Semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect

Abstract

According to the semi-submersible floating platform based on the eddy current damping effect, the multiple buoyancy units and the multiple sets of supporting mechanisms are sequentially and alternately arranged to form an annular space frame structure, and the whole platform has good stability and rigidity. In each buoyancy unit, a heaving plate is mounted at the bottom of the buoy, meanwhile, dampers are innovatively arranged on the edges of the heaving plates, reserved spaces capable of exciting fluid vortexes are formed among the dampers, the buoys and the heaving plates, upwelling water flow of the heaving plates is actively guided through a unique structure, and the effect of generating fluid vortexes is achieved. And a reserved space is utilized to forcibly convert the eddy current into a high-strength and ordered eddy current field. Through the arrangement, the semi-submersible floating platform not only obviously enhances the eddy current dissipation effect and the additional mass effect of the platform to multiply the heaving damping performance, but also forms a synergistic effect with the main heaving plate, so that the vertical movement stability, the storm resistance and the operation safety of the platform in severe sea conditions are effectively improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of wind power platforms, and particularly relates to a semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the continuous growth of global energy demand and the increasing prominence of environmental problems, the global energy structure is gradually transforming to clean energy without pollution. Under this background, offshore wind power, photovoltaic power generation and other clean energy development methods have become the focus of the industry's development direction, and the semi-submersible floating platform is a key core technology to support deep green energy development.

[0003] The traditional semi-submersible floating platform is generally composed of a buoy, a column, a heave plate and a transverse / oblique brace structure, and it mainly suppresses the wave-induced motion by the damping provided by the heave plate to maintain the stability of the platform. However, the waves in China's sea area have the characteristics of high strength and high wave height, which puts high requirements on the hydrodynamic performance of the platform. Developing a semi-submersible floating platform with excellent wind and wave resistance has become an important development direction in the industry.

[0004] The existing semi-submersible floating platform faces a fundamental contradiction between hydrodynamic stability and structural economy: in order to effectively suppress the heave motion, it is necessary to increase the heave plate area to improve the damping force, but the increase of the heave plate area leads to the increase of the plate thickness to improve the structural strength and fatigue life, so the construction cost increases nonlinearly due to the increase of the amount of materials and the improvement of the installation complexity. The severe reliability requirements of deep sea engineering further increase the unit cost, forcing the existing design to compromise on the size of the heave plate under the limited budget, and finally falling into the three-difficulties dilemma of stability-cost-reliability. The traditional structure cannot meet the requirements of motion suppression in extreme sea conditions, engineering economy constraints and full life cycle safety standards at the same time.

[0005] Therefore, how to overcome the above technical defects is a problem to be solved by those skilled in the art. SUMMARY

[0006] The purpose of the present application is to provide a semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect, which can significantly improve the stability of the platform while amplifying the damping effect of the heave plate.

[0007] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect, comprising: a plurality of buoyancy units, a plurality of support mechanisms and a plurality of dampers, two adjacent buoyancy units are connected by a group of support mechanisms, and the plurality of buoyancy units and the plurality of groups of support mechanisms are arranged alternately to form a ring structure.

[0008] The buoyancy unit comprises a buoy and a heaving plate, one damper is arranged corresponding to one buoyancy unit, the heaving plate is arranged at the bottom of the buoy in each buoyancy unit, and the damper is arranged at the edge of the heaving plate.

[0009] The damper, the buoy and the heaving plate form a reserved space capable of exciting fluid vortex.

[0010] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, the damper is a plate structure.

[0011] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, the damper is arranged at part of the edge of the heaving plate.

[0012] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, the damper is arranged around the edge of the heaving plate.

[0013] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, the plurality of buoyancy units are arranged in a central symmetric form.

[0014] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, each group of support mechanisms comprises a plurality of cross braces, and at least one of the plurality of cross braces is connected to two adjacent buoys, respectively.

[0015] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, at least one of the plurality of cross braces is connected to two adjacent heaving plates, respectively.

