TLP tension tendon supporting device and tension leg platform

Abstract

The invention discloses a TLP tension tendon supporting device and a tension leg platform, the TLP tension tendon supporting device comprises an assembly locking mechanism, a split structure and a mooring anchoring mechanism which are sequentially connected from top to bottom, the split structure comprises a top deck, an outer bulkhead, a first bulkhead, a bottom deck and a central pipe, and the top deck, the bottom deck and the outer bulkhead define a shell; the center pipe is arranged in the middle of the split structure in the middle, and the multiple first bulkheads are distributed between the outer bulkhead and the center pipe in the radial direction of the center pipe. The mooring anchoring mechanism comprises a top universal joint shackle, a top anchor chain section, a mooring rope, a bottom anchor chain section, a bottom shackle and a seabed anchor pile which are sequentially connected from top to bottom. The tension tendon system can be prevented from being directly installed on the floating body foundation, the design and construction of the fan floating body are not affected by the tension tendon, the displacement of the floating body can be increased, the size of the floating body can be reduced, on one hand, the heaving damping of the floating body is increased, the heaving motion response is reduced, and on the other hand, the construction, installation, operation and maintenance cost of the floating body is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to deep sea offshore wind power, and in particular to a TLP (Tension Leg Platform) tension tendon support device and a tension leg platform. Background Art

[0002] At present, with the substantial reduction of offshore wind power resources, offshore wind power projects are gradually developing in the direction of deep sea. The structural form of offshore wind turbine foundations is constantly changing with the deepening of water depth. Fixed monopile or jacket foundation structures can be used in offshore waters with a water depth of about 60 meters. Floating foundation structures are required in waters with a water depth of more than 60 meters. Tension leg wind turbine foundations are gradually being adopted in waters with a water depth of more than 60 meters due to their advantages such as small motion response, good stability, high power generation efficiency, simple floating steel structure and low weight. Tension leg wind turbine platforms are generally composed of wind turbine systems, floating structures, tension tendons and mooring anchor systems. The tension leg platform uses its own displacement volume which is much larger than the buoyancy. The excess part is used as the pre-tension of the mooring chain (cable) and acts on the tension tendon to ensure that the tension tendon is in a tensioned state, and the wind turbine platform is always connected to the seabed anchor foundation to maintain the stability of the tension leg wind turbine platform. It can be seen that the tension tendon, as a key link in the mooring and anchoring position of the wind turbine platform, is related to the stability and safety of the entire wind turbine system, and the design of the tension tendon is particularly important.

[0003] The traditional tension tendon design is installed on the floating structure (floating foundation) of the wind turbine platform, and the structure where the tension tendon is installed is locally strengthened to ensure the structural strength and safety, and the ballast and buoyancy are provided by the floating structure itself. This design form has been widely used in the oil and gas field and introduced into the deep-sea floating wind power field, but this type of design also brings some problems, such as: the tension tendon is installed on the floating structure, which will have a great impact on the design and overall strength of the floating structure. It is necessary to locally design and strengthen the floating structure at the installation location according to the working conditions and loads of the tension tendon, especially the calculation and evaluation of fatigue strength. If the design of the tension tendon is changed, it will have a series of chain effects on the relevant design cycle, construction cycle, etc.; the buoyancy of the tension leg platform, the tension tendon, the mooring tension, etc. are all adjusted by the configuration and ballast of the tension leg platform floating structure itself. The main dimensions of the floating structure should be designed according to different water depths and loads, which are generally larger, resulting in a larger weight of the steel structure of the floating structure; the procurement cycle and installation of the tension tendon system and the construction cycle of the floating structure should be reasonably planned, and the connection should be well done to ensure the construction plan of the floating structure and the later launching and towing plan; if the tension tendon and the surrounding structure are damaged when extreme accidental loads are applied, it may affect the safety of the floating structure, and even cause local damage to the floating structure and need to be towed back for renovation, increasing the operation and maintenance construction costs, etc.

