Quick connect breakwater system

Abstract

This invention discloses a rapid-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system, comprising multiple breakwater units, each including a wave-breaking floating breakwater and a mooring system. The wave-breaking floating breakwater includes multiple pontoons, with a first connecting compartment between the pontoons. The wave-facing surface of each pontoon has an arc-shaped wall to guide wave rise. The pontoons and the first connecting compartment form a semi-enclosed moon pool. The bottom of each pontoon has a groove to guide water flow. Airfoil structures are provided below the arc-shaped wall and on the wave-repellent surface of the pontoons. A second connecting compartment is located at the end of each pontoon. Connecting components and an alternating concave-convex structure are present between the second connecting compartments. The wave-breaking floating breakwaters are connected by these connecting components. This invention improves the energy dissipation capacity of medium- and long-period waves by inducing wave rise and breaking, and achieves efficient connection between breakwater units, making it suitable for wave dissipation in various nearshore and deep-sea complex sea conditions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to breakwaters in the field of marine engineering technology, and more particularly to a quick-connect wave-breaking floating breakwater system. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of marine engineering, the complex and ever-changing marine environment poses a serious threat to the operational safety of marine equipment and the safety of personnel. Breakwaters, as important protective structures for ports and coastlines, play a crucial role in resisting wave erosion and have become one of the key areas of research in marine engineering.

[0003] While traditional bottom-mounted breakwaters effectively reduce wave energy to some extent, they are difficult to construct and costly in deep water and complex geological conditions, and also have a significant impact on hydrodynamic conditions and the ecological environment. To overcome these shortcomings, floating breakwaters have emerged. This structure has advantages such as convenient construction, adaptability to deep water and soft foundations, and less ecological impact, and has gradually gained attention both domestically and internationally.

[0004] Although existing floating breakwaters have achieved wave attenuation to some extent, there are still technical bottlenecks in terms of wave dissipation effect, module connection method and operation and maintenance cost. Especially under medium and long period wave conditions, the energy dissipation effect of traditional wave dissipation mechanism and configuration is poor and it is difficult to meet the increasingly stringent marine engineering requirements.

[0005] Several floating breakwater designs have been proposed to date. For example, Ji Chunyan et al. designed a double-cylinder floating breakwater and improved its wave-damping performance by setting a bottom mesh structure. The system has been in actual service for more than five years and has achieved certain engineering results. However, related research also shows that existing floating breakwaters perform well under short-period waves, while their wave-damping efficiency still needs to be improved under medium- and long-period wave conditions.

[0006] Furthermore, floating breakwaters are typically composed of multiple interconnected modules, and the simplicity and airtightness of the connection structure have a significant impact on overall performance. Currently used connection methods generally suffer from problems such as low connection efficiency, large gaps between joints, and poor sealing, which allow waves to pass through the connection seams and affect the overall breakwater performance.

[0007] The root cause of the problem lies in the fact that existing floating breakwaters are ineffective at reducing the energy of medium- and long-period waves. This is primarily because their wave-damping mechanisms are limited to traditional theories such as wave reflection, turbulence, friction, and material dissipation. These mechanisms are typically implemented through methods like netting, perforated plates, or porous materials. While effective for short-period waves, their energy dissipation capacity for medium- and long-period waves is limited. Therefore, there is an urgent need to propose a novel, more efficient wave-damping mechanism to improve the applicability and engineering reliability of floating breakwaters in complex sea conditions. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Purpose of the invention: The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and propose a rapid-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system. This system uses the arc-shaped structure on the surface of the floating breakwater to induce waves to climb and break under gravity. The floating breakwater's wave-following motion creates a low-pressure zone, guiding the water to flow in the opposite direction and impact the rear wall of the breakwater to dissipate energy. This enhances the wave-damping effect of the floating breakwater on medium- and long-period waves, improves the energy dissipation capacity of medium- and long-period waves, and achieves efficient connection between breakwater units. It is suitable for wave-damping in various nearshore and deep-sea complex sea conditions.

