Bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with bucket foundation and installation and maintenance method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a bottom - sitting marine aquaculture cage structure using a bucket - shaped foundation and an installation and maintenance method thereof. It is applicable to the field of offshore fishery aquaculture, especially the seawater aquaculture field in deeper waters of the open sea. The technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: A bottom - sitting marine aquaculture cage structure using a bucket - shaped foundation, characterized in that: it has a cage frame, a bottom net is fixed at the bottom of the cage frame, an inner net is fixed on the cage frame in a circle, and the inner net and the bottom net cooperate to form a cage aquaculture area for main economic fish species. A circle of outer nets for reducing flow and blocking floating foreign objects is also fixed on the cage frame and located outside the inner net. The inner and outer nets cooperate with the bottom net to form an aquaculture area for clean fish species; A number of bucket - shaped foundations are evenly fixed at the bottom end of the cage frame, which serve as buoyancy barrels during the transportation of the cage structure and as negative pressure barrels when the cage structure is fixed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a bottom - sitting marine aquaculture cage structure using a bucket - shaped foundation and an installation and maintenance method, which is applicable to the field of offshore fishery aquaculture, especially the seawater aquaculture field in deeper waters of the open sea. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of China's seawater aquaculture industry, the coastal fishery aquaculture space has tended to be saturated, and water pollution has become increasingly serious. It has become an inevitable trend for seawater aquaculture to move towards larger cages and deeper and farther offshore operation areas. However, offshore aquaculture cages are in a harsh marine environment, subjected to the action of dynamic loads such as waves and ocean currents, and frequently encounter extreme sea conditions such as typhoons. Therefore, the cage structure is required to have strong wave and wind resistance.

[0003] At present, gravity - type HDPE marine aquaculture cages are relatively common and most widely used in China. They mainly include a floating frame system, a netting system, an anchoring system, and a counterweight system. The netting relies on the counterweight system hanging at the bottom of the cage to maintain the aquaculture volume. However, this type of cage has low structural strength and weak positioning ability of the anchoring system, resulting in poor wave and wind resistance, short service life, and relatively high marine aquaculture risks. Moreover, traditional cages lack intelligent aquaculture equipment such as power supply, communication, feeding, and monitoring. Aquaculture and maintenance rely on the traditional way of manual going to sea, which is greatly affected by sea conditions and cannot adapt to the harsh offshore environment. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is: in view of the above - mentioned problems, to provide a bottom - sitting marine aquaculture cage structure using a bucket - shaped foundation and an installation and maintenance method.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a bottom - sitting marine aquaculture cage structure using a bucket - shaped foundation, characterized in that: it has a cage frame, a bottom net is fixed at the bottom of the cage frame, an inner net is fixed on the cage frame in a circle, and the inner net and the bottom net cooperate to form a cage aquaculture area for main economic fish species. A peripheral outer net for reducing flow and blocking floating foreign objects is also fixed on the cage frame outside the inner net. The inner and outer nets cooperate with the bottom net to form an aquaculture area for clean fish species;

[0006] A number of bucket - shaped foundations are evenly fixed at the bottom end of the cage frame. These bucket - shaped foundations act as buoyancy barrels during the transportation of the cage structure and as negative pressure barrels when the cage structure is fixed.

[0007] The cage frame has a number of columns arranged in a circle. The lower ends of the columns are fixed on the bucket - shaped foundations. The upper and lower frame cross - beams are connected between adjacent two columns. A vertical rod connecting the mid - points of the upper and lower frame cross - beams is connected between the upper and lower frame cross - beams. An inner cross - brace is connected between the left and right adjacent frame cross - beams, and both ends of the inner cross - brace are respectively connected to the mid - point positions of the two frame cross - beams;

[0008] The inner net is tied and fixed to the inner horizontal braces and vertical bars of the cage frame, and the outer net is tied and fixed to the columns and frame crossbeams of the cage frame.