[0004] Therefore, it is urgent to develop a new type of TLP tension tendon support device to solve the above-mentioned problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is: in view of the deficiency that the tension tendons of a tension leg wind turbine platform are directly installed on the floating structure, a TLP tension tendon support device and a tension leg platform are provided, which can not only be used as an independent design module, independently designed and independently constructed, and have basically no influence on the design, strength and construction of the floating structure of the wind turbine platform; but also can assist in expanding the drainage of the floating structure, reduce the main dimensions and steel structure weight of the floating structure, facilitate the construction, launching, towing, installation and maintenance of the floating structure, effectively reduce the design and construction and maintenance costs, and provide a practical and efficient assembly connection mooring solution for the tension leg platform.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] A TLP tension tendon support device comprises an assembly locking mechanism, a split structure and a mooring anchoring mechanism connected in sequence from top to bottom, wherein:

[0008] The assembly locking mechanism comprises a connecting pipe mechanism and a connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism, and the connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism is installed on the connecting pipe mechanism;

[0009] The split structure comprises a top deck, an outer bulkhead, a first bulkhead, a bottom deck, and a central tube. The top deck and the bottom deck are arranged opposite to each other in upper and lower directions. The upper end of the central tube is connected to the lower end of the connecting pipe mechanism, and the central tube is centrally arranged in the middle of the top deck and the bottom deck. The outer bulkhead is vertically arranged at the periphery of the top deck and the bottom deck. A plurality of the first bulkheads are distributed between the outer bulkhead and the central tube along the radial direction of the central tube. The first bulkhead, the central tube, and the outer bulkhead are surrounded to form a plurality of ballast tanks.

[0010] The mooring anchoring mechanism comprises a top universal joint shackle, a top anchor chain segment, a mooring cable, a bottom anchor chain segment, a bottom shackle and a seabed anchor pile which are sequentially connected from top to bottom. The top universal joint shackle is hingedly mounted on the lower end of the central tube, and the seabed anchor pile is used to connect with the seabed surface to complete the positioning and fixation of the entire tension leg mooring system.

[0011] When the present invention is used, it is only necessary to set a connecting mechanism that cooperates with the assembly locking mechanism on the upper floating structure serving as the floating foundation to achieve connection and fixation with the floating foundation. During the design and construction stage of the present invention, the present invention can be used as an independent design module, independently designed, and independently constructed, and has basically no effect on the design, strength, and construction of the floating structure of the wind turbine platform. In addition, the split structure of the present invention can assist in expanding the drainage of the floating structure, reduce the main dimensions of the floating structure and the weight of the steel structure, facilitate the construction, launching, towing, installation, and operation and maintenance of the floating structure, effectively reduce the design, construction, and operation and maintenance costs of the floating structure, and provide a practical and efficient assembly connection and mooring solution for the tension leg platform.

[0012] Preferably, the connecting pipe mechanism is a threaded pipe, and the connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism is a nut matching the threaded pipe.

[0013] Preferably, the outer bulkheads are all welded to the toes of all the first bulkheads, and the toes of the first bulkheads exceed the outer bulkheads by no less than 10 mm, and the top deck and the bottom deck protrude from the outer bulkheads by no less than 10 mm respectively.

[0014] Preferably, a plurality of flexible brackets are evenly distributed between the bottom of the central tube and the bottom deck, the height of the brackets is 0.8m-1.5m, and the bottom surface of the brackets is arranged in an arc shape, the radius of the arc is consistent with the height of the brackets, so as to eliminate local structural stress concentration.

[0015] Preferably, a second bulkhead is disposed between adjacent first bulkheads, and the first bulkhead, the second bulkhead and the central tube are arranged to form a plurality of ballast tanks and an empty tank serving as an operating room.

[0016] Preferably, a watertight manhole is provided on the first bulkhead.

[0017] Preferably, the lengths of the top anchor chain segment and the bottom anchor chain segment are 4m-6m, and the mooring rope is made of high-strength and lightweight composite material.

