A semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation

Abstract

The present invention discloses a semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation, comprising a V-shaped floating body and a U-shaped tube structure; the V-shaped floating body comprises a base floating body and a wind turbine base, the base floating body is arranged in a V shape, and the wind turbine base is arranged on the upper surface of the intersection position of the base floating body; the two ends of the U-shaped tube structure are respectively connected to the upper surfaces of the two ends of the base floating body; the wind turbine base and the U-shaped tube structure are both provided with moorings. The overall structure of the present invention is simple, easy to transport and assemble, and the assembly of the two parts can be completed at sea.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to marine engineering technology, and more specifically, to a semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the development trend of offshore wind turbines in deep water and large scale has become more and more obvious. With this trend, the construction cost and installation difficulty of offshore fixed wind turbine foundations have increased significantly, and they are no longer the main choice from an economical point of view. However, floating wind turbine foundations have become the first choice for deep sea wind energy development due to their good economy and stability.

[0003] The current floating wind turbine foundation is usually a three-column semi-submersible wind turbine foundation. This type of foundation has a platform and rods connected between the three columns, and the wind turbine is set on the three columns or in the middle of the three columns. During construction, a dock is required and it is wet-towed to the working sea area. However, as wind turbines become larger, this type of semi-submersible wind turbine foundation presents a situation of complex structure, great construction difficulty, and difficulty in transportation and assembly. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation, which has a simple overall structure, is easy to transport and assemble, and can complete the assembly of the two parts at sea.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] A semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation, comprising a V-shaped floating body and a U-shaped tube structure;

[0007] The V-shaped floating body comprises a base floating body and a fan base, the base floating body is arranged in a V shape, and the fan base is arranged on the upper surface of the intersection position of the base floating body;

[0008] The two ends of the U-shaped tube structure are respectively connected to the upper surfaces of the two ends of the base float;

[0009] Moorings are provided on the fan base and the U-shaped tube structure.

[0010] Preferably, the base float comprises two floats of equal length;

[0011] One ends of the two floating bodies are connected so that the two floating bodies form an equilateral triangle shape;

[0012] The upper surfaces of the other ends of the two floating bodies are both provided with cylindrical structures.

[0013] Preferably, the fan base is configured to be in the shape of a truncated cone with a small upper diameter and a large lower diameter;

[0014] The bottom of the fan base is arranged on the upper surface of the intersection of the two floating bodies.

[0015] Preferably, the U-shaped tube structure includes a horizontal circular tube and circular curved tubes connected to two ends of the circular tube;

[0016] The circular curved pipe is correspondingly connected to the two cylindrical structures.

[0017] Preferably, the diameter of the round tube is the same as the diameter of the round curved tube.

[0018] Preferably, the mooring adopts 6-point catenary mooring.

[0019] Preferably, the cross-section of the base float is rectangular.

[0020] The semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation provided by the present invention has a simple overall structure, and is divided into only two main parts, namely, a lower V-shaped floating body and an upper U-shaped tube structure, which is convenient for transportation and assembly, and the two parts can be assembled at sea. The present invention can float on the sea level through load configuration, and adjust the weight center of gravity in real time according to the state of the offshore wind turbine through the ballast water active adjustment device, thereby obtaining better motion stability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 It is an exploded schematic diagram of the semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of transportation of the semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In order to better understand the above technical solution of the present invention, the technical solution of the present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0025] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation provided by the present invention includes a V-shaped floating body 1 located at the bottom and a U-shaped tube structure 2 located at the top.

[0026] The V-shaped floating body 1 includes a base floating body 12 and a wind turbine base 11. The wind turbine base 11 is configured to be a truncated cone with a small diameter at the upper portion and a large diameter at the lower portion. The upper portion is connected to the tower of the wind turbine, and the lower portion is connected to the base floating body 12. This can effectively support the wind turbine and transfer the load of the wind turbine to the bottom floating body 12.

[0027] The base float 12 includes two floats of equal length, one end of the two floats are connected to form a regular triangle shape, the upper surface of the other end of the two floats is provided with a cylindrical structure 13, and the fan base 11 is arranged on the upper surface position of the intersection of the base floats 12.

[0028] Seawater ballast tanks and fixed ballast tanks are arranged in the bottom buoy 12 and the cylindrical structure 13. The bottom buoy 12 is flat and wide as a whole, and has a rectangular cross section, which can also play the role of a heave plate.

[0029] The bottom buoy 12 is internally provided with a plurality of cabins by adding structural bulkheads. The cabins are usually seawater ballast tanks and fixed ballast tanks. The cylindrical structure 13 is connected to the bottom buoy 12 and has a circular cross section. The cylindrical structure 13 is provided with seawater ballast tanks and fixed ballast tanks.