[0009] Technical solution: The present invention is a quick-connect type wave-breaking floating breakwater system, which includes multiple breakwater units, and each breakwater unit includes a wave-breaking floating breakwater and a mooring system;

[0010] The wave-breaking floating breakwater includes multiple pontoons, with a first connecting compartment between the pontoons; the wave-facing side of the pontoons has an arc-shaped wall to guide wave ascent; the pontoons and the first connecting compartment enclose a semi-enclosed moon pool; the bottom of the pontoons has a groove to guide water flow; and airfoil structures are provided below the arc-shaped wall and on the wave-repellent side of the pontoons.

[0011] The end of the pontoon has a second connecting compartment; the second connecting compartments are connected by connecting components and an interlocking structure, and the wave-breaking floating breakwaters are quickly connected by the connecting components.

[0012] The staggered structure consists of protrusions located at the side ends and center of the second connecting compartment, thus preventing gaps from forming when two adjacent floating breakwaters are docked.

[0013] The groove at the bottom of the pontoon has a stepped cross-section that generates a turbine, thereby improving wave energy dissipation efficiency.

[0014] The airfoil structure has an arc-shaped wall that guides the water flow. The wave-facing airfoil structure is used to converge the incident waves, while the wave-repelling airfoil structure induces water particles behind the breakwater to form a reverse flow when the floating breakwater moves downwards and slams against the rear wall of the breakwater, causing the waves to break and thus enhancing the wave-dissipating effect.

[0015] The end face of the second connecting compartment is an extended sloping surface used for arranging connecting components.

[0016] After the cable passes through the perforated plate, there is a fixing nut at the end of the cable, which then connects and fixes the floating breakwaters.

[0017] The wave-breaking floating breakwater has watertight compartments distributed inside. By adjusting the weight, center of gravity and moment of inertia of the breakwater, half of the breakwater is submerged in water and the other half floats on the water surface in the vertical direction.

[0018] The connecting assembly includes a slot formed on the second connecting compartment, with a perforated plate fixed inside the slot and a cable passing through the perforated plate. The breakwater units are quickly connected by the cable passing through the perforated plate.

[0019] The mooring system is a three-section mooring structure consisting of an anchor chain, a polyester cable, and another anchor chain.

[0020] The second connecting compartment is equipped with anti-collision pads on its side for buffering between floating breakwaters.

[0021] Working Principle: The wave-breaking floating breakwater system of this invention improves the wave energy dissipation efficiency by inducing wave rise and breakage, and inducing wave impact and breakage. Firstly, the arc-shaped structure on the surface of the floating breakwater induces waves to rise and break due to gravity. Secondly, the floating breakwater's wave-following motion creates a low-pressure zone, guiding water to flow in the opposite direction and impact the rear wall of the breakwater, thus dissipating energy and significantly enhancing the wave-damping effect of the floating breakwater on medium- and long-period waves.

[0022] Different breakwater units can be quickly connected via above-water connectors and anchored to the seabed by a mooring system, facilitating installation and maintenance. The connection ends between breakwaters employ a beveled, staggered structure to prevent gaps between units, thus preventing wave energy leakage, reducing transmitted wave energy, and improving wave damping performance and structural stability. This breakwater system offers convenient connection, stability, and wave-resistant performance, making it suitable for wave damping in various nearshore and deep-sea environments.

[0023] Beneficial effects: Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0024] (1) This invention uses wave breaking to reduce waves and designs a wave-breaking floating breakwater that can induce wave climbing and wave slamming. By using wave breaking to enhance the dissipation performance of the breakwater, the wave-reducing effect is improved and the cost is reduced.

[0025] (2) The present invention adopts a modular structure. Each breakwater unit is quickly connected by connecting components set above the water surface, which is convenient for disassembly and assembly. With the addition of anti-collision pads, it is beneficial to improve the efficiency of offshore construction and the convenience of later maintenance and replacement.