[0018] Preferably, reinforcing ribs and horizontal annular frame beams are arranged on all bulkheads of the split structure to resist the effects of water pressure and wave loads. The top deck is mainly centered on the central tube and evenly arranged with reinforcing ribs parallel to the outer bulkhead direction, and for the part of the outer area where the span of the reinforcing ribs is too long, a beam is designed in the middle to reduce the span of the reinforcing ribs, thereby reducing the size of the reinforcing ribs.

[0019] Based on the same inventive concept, the present invention also provides a tension leg platform, which includes a floating foundation, a connecting mechanism is arranged on the floating foundation, and the upper end of the assembly locking mechanism of the tension tendon support device is integrally connected to the connecting mechanism.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] (1) The tension tendon design of the TLP tension tendon support device of the present invention is installed on a split structure as an independent module, which is convenient for independent design of the tension tendon foundation structure and reinforcement, avoids the tension tendon system being directly installed on the floating body foundation, reduces the difficulty of floating body foundation structure design, enables the tension tendon support device and the floating body foundation to be separately constructed independently, and the design and construction of the wind turbine floating body foundation is not affected by the tension tendon supply cycle and design changes;

[0022] (2) The TLP tension tendon support device of the present invention, as an independent design module, is fixedly assembled with the floating body foundation to form an integrated model, which can increase the displacement of the floating body and reduce the size of the floating body. On the one hand, it increases the heave damping of the floating body, reduces the heave motion response of the wind turbine platform, and improves the power generation efficiency of the wind turbine. On the other hand, the size of the split structure of the support device and the size of the floating body foundation can be adjusted according to the capacity of the wind turbine. The design is flexible, which is convenient for the construction, launching, towing, etc. of the floating body foundation, and reduces the construction and installation costs;

[0023] (3) The TLP tendon support device of the present invention has a ballast tank inside, which is convenient for the installation of the tendon. At the same time, if the tendon and the surrounding structure are damaged under extreme accidental load, the tendon support device can be disassembled separately and returned to the factory for repair and construction. The tendon can be replaced and the auxiliary structure can be repaired on the ground, avoiding underwater operations to replace the tendon on the floating foundation or even avoiding the entire floating foundation to be towed back, saving the operation and maintenance construction costs of the wind turbine system after operation;

[0024] (4) The connection structure between the tension tendon and the mooring anchor system of the TLP tension tendon support device of the present invention is simple, and it is easier to adjust and control the horizontal offset of the wind turbine float. It can be widely used in floating wind farms in deep sea areas such as the South China Sea and the East China Sea, and realize the commercialization of my country's deep-sea floating large-capacity wind power projects as soon as possible. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0026] Figure 1 It is a general schematic diagram of the TLP tension tendon support device of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the split structure of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 3It is a schematic diagram of the top view of the split structure of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 4 It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the first bulkhead of the split structure of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the typical structure of the outer bulkhead of the present invention.

[0031] In the figure: 1--assembly locking mechanism, 1-1--connecting pipe mechanism, 1-2--connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism; 2--split structure, 2-1--top deck, 2-1-1--top deck reinforcement, 2-1-2--top deck beam, 2-2--outer bulkhead, 2-2-1--outer bulkhead reinforcement, 2-2-2--outer bulkhead horizontal frame beam, 2-3--first bulkhead, 2-3-1--first bulkhead reinforcement, 2-3-2- - Horizontal frame beam of first bulkhead, 2-3-3--watertight door hole, 2-4--bottom deck, 2-5--second bulkhead, 2-6--center tube, 2-7--bracket, 2-8--bottom of center tube; 3--mooring anchoring mechanism, 3-1--top universal joint shackle, 3-2--top anchor chain segment, 3-3--mooring rope, 3-4--bottom anchor chain segment, 3-5--bottom shackle, 3-6--seabed anchor pile, 3-7--seabed surface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with specific preferred embodiments, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereby.

[0033] For the convenience of description, the relative position relationship of each component, such as up, down, left, right, etc., is described according to the layout direction of the drawings in the specification, and does not limit the structure of this patent.

