Autonomous, multipurpose floating platform for environmental and oceanographic monitoring

Abstract

Highly stable floating platform for measuring surface and subsurface environmental variables. It consists of a main toroidal body, inside of which equipments are installed, mainly on its base, to maintain low and nearby the centers of gravity and of buoyancy, allowing the in situ inspection, maintenance and installation of equipments. One winch in its interior allows the translation of equipment and / or to take water samples, from surface to a user-defined depth, using a cable deployed through the center of the platform, for providing power and communication with the surface to said equipment.

Description

FIELD OF APPLICATION[0001]One floating platform with profiling system adequate for installing a wide range of sensors and measuring equipment in places very near (0.5 m) to surface, for capturing information and relaying it to a receiving system. Special emphasis is devoted to following items in its design: stability for the platform, sensors, and equipment; in situ maintenance, inspection and installation of equipment, and environmental protection for the various systems.DESCRIPTION OF PREVIOUS ART[0002]Presently, environmental measurements and monitoring are increasingly necessary for different geographical zones and places, mainly owing to the increasing implement of national- and international environmental standards to be observed by countries and companies in order to comply with production standards. This information is also necessary to the knowledge of scientific community and for the studies in this field.[0003]One such field where companies and scientists have focused the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0019]In order to achieve a high stability against severe environmental conditions and intense waves, the platform has incorporated all the equipments inside a main structure; all these equipments installed on the base of the structure, which is semi-submerged in the body of water; the submersion is approximately 30 cm for a standard configuration of equipment. This allows the lowering of the gravity center of the assembly, thus being nearer to the buoyancy center of the platform, which is under the buoyancy center. The elongated form of the main structure in horizontal plane, and low in vertical plane, allows that the gravity- and buoyancy centers are always near each other, independently of the equipment installed in the platform that can total an extra weight of 1500 kg. The toroidal shape of the platform generates a big cross-sectional area, in the plane of water surface that allows the follow-up of the waves and the generation of low displacement of volume; these aspects contribute to the generation of stability and avoiding the tipping in intense-wave motion conditions. The bottoming of the four-mooring buoy may also help to avoid a complete upside-down tipping of the buoy, and also avoids the rolling or rotation about its main axis, caused by the ocean currents.

[0021]Regarding the profiling system of the floating platform, the cable hangs from a system of pulleys within a structure that provides it with certain environmental- and theft control; from here, the cable is attached to the winch at one end, and the other end hangs vertically into the body of water. The point where the cable falls into the water body is adjacent to the gravity center of the platform, and this allows the indifferent of the cable with respect to the movements of the main structure, always maintaining a vertical axis, achieving stability in horizontal planes. To this end, the platform has adequate diameter and design for tilting with the waves without striking the measurement cable. This design allows the operation of the equipment used in places very near the water surface (0.5 m) without worrying about the equipment being struck by the main structure Lastly, the pulley has a shock absorber system for the cable, in case of relatively heavy equipment are hung from it; this system avoids sudden jerks that could be produced in the cable under certain wave conditions, enlarging the useful life of communications cable and of the components being hung from it.

[0023]As for the winch, it is installed at the base of the main structure, in order to not affect the stability of the system, in an independent sector having a specially designed access. By means of a collapsible cap, inspection and maintenance activities can be done, as well as the replacement of some elements in case of using this device for other uses. This sector offers also environmental protection to this component, because it is enclosed and is not greatly affected by the action of rains or the sea water, which are highly corrosive: the sector also protects against theft, because it will be difficult to access it by a non-authorized person.

[0024]Regarding the electrical and electronic systems, these components are isolated in another container, which keeps them safe from the ocean environment, the systems are very susceptible to failures in humid- or saline environments; it also offers protection against burglary. Inside this sector, the most heavy components are installed on the bottom, and to the walls are attached the lighter components, such as electrical panels. The access to these compartments is done with relative ease, allowing the technicians and operators carry the various operations required by the equipment.

[0026]The floating platform is power-autonomous, and is fed by an electrical power generating system based on solar panels. This energy is stored in a bank of sealed batteries, placed inside the main body. This power autonomy feeds a computerized system of small dimensions and low-consumption, among others, having a large storage- and data processing capacity which is also capable of managing the overall control of the system. This computerized system provides connectivity in several standard formats, which allow the interconnection of a wide variety of components. This allows the system to inter-relate all these components according logic or programming pre-defined by the user, which provides the capacity not only of obtaining information and data from the system, but also the possibility of actuating components installed in the floating platform, as well as outside it, because of its integration with external systems.

Problems solved by technology

Some of the differences encountered in this system are the height of their gravity center considering the placing of the equipments and the materials of construction of them, which can make the system susceptible to tipping and instability.

Also, their bottom structure makes it difficult the profiling near surface in places with strong wave action, because the profiler can collide with the bottom structure.

Its dimensions and design do not allow the possibility of doing maintenance and inspections on the platform.

Some models provide little or no environmental protection to some components, such as the winch.

In this system differences are observed regarding the lateral location of the profiler, which is exposed to the environment and it has a great possibility of being stolen, and also it causes instability because the profiler is distanced from the gravity- and buoyancy center of the whole system.

Because of its dimensions, it is difficult the boarding of the buoy for doing in-place maintenance and inspections, and one has to hoist the buoy to a ship, or landing it.

The sensors cannot operate near the bottom structure, because they could be hit.

Images