[0009] The frame crossbeam at the bottom is connected to the corresponding frame crossbeam at the top by main diagonal braces.

[0010] The frame crossbeam at the bottom is connected to the corresponding barrel-shaped foundation by barrel-top diagonal braces.

[0011] The inner horizontal brace at the bottom is connected to the corresponding inner horizontal brace at the top by inner diagonal braces.

[0012] The barrel-shaped foundation has a barrel body with an opening downward, and a charging and discharging hole is provided on the top plate of the barrel body.

[0013] An equipment platform is fixed on the top of the cage frame, and the equipment platform is erected on two adjacent frame crossbeams and corresponding inner horizontal braces on the left and right.

[0014] A berthing and ladder are provided on the column corresponding to the equipment platform.

[0015] An offshore wind turbine structure, characterized in that: the bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a barrel-shaped foundation is used as the skirt foundation of the offshore wind turbine structure.

[0016] An installation and maintenance method for the bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a barrel-shaped foundation, characterized in that:

[0017] A. Floating transportation method: A charging and discharging hole is reserved at the top of the barrel-shaped foundation, which can be connected to a submersible pump and air injection and extraction equipment for air injection, air extraction, water filling and pumping; during transportation, air is injected into the barrel-shaped foundation to make the whole structure float on the water surface, and the whole structure is towed by a tugboat to the construction sea area; the air injection and extraction equipment can realize the dynamic adjustment of the attitude of the cage structure during transportation, that is, by dynamically adjusting the air injection volume of each barrel-shaped foundation, ensuring that the structure has sufficient stability during transportation;

[0018] B. Installation method: After the cage frame and the barrel-shaped foundation are built and assembled on land, they are integrally floated and wet-towed to the site for construction and installation. Compressed air can be injected into the barrel-shaped foundation during the wet-towing process of the structure. By adjusting the gas injection volume, the dynamic adjustment of the cage attitude during transportation can be realized to adapt to the transportation sea conditions and improve the stability during transportation; after the structure arrives at the engineering sea area, the barrel-shaped foundation is lowered by gradually reducing the air injection volume. After the foundation contacts the seabed and forms a seal, a submersible pump is used to pump water out of the barrel-shaped foundation to embed the barrel-shaped foundation into the seabed until the top of the barrel is flush with the seabed or the embedding depth reaches the design elevation, that is, the installation operation of the structure is completed;

[0019] C. Maintenance method: During maintenance and demolition, water is reversely filled into the bucket foundation through the filling and drainage holes, and compressed air is pumped in to make the overall cage structure float to the floating transportation condition. Most of the frames and aquaculture nets float out of the water, facilitating the operation and maintenance or structural demolition of the cage and the nets.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: To improve the deep - sea aquaculture efficiency and reduce the aquaculture risks, the present invention proposes a safe, efficient, and economic concept of a large - scale steel - structure bottom - sitting cage, which has the characteristics of strong wave - and - wind resistance and a long service life. Moreover, the cage structure is equipped with an equipment platform, which is conducive to realizing functions such as intelligent feeding, intelligent monitoring, intelligent cleaning, and mechanized fishing of the cage, increasing the benefits of marine aquaculture and reducing the investment and operation risks.

[0021] The structure of the present invention is compact, stable, and reliable. By setting an outer net around the inner net, it plays a role in reducing the flow rate and blocking floating foreign objects, avoiding affecting the aquaculture area.

[0022] The present invention is provided with evenly distributed bucket foundations at the bottom of the marine aquaculture cage structure. After the structure assembly and equipment outfitting are completed at the dock, buoyancy barrels can be formed by inflating the bucket foundations through the filling and drainage holes, making the marine aquaculture cage structure float, facilitating marine transportation, and being wet - towed to the offshore site by a tugboat.

[0023] In the present invention, after the marine aquaculture cage structure is towed to the offshore site, the ballast is adjusted and air is exhausted and water is pumped out through the filling and drainage holes. The bucket foundation forms a negative - pressure barrel, making the marine aquaculture cage structure sink, and the bucket foundation is embedded in the seabed and installed in place.