[0034] See also Figure 1 An embodiment of a split TLP tension tendon support device of the present invention includes an assembly locking mechanism 1, a split structure 2 and a mooring anchoring mechanism 3 which are sequentially connected from top to bottom.

[0035] The assembly locking mechanism 1 includes a connecting pipe mechanism 1-1 and a connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism 1-2, and the connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism 1-2 is installed on the connecting pipe mechanism 1-1. In this embodiment, the connecting pipe mechanism 1-1 is a threaded pipe, and the connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism 1-2 is a nut matching the threaded pipe. Obviously, the connecting pipe mechanism 1-1 and the connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism 1-2 of the present invention can also be other structures that can achieve quick connection, such as quick-plug interfaces, etc. The connecting pipe mechanism 1-1 is welded to the center of the upper deck of the split support structure and is continuous to the bottom center pipe to ensure the structural strength of the center pipe.

[0036] The mooring anchoring mechanism 3 includes a top universal joint shackle 3-1, a top anchor chain segment 3-2, a mooring rope 3-3, a bottom anchor chain segment 3-4, a bottom shackle 3-5, and a seabed anchor pile 3-6. The top universal joint shackle 3-1 is hingedly mounted to the bottom 2-8 of the central pipe of the split structure 2 (see FIG. Figure 4 ) to allow the bottom mooring system composed of the top anchor chain segment 3-2, the bottom anchor chain segment 3-4 and the mooring cable 3-3 to move in all directions. The upper end of the top anchor chain segment 3-2 is connected to the top universal joint shackle 3-1, and the lower end is connected to one end of the mooring cable 3-3. The other end of the mooring cable 3-3 is connected to the upper end of the bottom anchor chain segment 3-4. The lower end of the bottom anchor chain segment 3-4 is connected to the bottom shackle 3-5, and the bottom shackle 3-5 is installed on the seabed anchor pile 3-6 to complete the positioning and fixation of the entire tension leg mooring system. The top anchor chain segment 3-2 and the bottom anchor chain segment 3-4 are metal anchor chain segments, respectively, with a length of about 5m. The mooring cable 3-3 is made of high-strength and lightweight composite materials. In this embodiment, the mooring anchoring mechanism 3 may also include a top mooring support mechanism, the upper end of which is welded to the center of the bottom deck of the split structure 2 and connected to the center pipe to ensure the strength of the connection structure, and the lower end of the top mooring support mechanism is hinged to the top universal joint shackle 3-1.

[0037] like Figure 2As shown, the split structure 2 includes a top deck 2-1, an outer bulkhead 2-2, a first bulkhead 2-3, a bottom deck 2-4, a second bulkhead 2-5, a center tube 2-6, a bracket 2-7, and a center tube bottom 2-8; wherein the top deck 2-1 and the bottom deck 2-4 are regular hexagons, and the top deck 2-1, the bottom deck 2-4 and the hexahedral outer bulkhead 2-2 are fully penetrated and welded to form an integral outer shell of the split structure 2. The hexahedral outer bulkhead 2-2 and the second bulkhead 2-5 form a double shell structure. All outer bulkheads 2-2 are welded to the toes of all first bulkheads 2-3. The toes of the first bulkheads 2-3 should exceed the outer bulkheads 2-2 by 10mm to facilitate the construction of the outer welding angle. Similarly, the top deck 2-1 and the bottom deck 2-4 should protrude from the outer bulkhead 2-2 by 10mm. The center pipe 2-6 is located at the center of the split structure, passing through the top deck 2-1 and continuously passing through the bottom deck 2-4 downward and extending to the bottom of the center pipe 2-8. Four flexible brackets 2-7 are designed between the bottom of the center pipe 2-8 and the bottom deck 2-4. The adjacent brackets 2-7 are spaced 90° apart and are fully penetrated and welded with the bottom deck 2-4 and the center pipe 2-6. The height is 0.8m-1.5m. The bottom surface of the bracket 2-7 is designed to be an arc shape, and the arc radius is consistent with the height to eliminate the local structural stress concentration phenomenon here. The first bulkhead 2-3 connects the diagonal lines of the regular hexagon and intersects with the central tube 2-6 which is hollow inside and is fully welded with the central tube 2-6 to ensure the overall strength of the split structure 2. In order to improve the overall internal strength of the entire split structure 2, a hexahedral second bulkhead 2-5 is added. The second bulkhead 2-5, the outer bulkhead 2-2, and the outer section of the first bulkhead 2-3 form a plurality of ballast tanks. At the same time, the second bulkhead 2-5, the central tube 2-6, and the inner section of the first bulkhead 2-3 form a plurality of ballast tanks and an empty tank used as an operating room. The design of multiple ballast tanks of the split structure 2 can assist the floating foundation in increasing ballast, which can not only reduce the main scale of the floating foundation, but also increase the heave damping together with the floating foundation, reduce the heave motion response, improve the power generation efficiency of the wind turbine, and facilitate the installation and construction of the mooring cable and the launching, towing and installation of the floating foundation after the main scale is reduced. Generally, a typical watertight manhole 2-3-3 will be opened on the first bulkhead 2-3 and the manhole cover opening position should be reasonably arranged in the low stress area according to the structural stress distribution. The opening size is 400mmx600mm, 600mmx800mm, etc., to ensure that each cabin has an entry path to facilitate cabin inspection.