[0030] The U-shaped tube structure 2 includes a horizontal circular tube 21 and circular curved tubes 22 connected to two ends of the circular tube 21 . The circular curved tubes 22 are connected to two cylindrical structures 13 .

[0031] The diameter of the round tube 21 is the same as the diameter of the round curved tube 22 .

[0032] The two ends of the U-shaped tube structure 2 form a rounded transition through the circular bend tube 22, which can reduce the fatigue point of the structure, improve the fatigue strength of the structure, and extend the service life.

[0033] A mechanical space is provided on the circular pipe 21, in which ballast water active regulating equipment and the like are arranged.

[0034] The wind turbine base 11 and the U-shaped tube structure 2 are both provided with a mooring 3, and the mooring 3 adopts a 6-point catenary mooring.

[0035] The V-shaped floating body 1 and the U-shaped tube structure 2 can be constructed separately and then transported to the working sea area by a transport ship. Then, the V-shaped floating body 1 is hoisted into the sea first to make the V-shaped floating body 1 in a positive floating state, and then the U-shaped tube structure 2 is hoisted and installed on the V-shaped floating body 1, and finally the offshore wind turbine is installed.

[0036] The structural cross-sections of the semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation of the present invention are both circular and rectangular, and the construction is easy and can be constructed without the use of a dock. Any shipyard can carry out the construction, and the construction technology is mature, and the construction quality and cost are controllable. It can be divided into two parts, a V-shaped buoy 1 and a U-shaped tube structure 2, for transportation, or the V-shaped buoy 1 can be further divided into two rectangular buoys, that is, it can be transported to any place in the world by an ordinary cargo ship without using a special semi-submersible transport ship; it can also be transported by a ship such as Figure 3 The method shown is to transport multiple wind turbine foundations in two parts using a semi-submersible transport ship at one time; or the foundations can be built as a whole and then wet-towed or dry-towed by a tugboat to the target location. The flexible transportation method can further reduce transportation costs.

[0037] The present invention can be divided into a V-shaped floating body 1 and a U-shaped tube structure 2 for construction. After the main body is completed, it can be sent to the working sea area by a transport ship, such as Figure 3 First, the V-shaped floating body 1 is hoisted to float on the sea surface, and then the U-shaped tube structure 2 is hoisted to connect with the cylindrical structure 13 on the V-shaped floating body 1. Finally, the offshore wind turbine and mooring 3 are installed.

[0038] During normal operation, the draft of the wind turbine foundation is ensured to be between the V-shaped floating body 1 and the U-shaped tube structure 2 by means of fixed counterweight or seawater ballast. A 6-point catenary mooring is used to maintain the positioning of the wind turbine foundation. As the wind turbine turns, the overall center of gravity of the wind turbine foundation changes, and the ballast water active adjustment device is used to adjust the overall center of gravity of the wind turbine foundation.

[0039] Those skilled in the art should recognize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. As long as they are within the spirit of the present invention, any changes or modifications to the above embodiments will fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation, characterized in that: It includes a V-shaped floating body at the bottom and a U-shaped tube structure at the top, wherein the V-shaped floating body and the U-shaped tube structure are assembled in two parts at sea; The V-shaped floating body comprises a base floating body and a fan base, the base floating body is arranged in a V shape, and the fan base is arranged on the upper surface of the intersection position of the base floating body; The two ends of the U-shaped tube structure are respectively connected to the upper surfaces of the two ends of the base float; The fan base and the U-shaped tube structure are both provided with moorings. The base float comprises two floats of equal length; One ends of the two floating bodies are connected so that the two floating bodies form an equilateral triangle shape; The upper surfaces of the other ends of the two floating bodies are provided with cylindrical structures. Seawater ballast tanks and fixed ballast tanks are arranged in the base float and the cylindrical structure. The cross section of the base float is rectangular. Multiple cabins are formed inside the base float by adding structural bulkheads. The cabins are seawater ballast tanks and fixed ballast tanks. The fan base is configured in a truncated cone shape with a small upper diameter and a large lower diameter; The bottom of the fan base is arranged on the upper surface of the intersection of the two floating bodies. The U-shaped tube structure includes a horizontal circular tube and circular curved tubes connected to two ends of the circular tube; The circular curved pipe corresponds to connecting the two cylindrical structures. The two ends of the U-shaped tube structure form a rounded transition through a circular bend, which reduces structural fatigue points, improves structural fatigue strength, and prolongs service life.

2. The semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter of the round tube is the same as the diameter of the round curved tube.

3. The semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mooring adopts 6-point catenary mooring.

Images