[0024] When maintenance is required, the structure is floated by reversely filling water and inflating through the filling and drainage holes of the bucket foundation, and then wet - towed to the maintenance site by a tugboat. The construction process does not require large - scale ship machinery, improving the construction efficiency while reducing the construction and installation costs. Description of the Drawings

[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the embodiment.

[0026] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the transportation state of the embodiment.

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the installation condition of the embodiment.

[0028] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the embodiment installed in place on the seabed.

[0029] 1. Cage frame; 1-1. Vertical column; 1-2. Frame cross beam; 1-3. Main diagonal brace; 1-4. Inner cross brace; 1-5. Inner diagonal brace; 1-6. Vertical rod; 1-7. Barrel top diagonal brace; 1-8. Equipment platform; 1-9. Berthing and ladder; 2. Barrel-shaped foundation; 2-1. Filling and drainage holes; 3. Inner net; 4. Outer net. Detailed implementation mode

[0030] As Figure 1 shown, this embodiment is a bottom-sitting marine aquaculture cage structure with a barrel-shaped foundation, having a cage frame, a bottom net, an inner net, an outer net, and a barrel-shaped foundation, etc.

[0031] In this example, the cage frame is a regular hexagon structure, having six evenly distributed vertical columns, and the lower ends of the vertical columns are fixedly connected to the barrel-shaped foundation. The adjacent two vertical columns are connected by upper and lower frame cross beams, and the upper and lower frame cross beams are connected by vertical rods, and the two ends of the vertical rods are respectively fixed at the midpoint positions of the corresponding frame cross beams; the left and right adjacent frame cross beams are connected by inner cross braces, and the two ends of the inner cross braces are respectively connected to the midpoint positions of the two left and right adjacent frame cross beams.

[0032] In this embodiment, two main diagonal braces are connected between the upper and lower corresponding frame cross beams, one end of each of the two main diagonal braces is respectively connected to the two ends of the lower frame cross beam, and the other end of the main diagonal brace is fixed at the middle position of the upper frame cross beam. In this example, barrel top diagonal braces are connected between the two ends of the lower frame cross beam and the corresponding barrel-shaped foundation, and the barrel top diagonal braces are coaxially arranged with the corresponding main diagonal braces.

[0033] In this example, two inner diagonal braces are connected between the upper and lower corresponding inner cross braces, one end of each of the two inner diagonal braces is respectively connected to the two ends of the lower inner cross brace, and the other end of the inner diagonal brace is fixed at the middle position of the upper inner cross brace.

[0034] In this embodiment, a bottom net is fixed at the bottom of the cage frame, and a circle of inner net corresponding to the bottom net is fixed on the cage frame. The inner net is tied and connected to the inner cross braces, inner diagonal braces, and vertical rods. The inner net and the bottom net cooperate to form a cage aquaculture area for the fishery culture of main economic fish species; in this example, a circle of outer net is also fixed on the cage frame, and the outer net is located outside the inner net. The outer net is tied and connected to the vertical columns, main diagonal braces, and frame cross beams, and is used for flow reduction and blocking floating foreign objects. The inner and outer nets cooperate with the bottom net to form a culture area for culturing clean fish species such as black porgy to clean the marine organisms attached and growing on the netting.

[0035] In this embodiment, the barrel-shaped foundation at the bottom of the offshore aquaculture cage structure is a cylindrical structure with an open bottom end. The top plate is provided with air filling and discharging holes, through which air is filled and discharged into the barrel-shaped foundation. During wet towing, the air filling and discharging holes are used to inject compressed air into the barrel, and the barrel-shaped foundation is used as a buoyancy barrel to ensure that the combination of the cage frame and the barrel-shaped foundation floats on the water surface; during installation, it is used to pump water outwards, and after installation, it is closed. After installation, the barrel wall is embedded in the seabed to play an anchoring role; during maintenance and demolition, seawater and compressed air are injected into the barrel-shaped foundation.

