.

The hull 110 can be moved while floating on the sea, can be operated in a transit mode and a jackup mode, and includes a leg unit 120, a jackup house 130, and a crane (not shown). A deck (not shown) on which a deck (not shown) may be provided.

For example, in the sailing mode of the wind turbine installation ship 100, the hull 110 is moved to a position where an offshore wind turbine (not shown) is to be installed. At this time, the leg unit 120 installed on the hull 110 may maintain a state of being moved upward of the hull 110 to reduce resistance due to seawater.

After the hull 110 is moved to the set position, the wind turbine installation vessel 100 may be switched to a jack-up mode. The leg unit 120 in the jack-up mode is lowered to the bottom of the hull 110 to form a form embedded in the seabed to fix the hull 110 to the sea.

In addition, in the hull 110 of this embodiment, a mat unit 140 is provided so that the leg unit 120 can be stably fixed even on soft ground. It may be exposed, but in sailing mode, the mat portion 140 may be provided inside the hull 110 so that it is not exposed from the bottom of the hull 110 similarly to the leg unit 120. To this end, an accommodation space 111 may be formed in the lower portion of the hull 110 . In addition, the driving unit 150 may be installed in the accommodation space 111 or adjacent to the accommodation space 111 inside the hull 110 .

Although not shown in the drawing, the crane provided on the hull 110 may be provided for installation and disassembly of various structures (which may be structures of offshore wind power generators) in jack-up mode.

And on the hull 110, a jack-up house 130 may also be provided. The jack-up house 130 may be provided on the upper surface of the hull 110 for the lifting operation of the leg unit 120. For example, the jack-up house 130 may be provided to wrap around the circumference of the leg 121, and is coupled with a gear (which may be a rack gear, not shown) of the leg 121 to lift the leg 121. can lower Such a hull 110 may be raised from the sea level according to the elevating operation of the leg unit 120 .

The leg unit 120 is a configuration for fixing the hull 110 to the sea, and may include one or more pairs of legs 121 provided to be able to ascend and descend from the hull 110 by the jack-up house 130 , It may include a guide member 123.

For example, due to the occurrence of waves, etc., the ocean is not in a stable state unlike the land on the ground. Since it is difficult to assemble the marine power plant in a state where the hull 110 is shaking, the leg unit 120 may be provided to solve this problem. That is, the leg unit 120 may fix the hull 110 to the ground so that the hull 110 does not shake due to the movement of the ocean current.

Specifically, the legs 121 may be provided in pairs at each of the stern and the bow of the hull 110, and two pairs may be provided as shown in FIG. 3, but are not limited thereto, and various Variations are possible.

In addition, the leg 121 may be applied to various types of well-known legs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it may be formed of a truss structure made of a material (metal material, etc.) having rigidity. The truss structure may have a triangular cross section. Unlike this, the leg 121 may have a cylindrical structure having a circular cross section, as shown in FIG. 3 , and various modifications are possible if they do not conflict with the present embodiment.

In addition, a spud-can 122 (Spud-can) may be provided at the lower end of the leg 121. The spud can 122, as a configuration for facilitating penetration into the seabed and increasing gripping force, may form a form in which a cross-sectional area is expanded compared to the truss structure of the leg 121. The leg 121 can be fixed to the seabed by the spud can 122 in a state of penetrating to a certain depth in the ground.

Between the pair of legs 121, as will be described later, a mat portion 140 may be provided to prevent the legs 121 from entering deeply unnecessarily in soft ground.

The guide member 123 is configured to prevent separation while guiding the mat part 140 so that the mat part 140 is not shaken by the current, and is attached to the side of the leg 121 along the movement path of the mat part 140. can be provided.

For example, the guide member 123 may include a guide rail 123A on which the mat unit 140 slides. The guide rail 123A may have a groove structure formed from the top to the bottom so that the mat 140 can be moved along the longitudinal direction of the leg 121 in a state where both sides of the mat 140 are accommodated. .

And, although the position of the guide rail 123A is not limited, the guide rail 123A and the leg ( The gears of 121) may be provided side by side or spaced apart from each other.

However, since the guide rails 123A are configured to prevent both sides of the mat part 140 from being shaken by ocean currents away from the legs 121, they may be provided at opposite ends of the mat part 140.

Here, the gear of the leg 121 is not shown in the drawing, but as mentioned above, along the longitudinal direction of the leg 121 so that the leg 121 can be raised and lowered by the operation of the jack-up house 130. It may have an elongated structure.

The mat unit 140 is a configuration that expands the ground area around where the legs 121 are installed or compacts the ground by pressing the soft ground, and may be provided across between the pair of legs 121, When the unit 120 is installed on the ground, it may come into contact with the ground.

For example, if the leg unit 120 continues to descend from soft ground to the ground where stable bearing capacity can be obtained, the length of the leg 121 must be formed unnecessarily long, and thus manufacturing difficulties may occur.