[0016] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, each group of support mechanisms further comprises a plurality of diagonal braces, and each diagonal brace is connected to the cross brace and the buoy, respectively.

[0017] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, the heaving plate and the damper in each buoyancy unit are integrated.

[0018] Optionally, in the semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, the number of buoys is greater than or equal to 3, and a fan is arranged on one of the buoys.

[0019] The application provides a semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0020] The multiple buoyancy units and multiple sets of support mechanisms are arranged alternately to form a ring space frame structure, and the whole platform has good stability and rigidity. In each buoyancy unit, a heave plate is installed at the bottom of the buoy, and the application innovatively proposes to set a damper at the edge of each heave plate, so that the damper, the buoy and the heave plate form a reserved space capable of exciting fluid vortex, and the vortex field formed by the reserved space realizes high-efficiency energy dissipation in the heave, sway and surge directions. Through the above setting, the semi-submersible floating platform not only significantly enhances the vortex dissipation effect and added mass effect of the platform, which doubles the heave damping performance, but also cooperates with the main heave plate to effectively improve the vertical motion stability, wind and wave resistance performance and operation safety of the platform in severe sea conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained without creative labor on the basis of the provided drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a semi-submersible floating platform based on vortex damping effect provided by the first embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2 A structural schematic diagram of the cooperation of the buoy, heave plate and damper provided by the first embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 3 A structural schematic diagram of a semi-submersible floating platform based on vortex damping effect provided by the second embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 A structural schematic diagram of the cooperation of the buoy, heave plate and damper provided by the second embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 5 A flow field schematic diagram of a heave plate without skirt damper in the prior art;

[0027] Figure 6 A vortex flow field schematic diagram formed between the damper and the heave plate of the present application;

[0028] In Figures 1-4 and Figure 6 , the following are provided:

[0029] 100 - buoy;

[0030] 200 - heave plate;

[0031] 310 - cross brace;

[0032] 320- diagonal brace

[0033] 400- damper

[0034] In Figure 5 In

[0035] S100- buoy

[0036] S200- heave plate DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein the same or like reference numerals and characters throughout the figures denote the same or like elements or components having the same or similar function. The embodiments described below are exemplary and are intended to be illustrative of the present application and are not to be construed as limiting.

[0038] The core of the present application is to provide a semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, which can amplify the damping effect of the heave plate and significantly improve the stability of the platform.

[0039] In order to make the technical solution provided by the present application better understood by those skilled in the art, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings and specific embodiments.

[0040] Specifically, the present application provides a semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect, comprising a plurality of buoyancy units, a plurality of sets of support mechanisms and a plurality of dampers 400, wherein the buoyancy unit comprises a buoy 100 and a heave plate 200.

[0041] The connection mode between the buoy 100, the heave plate 200, the support mechanism and the damper 400 is that two adjacent buoyancy units are connected by a set of support mechanisms, so that the plurality of buoyancy units and the plurality of sets of support mechanisms are arranged alternately to form a ring structure. The buoyancy unit is provided with a damper 400. In each buoyancy unit, the heave plate 200 is arranged at the bottom of the buoy 100, and the damper 400 is arranged at the edge of the heave plate 200.

[0042] The buoy 100 is one of the important sources of buoyancy of the semi-submersible floating platform, which is a hollow structure inside, can displace a certain volume of seawater, thereby generating upward buoyancy, supporting the weight of the entire platform, and enabling the platform to float on the sea surface.

[0043] When the heave plate 200 is subjected to heave motion due to wave action, the heave plate 200 will cut the seawater, generate a large water resistance, increase the heave damping, provide sufficient vertical stability, effectively suppress the heave motion amplitude of the platform, and reduce the up-and-down pitching of the platform in the wave. At the same time, it can also affect the flow field around the platform to some extent, so that the force of the wave on the platform is more evenly distributed, thereby indirectly reducing the roll and pitch amplitude of the platform, and improving the stability of the platform in the wave.