[0036] In this example, an equipment platform is fixed on the top of the cage frame. The equipment platform is erected on two adjacent frame crossbeams on the left and right and the corresponding inner cross braces, and a ship berthing and ladder are provided on the columns corresponding to the equipment platform.

[0037] In this embodiment, the construction of the cage frame and the barrel-shaped foundation is completed on land. After completion, at the dock, they are first hoisted, closed, and welded by a gantry crane, then outfitted with equipment, and then the combination of the cage frame and the barrel-shaped foundation is lifted to the port by the gantry crane and placed in seawater.

[0038] Air filling and discharging holes are reserved at the top of the barrel-shaped foundation, which can be connected to a submersible pump and air pumping and exhausting equipment for air pumping, exhausting, water filling, and pumping; during transportation, by injecting air into the barrel-shaped foundation, the whole structure floats on the water surface, and the whole structure is towed by a tugboat to the construction sea area; the air pumping and exhausting equipment can realize the dynamic adjustment of the attitude of the cage structure during transportation, that is, by dynamically adjusting the air injection volume of each barrel-shaped foundation, ensuring that the structure has sufficient stability during transportation.

[0039] The towing condition of this embodiment is as Figure 2 shown. At this time, air is injected into the barrel-shaped foundation 2 through the air filling and discharging holes, so that the combined structure floats on the water surface, and the combined body is towed by 2 to 3 tugboats from the port to the on-site operation location for on-site construction.

[0040] After the cage frame and the barrel-shaped foundation are built and assembled on land, they are integrally floated and wet-towed to the site for construction and installation. During the wet-towing process of the structure, compressed air can be injected into the barrel-shaped foundation. By adjusting the gas injection volume, the dynamic adjustment of the cage attitude during transportation can be realized to adapt to the transportation sea conditions and improve the stability during transportation; after the structure arrives at the project sea area, the barrel-shaped foundation is lowered by gradually reducing the air injection volume. After the foundation contacts the seabed and forms a seal, a submersible pump is used to pump water out of the barrel-shaped foundation to embed the barrel-shaped foundation into the seabed until the top of the barrel is flush with the seabed or the embedding depth reaches the design elevation, that is, the installation operation of the structure is completed.

[0041] The on-site sinking and installation of this embodiment is as Figure 3As shown, first, exhaust air outward from the bucket foundation to slowly sink the combined structure. After the bucket foundation is embedded in the seabed under its own weight, further pump out water so that the bucket foundation is fully embedded in the seabed under the action of the internal and external pressure difference. At this time, close the water pumping port, and the on-site installation work is completed, as Figure 4 shown.

[0042] During maintenance and demolition, fill water into the bucket foundation in the reverse direction through the filling and drainage holes, and pump in compressed air to make the overall cage structure float to the floating transportation condition. Most of the frames and aquaculture nets emerge from the water surface, which is convenient for the operation and maintenance or structural demolition of the cage and the nets.

[0043] This embodiment also provides an offshore wind turbine structure. The offshore wind turbine structure uses the marine aquaculture cage structure in this example as its skirt foundation. The lower end of the wind turbine tower of the offshore wind turbine structure is connected to the cage frame of the marine aquaculture cage structure, so that the wind turbine tower is combined with the marine aquaculture cage structure, improving utilization rate and reducing costs.