Alternatively, the spud can 122 provided at the lower end of the leg 121 can disperse the force of pressing the water contained in the soft ground as the contact area is wider, and the load is distributed by expanding the ground surface area so that the leg unit 120 Although this can be prevented from falling out, when the area of the spud can 122 is changed, the expansion of the spud can 122 is restricted, as the size of the entire vessel 100 must be changed.

In this way, the length of the leg unit 120 is formed unnecessarily long, or the size of the hull 110 is changed in this embodiment without the difficulty of changing the dimensions of the hull 110 due to the design change of the spud can 122. With the addition of the mat portion 140, the leg unit 120 can be stably supported even on soft ground.

For example, the mat part 140 may have a length crossing between the pair of legs 121 so that the lower end of the legs (region where the spud can 122 is located) is extended. In addition, although the cross-sectional area of the mat portion 140 is not limited, the leg 121 may have at least the same width as the width of the leg 121 because it is to prevent the leg 121 from falling unnecessarily deep into the ground. It is not limited (see FIG. 3).

In addition, the mat unit 140 may be provided to be able to move up and down along the leg 121 in the leg unit 120 by the driving unit 150 . The mat unit 140 may be provided to come into contact with the ground in a state in which the leg unit 120 is lowered to the ground in a jack-up mode.

Therefore, in the sailing mode, it is possible to achieve a state accommodated in the lower receiving space 111 of the hull 110 without being exposed from the bottom of the hull 110 together with the leg unit 120 . And the jack-up mode starts, and the mat unit 140 may be lowered to the ground together with the leg unit 120 in the process of installing the leg unit 120 on the ground, but the leg unit 120 is temporarily installed on the ground As the mat unit 140 may be lowered thereafter, the installation process may vary.

In addition, the mat unit 140 may be suspended from the hull 110 by the mooring member 151 of the drive unit 150. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the mat part 140 from being greatly moved due to its own load, but the mat part 140 may be partially shaken along with the movement of the ocean current.

However, as mentioned above, the mat portion 140 of the present embodiment, while being movable up and down on the guide rail 123A of the leg unit 120, is prevented from coming off, so that flaws caused by ocean currents may be prevented. there is.

The mat part 140 is made of a structure to which a load is applied, such as steel or concrete, while the mat part 140 is lowered and in contact with the ground around the leg unit 120, so that water and air contained in the ground It can fall out of the mat part 140 to generate a vacuum compression effect, or to make the ground hard.

The driving unit 150 may move the mat unit 140 up and down. For example, the driving unit 150 may include a mooring member 151 and a winch drum 152 .

The mooring member 151 is a medium connecting the mat part 140 to the hull 110, and may be connected to the mat part 140. Illustratively, the mooring member 151 may be made of a chain, rope, etc., so that the mat 140 is lowered or raised from the hull 110 by being wound or unwound on the winch drum 152.

The winch drum 152 may receive power from a generator (not shown) in the hull 110 to wind or unwind the mooring member 151 to move the mat 140 up and down. For example, the winch drum 152 may be provided adjacent to the accommodation space 111 and may be provided with one or more.

In addition, two or more winch drums 152 may be provided adjacent to both ends of the mat unit 140 so that both sides of the mat unit 140 are suspended, respectively, so that the mat unit 140 is not eccentric. And the number of winch drums 152 is not limited, and various modifications are possible, as may include three winch drums, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

The wind power generator installation ship 100 having a leg that can be safely supported on soft ground according to an embodiment of the present invention, without expanding the size of the spud can 122 and the hull 110, together with the leg 121 on the soft ground ) It may be possible to stably support the leg 121 by the mat part 140 without entering deeply unnecessarily.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the above and accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. You will understand that there is Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative in all respects and not limiting.

100: wind generator installation vessel 110: hull
120: leg unit 130: jack-up house
140: mat part 150: driving part

Claims (5)

hull floating on the sea;
A leg unit provided with one or more pairs of legs provided to be able to ascend and descend from the hull; and
A wind power generator installation vessel having a leg capable of being safely supported on soft ground, including a mat portion provided across between the pairs of legs and contacting the ground when the leg unit is installed on the ground. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a driving unit for raising and lowering the mat unit,
The mat unit is provided to be able to move up and down along the legs in the leg unit by the drive unit,
The leg unit includes a guide member for guiding the mat part to the leg on which the mat part is provided, and having a leg capable of being safely supported on soft ground. According to claim 2,
The drive unit includes a mooring member connected to the mat and a winch drum for moving the mat by winding or unwinding the mooring member,
The guide member includes a guide rail on which the mat slides, and a wind power generator installation vessel having a leg capable of being safely supported on soft ground. According to claim 1,
The mooring member includes any one of a chain and a rope,
The winch drum is provided with legs that can be safely supported on soft ground, which are provided at least at both ends of the mat portion. According to claim 1,
A spud can is provided at the lower part of the leg,
The mat portion is lowered adjacent to the spud can or stored in the hull, and has a leg that can be safely supported on soft ground.

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