[0038] In order to resist the effects of water pressure and wave loads and improve the overall structural strength of the split structure 2, such as Figure 5 As shown, outer bulkhead stiffeners 2-2-1 are arranged vertically on all outer bulkheads 2-2, and outer bulkhead horizontal frame beams 2-2-2 are arranged horizontally; Figure 4As shown, the first bulkhead stiffener 2-3-1 is arranged vertically on the first bulkhead 2-3, and the first bulkhead horizontal frame beam 2-3-2 is arranged horizontally. The spacing between adjacent outer bulkhead stiffeners 2-2-1 and first bulkhead stiffeners 2-3-1 is between 600mm and 800mm. The outer bulkhead horizontal frame beam 2-2-2 or the first bulkhead horizontal frame beam 2-3-2 is designed at 3 to 5 times the length of the stiffener spacing to control the span of the outer bulkhead stiffener 2-2-1 or the first bulkhead stiffener 2-3-1, thereby reducing the size of the outer bulkhead stiffener 2-2-1 or the first bulkhead stiffener 2-3-1; as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, the top deck 2-1 is centered on the center tube 2-6 and is evenly arranged parallel to the outer bulkhead. For the excessively long span portion of the top deck reinforcement 2-1-1 in the peripheral area, a top deck girder 2-1-2 is designed in the middle of the top deck reinforcement 2-1-1 to reduce the span of the top deck reinforcement 2-1-1, thereby reducing the size of the top deck reinforcement 2-1-1.

[0039] The connecting pipe mechanism 1-1 of the assembled locking mechanism 1 is coaxially installed with the central pipe 2-6 of the split structure 2. The entire split structure 2 can be assembled and fixed together with the floating foundation of the corresponding floating wind turbine system through the assembled locking mechanism 1, and then the mooring and anchoring mechanism 3 at the bottom forms a tension leg wind turbine platform to complete the mooring positioning of the entire wind turbine system.

[0040] The TLP tension tendon support device of the present invention installs the tension tendon design on the split structure 2 as an independent module, which is convenient for independent design of the tension tendon foundation structure and reinforcement, avoids the tension tendon system being directly installed on the floating body foundation, reduces the difficulty of the floating body foundation structure design, and can be individually disassembled and returned to the factory for repair and construction under extreme accidental load conditions. The tension tendon and the auxiliary structure can be replaced by ground operations, avoiding underwater operations to replace the tension tendon on the floating body foundation and even avoiding the floating body foundation being dragged back as a whole. The TLP tension tendon support device is independently constructed separately from the floating body foundation, and the design and construction of the wind turbine floating body foundation are not affected by the supply cycle and design changes of the tension tendon; the TLP tension tendon support device is fixedly assembled with the floating body foundation into an integrated model, and a ballast tank is provided inside, which can increase the displacement of the floating body and reduce the size of the floating body. On the one hand, the heave damping of the floating body is increased, the heave motion response of the wind turbine platform is reduced, and the power generation efficiency of the wind turbine is improved. On the other hand, the size of the split structure of the support device and the size of the floating body can be adjusted according to the capacity of the wind turbine. The design is flexible, which is convenient for the construction, launching, towing, etc. of the floating body, and reduces the cost of construction, installation and operation and maintenance.