[0044] The support mechanism constitutes the overall framework of the semi-submersible floating platform, and the support mechanism connects the floating cylinders 100 with each other to form a complete spatial frame structure, so that the entire platform has better integrity and rigidity.

[0045] A certain reserved space is formed between the side surface of the floating cylinder 100, the upper surface of the heave plate 200 and the inner surface of the damper 400, and the fluid vortex can be excited in the above-mentioned reserved space.

[0046] It should be further pointed out that in the prior art, the heave plate is usually arranged on the bottom of the floating cylinder Figure 5 As shown in the prior art wind power platform without skirt damper, the bottom of the floating cylinder S100 is only provided with the heave plate S200, which presents a low-efficiency mode of dispersing and dissipating the flow field energy to the surrounding water body.

[0047] Compared with the prior art, the damper 400 adopted in the present case can effectively improve the performance of the platform and realize efficient utilization and directional conversion of the heave plate flow field energy. The core mechanism of the semi-submersible floating platform of the present case to amplify the heave plate damping effect is that it can efficiently form and maintain a limited vortex flow field, as shown in Figure 6 When the platform is subjected to heave, roll or pitch motion under the action of wind and wave, the seawater on the upper surface of the heave plate 200 is disturbed and rushes to the inner surface of the damper 400 at high speed. Based on the vortex effect and the fixed connection of the edge of the heave plate 200, a unique guide surface structure is formed, which strongly restricts the upwelling seawater around the semi-submersible floating platform, forcing the water flow to sharply turn and separate in the narrow space inside, thereby exciting the formation of high-strength and large-scale vortex structure. The generation, development and dissipation process of these vortices requires a huge amount of energy, and this part of energy directly comes from the kinetic energy of the platform motion, which essentially is a significant amplification of the energy initially captured by the heave plate 200 through the guided, restricted and vortex-induced dissipation secondary conversion process.

[0048] The semi-submersible floating platform based on the vortex damping effect provided by the application utilizes a plurality of buoyancy units and a plurality of sets of support mechanisms to be arranged alternately to form a ring space frame structure, and the whole platform has good stability and rigidity. In each buoyancy unit, a heaving plate 200 is installed at the bottom of the buoy 100, and the application innovatively proposes to set a damper 400 at the edge of each heaving plate 200 to actively guide the upwelling flow on the heaving plate, and to forcibly convert the upwelling flow into a high-intensity and orderly vortex field by using the reserved space. This process realizes the qualitative change of energy conversion form, that is, the originally disordered kinetic energy is accurately concentrated and converted into vortex dissipation for work, thereby revolutionarily amplifying the heave damping effect and achieving a doubling effect.

[0049] Through the above arrangement, the semi-submersible floating platform not only significantly enhances the vortex dissipation effect and added mass effect of the platform, doubles the heave damping performance, but also cooperates with the main heaving plate 200 to effectively improve the vertical motion stability, wind and wave resistance performance and operation safety of the platform in severe sea conditions, and can significantly improve the hydrodynamic stability performance of the platform. It is particularly suitable for deep-sea oil and gas development and other marine engineering fields such as floating wind power and photovoltaic power which have high requirements for stability, and can be applied to any form of semi-submersible floating platform with a heaving plate structure.

[0050] In specific embodiments, the damper 400 adopts a plate structure similar to a skirt, which can actively guide the upwelling flow on the heaving plate, and forcibly convert the upwelling flow into a high-intensity and orderly vortex field in the limited space inside the damper 400. The installation form has certain flexibility, which can be adjusted according to actual needs and design requirements to realize different vortex field formation effects, thereby optimizing the damping performance of the heaving plate 200 and improving the stability of the platform.