[0026] (3) The present invention adopts a staggered structure at the connection of adjacent breakwater units to avoid the gap problem that is easy to occur in the traditional connection method, and prevents the incident wave energy from being transmitted to the area behind the breakwater through the gap between the modules, thereby further improving the overall wave-damping performance and structural stability of the system. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the quick-connect type wave-breaking floating breakwater system of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the wave dissipation process based on induced wave breaking according to the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the floating breakwater unit structure of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Another angle view of the breakwater unit shown;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the intermediate cross-sectional structure of the wave-breaking floating breakwater of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a partially enlarged view of the connecting components between the floating breakwater units of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 This is an enlarged view of a portion of the connecting component of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the components of the connection assembly of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 9 These are the three-view drawings and sectional views of key parts of the wave-breaking floating breakwater unit of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0036] like Figures 1 to 9 As shown, the quick-connect floating breakwater system of the present invention includes multiple breakwater units. Each breakwater unit includes a floating breakwater 1, a connecting component 2, and a mooring system 3. The floating breakwater 1 floats on the sea surface. The breakwater units are quickly connected via the connecting component 2 and anchored to the seabed via the mooring system 3, forming a quick-connect floating breakwater system composed of multiple breakwater units.

[0037] In this embodiment, the mooring system 3 adopts a three-section mooring structure of "anchor chain-polyester cable-anchor chain".

[0038] like Figure 2As shown, the wave-breaking floating breakwater 1 integrates induced wave climb breaking and induced wave slam breaking methods. The above-water portion of the pontoon 4 has an arc-shaped wall 7. When the incident wave is acted upon by the breakwater body and constrained by the mooring system 3, the wave climbs upward along the arc-shaped wall 7. Some water particles climb above the upper surface of the breakwater, forming overtopping waves 10. These overtopping waves fall and break under the influence of gravity, thus dissipating some wave energy. Water particles that do not cross the upper surface of the breakwater form a reverse flow along the arc-shaped wall 7. This reverse flow is opposite to the direction of the incident wave propagation, thus disrupting the structure of the incident wave. To enhance the climb breaking effect, the floating breakwater adopts a multi-pontoon structure and has an airfoil structure 5 on the underwater portion of the wave-facing side to further guide the wave climb.

[0039] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the structure of the wave-breaking floating breakwater consists of multiple pontoons 4, a first connecting chamber 13, and an airfoil structure 5. The pontoons 4 and the first connecting chamber 13 form multiple semi-enclosed moon pool structures to enhance the back-and-forth reflection effect of waves and achieve wave dissipation. After entering the moon pool, the waves undergo multiple reflections, forming a strongly nonlinear liquid surface, which effectively dissipates wave energy.

[0040] like Figure 5 As shown, the bottom of the breakwater's pontoon 4 is provided with multiple grooves 18 to guide more water particles into the moon pool. Figure 9 The AA, BB, and CC sections in the figure show the specific structure of the groove 18 at different cross-sections. As shown in Figure AA, the groove 18 creates a stepped surface at the bottom of the breakwater in the direction of wave propagation, which is conducive to the generation of eddies and improves wave energy dissipation efficiency. At the same time, the groove 18 increases the opening area at the bottom of the moon pool, allowing more water to enter the moon pool.

[0041] like Figure 5 As further shown, both the wave-facing and wave-repellent underwater areas of the floating breakwater are equipped with airfoil structures 5 with curved walls 6.

[0042] The wave-facing wing structure is used to converge incident waves, while the wave-repelling wing structure, during the downward movement and clockwise rotation of the floating breakwater, creates an air gap above it where the liquid level is lower than the free surface. This induces a reverse flow of water particles behind the breakwater, which then impacts the rear wall of the breakwater, causing wave breaking and thus enhancing the wave-dissipating effect. Under the combined action of waves and the mooring system, the floating breakwater undergoes periodic movement.

[0043] The wave-damping method of the quick-connect wave-breaking floating breakwater system of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0044] (1) When the incident wave propagates to the wave-facing surface, the water particles climb along the arc surface of the airfoil structure and propagate to the top of the pontoon 4, enhancing the climbing and breaking effect.

[0045] (2) On the lee side, when the wave trough reaches the breakwater, i.e., when the floating breakwater is in the wave trough, under the action of the mooring system, the breakwater body moves downward while rotating clockwise. At this time, the airfoil structure on the lee side moves synchronously with the breakwater body, causing the water behind the breakwater to be unable to fill the original area of ​​the airfoil structure in time, forming an air gap 11 below the free liquid surface 9. Under the action of water pressure, a water pressure difference is generated, which drives the water to flow in the opposite direction to form a reverse flow 12. The reverse flow 12 impacts the rear wall 8 of the breakwater, causing wave breaking, consuming wave energy, and enhancing the wave dissipation effect.