[0044] The above embodiments are only used to explain the inventive concept of the present invention, rather than limiting the protection scope of the rights of the present invention. Any non-substantive modification of the present invention using this concept shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An installation and maintenance method for a bottom - sitting marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket - shaped foundation, using a bottom - sitting marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket - shaped foundation, characterized in that: It has a cage frame. A bottom net is fixed to the bottom of the cage frame, and an inner net is fixed around the cage frame. The inner net and the bottom net cooperate to form a cage culture area for main economic fish species. A peripheral outer net for reducing flow and blocking floating foreign objects is also fixed on the cage frame outside the inner net. The inner and outer nets cooperate with the bottom net to form a culture area for clean fish species; A number of barrel-shaped bases are evenly fixed at the bottom end of the cage frame. These barrel-shaped bases serve as buoyancy barrels during the transportation of the cage structure and as negative pressure barrels when the cage structure is fixed; The installation and maintenance method includes: Floating transportation method: A charging and discharging hole is reserved at the top of the barrel-shaped base, which can be connected to a submersible pump and air injection and air extraction equipment for air injection, air extraction, water filling, and water pumping. During transportation, by injecting air into the barrel-shaped base, the entire structure floats on the water surface, and the overall structure is towed by a tugboat to the construction sea area; The air injection and air extraction equipment can realize the dynamic adjustment of the attitude of the cage structure during transportation, that is, by dynamically adjusting the air injection volume of each barrel-shaped base, ensuring that the structure has sufficient stability during transportation; Installation method: After the cage frame and the barrel-shaped base are built and assembled on land, they are integrally floated and wet-towed to the site for construction and installation. During the wet-towing process of the structure, compressed air is injected into the barrel-shaped base. By adjusting the gas injection volume, the dynamic adjustment of the cage attitude during transportation is realized to adapt to the transportation sea conditions and improve the stability during transportation; After the structure arrives at the engineering sea area, the barrel-shaped base is lowered by gradually reducing the air injection volume. After the barrel-shaped base contacts the seabed and forms a seal, a submersible pump is used to pump water out of the barrel-shaped base to embed the barrel-shaped base into the seabed until the top of the barrel is flush with the seabed or the embedding depth reaches the design elevation, that is, the installation operation of the structure is completed; Maintenance method: During the maintenance and demolition process, water is reversely filled into the barrel-shaped base through the charging and discharging hole, and compressed air is pumped in to make the overall cage structure float to the floating transportation condition. Most of the frame and the culture netting float out of the water surface, facilitating the operation and maintenance of the cage and the netting or the demolition of the structure.

2. The installation and maintenance method of the submersible marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket foundation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cage frame has several columns arranged in a circle. The lower ends of the columns are fixed on the barrel-shaped base. The upper and lower frame crossbeams are connected between adjacent two columns. A vertical rod connecting the midpoints of the upper and lower frame crossbeams is connected between the upper and lower frame crossbeams. The inner cross braces are connected between the left and right adjacent frame crossbeams. The two ends of the inner cross braces are respectively connected to the midpoint positions of the two frame crossbeams; The inner net is tied and fixed to the inner cross braces and vertical rods of the cage frame, and the outer net is tied and fixed to the columns and frame crossbeams of the cage frame.

3. The installation and maintenance method of the bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket foundation according to claim 2, characterized in that: The frame crossbeam at the bottom is connected to the corresponding frame crossbeam at the top by a main diagonal brace.

4. The installation and maintenance method of the bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket foundation according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The frame crossbeam at the bottom is connected to the corresponding barrel-shaped base by a barrel top diagonal brace.

5. The installation and maintenance method of the bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket foundation according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inner cross brace at the bottom is connected to the corresponding inner cross brace at the top by an inner diagonal brace.

6. The installation and maintenance method of the bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket foundation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The barrel-shaped base has a barrel body with an opening downward, and a charging and discharging hole is provided on the top plate of the barrel body.

7. The installation and maintenance method of the bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket foundation according to claim 2, characterized in that: An equipment platform is fixed on the top of the cage frame, and the equipment platform is erected on the left and right adjacent frame crossbeams and the corresponding inner cross braces.

8. The installation and maintenance method of the bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket foundation according to claim 7, characterized in that: A boat berthing and ladder are provided on the column corresponding to the equipment platform.

9. An offshore wind turbine structure, characterized in that: The bottom-supported marine aquaculture cage structure with a bucket foundation described in claim 1 is adopted as the skirt foundation of the offshore wind turbine structure.

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