[0051] The core innovation of the configuration design of the damper 400 lies in that it is a key fluid dynamics interface between the heaving plate 200 and the upper floating buoy 100, and the design has significant adaptability, which can be adaptively designed according to the size of a specific semi-submersible platform, the wave characteristics of the operation sea area, and the specific shape (such as polygon or circle) of the heaving plate 200, to ensure that the damper 400 can accurately match the upwelling flow field generated by the movement of the heaving plate 200, thereby laying a structural foundation for maximizing the vortex generation efficiency.

[0052] Figure 1 and Figure 3 are two different forms of damper 400 examples, and the skirt type damper can be adapted in different segmented forms according to the configuration of the heaving plate 200.

[0053] In one form, as Figure 2As shown, dampers 400 can be installed in a portion of the edge of the heave plate 200. This arrangement allows a vortex field to form in the local area above the heave plate 200. When water flows through this area, the dampers 400 disrupt the normal flow of water, causing vortices to form in the local area above the heave plate 200. These vortices can effectively dissipate the energy transferred to the platform by waves, thereby suppressing the amplitude of the platform's heave motion and enhancing the platform's stability in waves.

[0054] In another form, such as Figure 4 As shown, the dampers 400 are arranged in a circle around the edge of the heave plate 200, forming a complete vortex field above the heave plate 200. This surround arrangement allows a complete vortex field to be formed above the heave plate 200. As the water flows over the edge of the heave plate 200, it is guided and disturbed in all directions by the dampers 400, thereby generating a more complete and uniform vortex field. This design can more fully utilize the vortex damping effect, allowing the heave plate 200 to effectively consume wave energy in all directions, further improving the damping effect and stability of the platform, and enabling it to maintain good performance in complex marine environments and under the action of waves from different directions.

[0055] On the basis of the above embodiment, the arrangement position of each damper 400 on each corresponding heave plate 200 is also in a centrally symmetrical form. Figure 1 As shown, when the damper 400 with a plate structure is arranged in a partial area of ​​the edge of the heave plate 200, a gap is formed in the area where the damper 400 is not arranged, and the gap is all towards the center of the semi-submersible floating platform to improve the balance of the damping effect of the entire platform.

[0056] In a further embodiment, each set of support mechanisms includes multiple cross braces 310, at least one of which connects two adjacent pontoons 100, and at least one of which connects two adjacent heave plates 200. The multiple cross braces 310 establish connections between adjacent pontoons 100 and between adjacent heave plates 200. This design not only enhances the structural rigidity of the platform but also ensures coordinated operation between various components, thereby improving the stability of the entire platform.

[0057] Each support structure also includes multiple diagonal braces 320, each connecting the transverse braces 310 and the buoy 100. The transverse braces 310 and diagonal braces 320 combine to form a support structure between the buoy 100 and the heave plate 200, providing sufficient structural strength. The diagonal braces 320 not only further enhance the structural rigidity of the platform but also effectively share and transfer loads, thereby improving the platform's reliability and durability.

[0058] In order to improve the structural strength, the heave plate 200 in each buoyancy unit and the damper 400 connected thereto are an integrated structure.

[0059] In a specific embodiment, the number of the buoys 100 is generally greater than or equal to three, and the wind turbine may be disposed on one of the buoys 100 .

[0060] In summary, the semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect provided by this solution has brought about two key performance improvements by adopting the above eddy current dissipation mechanism: first, the doubled heave damping effect. Compared with the platform equipped with only heave plates ( Figure 5 The addition of an optimized skirt damper can increase the system's heave damping coefficient several times, which directly leads to a significant reduction in the amplitude of the platform's heave motion in waves, greatly improving the stability and safety of the operating equipment on the deck. Secondly, there is a significant added mass effect. The eddy current field formed inside and around the skirt damper and the existence of the structure itself significantly increase the effective mass of the platform in the heave direction. This "beneficial inertia" reduces the natural frequency of the platform's heave motion, making it easier to avoid the frequency band where common wave energy is concentrated, effectively suppressing the risk of resonance and further smoothing the motion response.