[0041] The above is only a specific implementation scheme of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the art can make many possible changes and modifications to the technical scheme of the present invention by using the technical content disclosed above without departing from the scope of the technical scheme of the present invention, or modify it into an equivalent embodiment of equivalent changes. Therefore, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical scheme of the present invention should fall within the protection scope of the technical scheme of the present invention.

Claims

1. A TLP tension tendon support device, characterized in that It includes an assembly locking mechanism, a split structure and a mooring anchoring mechanism connected in sequence from top to bottom, wherein: The assembly locking mechanism comprises a connecting pipe mechanism and a connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism, and the connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism is installed on the connecting pipe mechanism; The split structure comprises a top deck, an outer bulkhead, a first bulkhead, a bottom deck, and a central tube. The top deck and the bottom deck are arranged opposite to each other in upper and lower directions. The upper end of the central tube is connected to the lower end of the connecting pipe mechanism, and the central tube is centrally arranged in the middle of the top deck and the bottom deck. The outer bulkhead is vertically arranged at the periphery of the top deck and the bottom deck. A plurality of the first bulkheads are distributed between the outer bulkhead and the central tube along the radial direction of the central tube. The first bulkhead, the central tube, and the outer bulkhead are surrounded to form a plurality of ballast tanks. The mooring anchoring mechanism comprises a top universal joint shackle, a top anchor chain segment, a mooring cable, a bottom anchor chain segment, a bottom shackle and a seabed anchor pile which are sequentially connected from top to bottom. The top universal joint shackle is hingedly mounted on the lower end of the central tube, and the seabed anchor pile is used to connect with the seabed surface to complete the positioning and fixation of the entire tension leg mooring system.

2. The TLP tension tendon support device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting pipe mechanism is a threaded pipe, and the connecting pipe locking assembly mechanism is a nut matching the threaded pipe.

3. The TLP tension tendon support device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer bulkheads are all welded to the toes of all the first bulkheads, and the toes of the first bulkheads exceed the outer bulkheads by no less than 10 mm, and the top deck and the bottom deck protrude from the outer bulkheads by no less than 10 mm.

4. The TLP tension tendon support device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of flexible brackets are evenly distributed between the bottom of the central tube and the bottom deck, the height of the brackets is 0.8m-1.5m, and the bottom surface of the brackets is set to be an arc shape, and the radius of the arc is consistent with the height of the brackets.

5. The TLP tension tendon support device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A second bulkhead is arranged between adjacent first bulkheads, and the first bulkhead, the second bulkhead and the central tube are arranged to form a plurality of ballast tanks and an empty tank serving as an operating room.

6. The TLP tension tendon support device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A watertight manhole is provided on the first bulkhead.

7. The TLP tension tendon support device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lengths of the top anchor chain segment and the bottom anchor chain segment are 4m-6m, and the mooring rope is made of high-strength and lightweight composite material.

8. The TLP tension tendon support device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Reinforcement ribs and horizontal annular frame beams are arranged on all bulkheads of the split structure, reinforcement ribs are evenly distributed on the top deck parallel to the outer bulkheads with the central tube as the center, and beams are arranged between the reinforcement ribs in the peripheral area.

9. A tension leg platform, comprising a floating foundation, characterized in that: A connecting mechanism is arranged on the floating body foundation, and the upper end of the assembly locking mechanism of the tension tendon support device described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is integrally connected with the connecting mechanism.

Images