[0046] (3) The arc-shaped wall 7 on the wave-facing side of the pontoon 4 is used to guide the incident waves to climb upward along the wall, converting the kinetic energy of the incident waves into gravitational potential energy. Some water particles climb over the top of the pontoon 4 and fall on the water surface, forming waves that break up and disturb the incident waves; the remaining water particles that do not cross the top flow back along the arc-shaped wall 7 under the action of gravity, i.e., flow downward, in the opposite direction to the propagation direction of the incident waves. As a result, this part of the wave energy cannot propagate to the area behind the dike, thereby weakening the wave's ability to propagate to the area behind the dike and reducing the energy of the transmitted waves.

[0047] like Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 9 As shown, the ends of the second connecting compartment 14 and the third connecting compartment 15 on both sides are sloped, with the above-water portion extending relatively long for accommodating connecting components. A staggered structure is provided below the second connecting compartment 14 and the third connecting compartment 15. The staggered structure includes a first boss 16 located in the middle of the second connecting compartment 14 and the third connecting compartment 15, and second bosses 19 at the ends of the second connecting compartment 14 and the third connecting compartment 15. Figure 6 As shown, when two adjacent floating breakwaters are joined together, the interlocking structure prevents gaps from forming between the two floating breakwaters, thereby reducing the energy of incident waves transmitted through the gaps between the floating breakwaters to the back of the breakwater.

[0048] like Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the connecting assembly 2 includes a crash pad 21, a steel wire cable 20, a perforated plate 22, and a fixing nut 23. The crash pad 21 is installed in the groove of the second connecting compartment 14 to buffer the impact when adjacent breakwater units dock. The perforated plate 22 is installed in the groove 17 between the second connecting compartment 14 and the third connecting compartment 15. The steel wire cable 20 passes through the perforated plates 22 of adjacent breakwater units in sequence and is locked by the fixing nut 23, realizing the rapid connection and fixation between the floating breakwaters. In this embodiment, the perforated plate 22 is made of perforated steel plate, and the crash pad 21 is made of rubber.

[0049] This invention utilizes reinforced concrete in its wave-breaking floating breakwater design to reduce manufacturing costs. For example... Figure 9In the three-view drawing and sectional view shown, the shaded section represents the solid area inside the floating breakwater. By arranging watertight compartments in this area, the weight, center of gravity, and moment of inertia of the breakwater are adjusted, allowing it to be half submerged and half floating on the surface in the vertical direction. The breakwater's verticality is set according to the wave characteristics of the target sea area. The dimensions of a single breakwater unit are: width 15 to 25 meters, height 4 to 8 meters, and length 40 meters.

Claims

1. A quick-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system, characterized in that: It includes multiple breakwater units, each of which includes a wave-breaking floating breakwater (1) and a mooring system (3); The wave-breaking floating breakwater (1) includes multiple pontoons (4), with a first connecting compartment (13) between the pontoons (4); the wave-facing surface of the pontoons (4) is provided with an arc-shaped wall to guide wave climbing; the pontoons (4) and the first connecting compartment (13) form a semi-enclosed moon pool; the bottom of the pontoons (4) is provided with a groove (18) to guide water flow; the lower part of the arc-shaped wall of the pontoons (4) and the back wave surface of the pontoons are provided with an airfoil structure (5); The end of the pontoon (4) has a second connecting compartment; there are connecting components and an interlocking structure between the second connecting compartments, and the wave-breaking floating breakwaters are connected by the connecting components.

2. The quick-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The interlocking structure consists of protrusions located at the side ends and center of the second connecting compartment.

3. The quick-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The airfoil structure (5) has an arc-shaped wall surface that guides water flow.

4. The quick-connect type wave-breaking floating breakwater system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end face of the second connecting compartment is an extended slope.

5. The quick-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wave-breaking floating breakwater (1) contains watertight compartments.

6. The quick-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting assembly includes a slot formed on the second connecting compartment, a perforated plate fixed in the slot, and a cable passing through the perforated plate. The breakwater units are connected to each other by the cable passing through the perforated plate.

7. The quick-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mooring system is a three-section mooring structure consisting of an anchor chain, a polyester cable, and another anchor chain.

8. The quick-connection wave-breaking floating breakwater system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second connecting compartment is equipped with anti-collision pads on its sides.

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