A hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure

Abstract

The present invention discloses a hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure, which relates to the field of marine engineering technology; it includes a central column, a front side column, a first lateral side column, and a second lateral side column, wherein the front side column, the first lateral side column, and the second lateral side column are arranged at an angle of 120 degrees on the periphery of the central column, and the top of the central column, the top of the front side column, the top of the first lateral side column, and the top of the second lateral side column are connected by a first support frame, and a berthing point is provided on the first support frame; the middle of the central column is connected to the bottom of the front side column, the first lateral side column, and the second lateral side column by a second support frame. The floating wind turbine foundation of the present invention has better hydrodynamic performance. When facing wind, wave, and current environmental loads, its swaying motion response can be significantly reduced, and the motion response is limited to a smaller range.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of marine engineering, and in particular to a hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure. Background Art

[0002] Deep sea areas, far from human activity and less susceptible to interference from human activities like noise, offer an ideal environment for deploying high-power wind turbines, demonstrating enormous potential for their application. However, ensuring system stability and enhancing survivability in extreme weather conditions like typhoons pose pressing technical challenges in advancing deep sea wind power projects. Designing offshore wind turbine foundations suitable for deep sea areas is crucial for efficiently utilizing offshore wind resources and expanding their application market.

[0003] The hybrid floating offshore wind turbine platform and its composite side column design disclosed in patent document CN113619742A cleverly combine the advantages of a column platform (Spar) and a semi-submersible platform (Semisubmersible), which not only enhances the buoyancy and stability of the platform, but also optimizes the convenience of installation and transportation, making it particularly suitable for deep-sea wind power operation environments. Despite this, the platform still has room for further optimization in terms of hydrodynamic performance and operation and maintenance efficiency. Specifically, improving hydrodynamic performance aims to reduce the swaying motion of the platform caused by wind, waves and currents, and ensure the stable operation of the platform in complex sea conditions. At the same time, a reasonable design of the operation and maintenance plan can more effectively meet the maintenance needs of the hybrid offshore wind turbine platform, thereby further improving the safety, endurance and overall performance of the platform. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure, which facilitates operation and maintenance activities and berthing, and has better structural stability and hydrodynamic performance.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution of the present application is: a hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure, comprising a central column, a front side column, a first lateral side column and a second lateral side column, wherein the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column are arranged at an angle of 120° on the periphery of the central column, the top of the central column, the top of the front side column, the top of the first lateral side column and the top of the second lateral side column are connected by a first support frame, and a berthing point is provided on the first support frame; the middle part of the central column is connected to the bottom of the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column through a second support frame.

[0006] In one embodiment, a heave damping plate is provided at the bottom of the central column.

[0007] In one embodiment, the first support frame includes a tripod formed by connecting outer cross braces end to end in sequence, the corners of the tripod are respectively located on the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column, and an inner cross brace is provided between each corner and the central column, and a connecting cross brace is provided between the middle part of the outer cross brace and the central column.

[0008] In one embodiment, a berthing point is provided on one of the outer cross braces.

[0009] In one embodiment, two corners of the tripod are connected to the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column respectively through a transverse folding beam.

[0010] In one embodiment, the second support frame includes a steel buoy and a hollow steel bar, and the steel buoy is tightly attached to both sides of the hollow steel bar.

[0011] In one embodiment, a reinforcing cross brace is provided between the middle portions of two adjacent second support frames.

[0012] In one embodiment, a T-shaped diagonal brace is provided between the central column and the front side column, the first lateral side column, and the second lateral side column. The first end of the T-shaped diagonal brace is connected to the top of the central column, the second end is connected to the middle of the central column, and the third end is connected to the bottom of the corresponding side column.

[0013] In one embodiment, the upper end of the cross bracing folding beam is connected to the corner of the tripod, and the lower end is connected to the corresponding lateral side column.

[0014] In one embodiment, the first support frame, the second support frame, the T-shaped diagonal brace, the central column, the front side column, the first lateral side column, and the second lateral side column are connected by threads or welding.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, the present invention can achieve the following technical effects: the floating wind turbine foundation designed by the present invention has better hydrodynamic performance. When facing the load of wind, wave and current environment, its swaying motion response can be significantly reduced, and the motion response is limited to a smaller range; at the same time, the remaining space designed on the upper part of the floating wind turbine foundation allows the operation and maintenance vessel to berth safely and reliably; the connection design of the beam structure enables the platform to be modularly manufactured, greatly saving construction time and cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or descriptions of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0017] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the hybrid floating wind turbine foundation structure for designing the berthing structure;

[0018] Figure 2 Side view of the hybrid floating wind turbine foundation for the design of berthing structure;

[0019] Figure 3 Top view of the hybrid floating wind turbine foundation for the design of berthing structure;

[0020] Explanation of the serial numbers in the figure: 1. Inner cross brace; 2. Positive side column; 3. Heave damping plate; 4. Second supporting frame; 5. Cross brace folded beam; 6. T-shaped diagonal brace; 7. Outer cross brace; 8. Connecting cross brace; 9. Reinforcement cross brace; 10. Center column; 11. Tripod; 12. First lateral side column; 13. Berthing point. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved by this application more clearly understood, this application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0022] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being “fixed on” or “disposed on” another element, it may be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being “connected to” another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element.