[0061] The benefits of skirt-type dampers aren't limited to the heave direction; they also have a positive, comprehensive improvement effect on the platform's overall attitude stability, especially roll and pitch motions. When the platform tilts, the heave plates on different sides move in opposite directions (one side surges, the other side sinks), and the skirt-type damper can amplify this asymmetric heave damping force. This amplified asymmetric damping force directly generates a righting torque to resist roll or pitch. At the same time, the eddy current field formation and dissipation process itself effectively dissipates the energy that causes the platform's rotational motion. Therefore, while optimizing vertical performance, the skirt-type damper also indirectly but effectively enhances the platform's ability to resist tilt motion, improving the overall motion coupling characteristics.

[0062] The design of a semi-submersible platform that integrates this innovative skirt-type damper has significant engineering application value and competitive advantages. Its most direct advantage is that it significantly expands the operating window and enhances motion stability, allowing the platform to operate safely and efficiently in higher sea conditions, significantly increasing the number of operating days per year and improving economic benefits. At the same time, the enhancement of the platform's own hydrodynamic performance can reduce dependence on expensive mooring systems, making it possible to lightweight the mooring system to save costs or obtain a higher safety margin under the same mooring configuration. In addition, the segmented adaptability of the skirt-type damper provides excellent design flexibility, enabling the platform to better adapt to different marine environments. Finally, the design can efficiently utilize the draft space under the platform, with a compact structure, which can optimize space utilization.

[0063] In the description of the application, it should be understood that the relative description of direction, such as up, down, front, back, left, right and the like, is based on the direction or position relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the application.

[0064] As shown in the present application and claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, "one", "a", "an", and / or "the" do not refer to the singular, but can also include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "comprise" and "include" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements explicitly identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list, and the method or device can also include other steps or elements. The element defined by the statement "comprising a" does not exclude the presence of another identical element in the process, method, product or device comprising the element.

[0065] In the description of the application, unless otherwise expressly limited, the words such as setting, installing, connecting and the like should be broadly understood, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above words in the application in combination with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0066] The various embodiments in the specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the difference from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0067] The principles and implementation modes of the present application are described by applying specific examples in this paper. The above description of the embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present application and its core idea. It should be pointed out that for ordinary skilled in the art, without departing from the principles of the present application, some improvements and modifications can be made to the present application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect, characterized in that: include: A plurality of buoyancy units, a plurality of support mechanisms, and a plurality of dampers (400), wherein two adjacent buoyancy units are connected via a group of the support mechanisms, so that the plurality of buoyancy units and the plurality of support mechanisms are alternately arranged in sequence to form an annular structure; The buoyancy unit comprises a buoy (100) and a heave plate (200), one buoyancy unit is correspondingly provided with one damper (400), and in each buoyancy unit, the heave plate (200) is provided at the bottom of the buoy (100), and the damper (400) is provided at the edge of the heave plate (200); A reserved space capable of exciting a fluid vortex is formed between the damper (400), the buoy (100), and the heave plate (200).

2. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: The damper (400) is a plate-shaped structure.

3. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The damper (400) is arranged at a partial area of ​​the edge of the heave plate (200).

4. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to claim 2, characterized in that: The damper (400) is arranged in a circle around the edge of the heave plate (200).

5. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The plurality of buoyancy units are arranged in a centrally symmetrical manner.

6. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each group of the supporting mechanisms includes a plurality of cross braces (310), and at least one of the plurality of cross braces (310) is respectively connected to two adjacent buoys (100).

7. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to claim 6, characterized in that: At least one of the plurality of transverse braces (310) is respectively connected to two adjacent heave plates (200).

8. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: Each group of the supporting mechanisms further comprises a plurality of diagonal braces (320), and each of the diagonal braces (320) is respectively connected to the transverse brace (310) and the buoy (100).

9. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heave plate (200) and the damper (400) in each buoyancy unit are an integrated structure.

10. The semi-submersible floating platform based on eddy current damping effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the buoys (100) is greater than or equal to 3, and the fan is arranged on one of the buoys (100).

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