[0023] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined. "Several" means one or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0024] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on this application.

[0025] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; they can refer to internal communication between two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0026] The present invention makes targeted improvements to the hybrid floating offshore wind turbine platform disclosed in patent document CN113619742A. Figure 1-3 The present embodiment provides a hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure, comprising a central column, a front side column, a first lateral side column and a second lateral side column, wherein the central column comprises a first cylinder and a second cylinder, the diameter of the first cylinder being smaller than that of the second cylinder, thereby lowering the center of gravity of the entire floating wind turbine foundation and improving the stability of the floating wind turbine foundation under wind, wave and current loads; the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column are arranged at an angle of 120° on the periphery of the central column to provide buoyancy and stability for the floating wind turbine foundation; the top of the first cylinder, the top of the front side column, the top of the first lateral side column and the top of the second lateral side column are connected by a first support frame, and a berthing point is provided on the first support frame; the top of the second cylinder is connected to the bottom of the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column through the second support frame.

[0027] In this embodiment, a heave damping plate is provided at the bottom of the central column, so that the floating foundation has greater vertical damping and reduces the vertical motion response of the floating foundation.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first support frame comprises a tripod formed by connecting outer cross braces end to end. The corners of the tripod are located on the front side column, the first side column, and the second side column. An inner cross brace is provided between each corner and the central column, and a connecting cross brace is provided between the middle of the outer cross brace and the central column. This ensures the stability of the floating foundation's top structure while distributing the load on the platform, reducing the impact of load and fatigue on wind turbine operation.

[0029] In this embodiment, a berthing point is provided on one of the outer cross braces, and the operation and maintenance vessel can be berthed at the floating foundation when the floating wind turbine is in place, so that maintenance personnel can carry out maintenance and inspection work.

[0030] In this embodiment, two corners of the tripod are connected to the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column respectively through a horizontal support beam. The horizontal support beam serves to strengthen the corners and ensure good mechanical properties between the first support frame and the side columns.

[0031] In this embodiment, the second support frame comprises a steel buoy and hollow steel bars, with the steel buoys clinging to either side of the hollow steel bars. The connection point of the second support frame is located below the waterline, resulting in a composite structure with superior hydrodynamic performance, ensuring the integrity of load transfer within the underwater connection.

[0032] In this embodiment, a reinforcing cross brace is provided between the middle parts of two adjacent second support frames, thereby ensuring the structural strength of the underwater part of the floating wind turbine foundation under the action of waves and currents; the reinforcing cross brace enables the second support frames below the waterline to form a stable triangular structure, thereby improving the hydrodynamic performance of the floating foundation, reducing the roll and pitch motion of the wind turbine foundation, and increasing the safety and reliability of the floating foundation.

[0033] In this embodiment, a T-shaped diagonal brace is further provided between the central column and the front side column, the first lateral side column, and the second lateral side column. The first end of the T-shaped diagonal brace is connected to the top of the central column, the second end is connected to the middle of the central column, and the third end is connected to the bottom of the corresponding side column. This diagonal brace design strengthens the structural stability between the central column and the side columns, so that the floating wind turbine foundation has better hydrodynamic and mechanical properties.

[0034] In this embodiment, the first support frame, the second support frame, the T-shaped diagonal brace and the central column, the front side column, the first lateral side column, and the second lateral side column are connected by threads or welding; this connection form facilitates the modular construction and installation of the floating foundation, greatly saving construction costs.

[0035] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure, characterized in that: The utility model comprises a central column, a front side column, a first lateral side column and a second lateral side column, wherein the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column are arranged at an angle of 120 degrees on the periphery of the central column, and the top of the central column, the top of the front side column, the top of the first lateral side column and the top of the second lateral side column are connected by a first support frame, and a docking point is provided on the first support frame; the middle part of the central column is connected to the bottom of the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column through a second support frame; The first support frame includes a tripod formed by connecting outer cross braces end to end, wherein the corners of the tripod are respectively located on the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column, and an inner cross brace is provided between each corner and the central column, and a connecting cross brace is provided between the middle of the outer cross brace and the central column; There is a berthing point on one of the outer cross braces; The two corners of the tripod located on both sides of the berthing point are respectively connected to the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column through a transverse folding beam; A reinforcing cross brace is provided between the middle portions of two adjacent second support frames; A T-shaped diagonal brace is further provided between the central column and the front side column, the first side side column, and the second side side column, wherein the first end of the T-shaped diagonal brace is connected to the top of the central column, the second end is connected to the middle of the central column, and the third end is connected to the bottom of the corresponding side column; The high end of the cross bracing folding beam is connected to the corner of the tripod, and the low end is connected to the corresponding lateral side column.

2. A hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: A heave damping plate is provided at the bottom of the central column.

3. The hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second supporting frame includes a steel buoy and a hollow steel bar, and the steel buoy is closely attached to both sides of the hollow steel bar.

4. The hybrid floating wind turbine foundation with a berthing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first support frame, the second support frame, the T-shaped diagonal brace and the central column, the front side column, the first lateral side column and the second lateral side column are connected by threads or welding.

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