Installation method for wind turbine installation vessel and wind turbine installation vessel

Abstract

This application relates to an installation method for a wind turbine installation vessel and the vessel itself. First, the theoretical insertion range of the pile legs is determined based on geological data. All pile legs are lowered to the seabed and then sink under their own weight, achieving initial positioning. A first round of active pile driving involves staged loading and pressure maintenance on the pile legs, stabilizing the surrounding soil and improving settlement stability. After the wind turbine installation vessel platform is raised, the weight of the vessel is primarily borne by the pile legs. A second round of active pile driving further compacts the pile legs, driving them into the hard layer and increasing bearing capacity. A second round of active pile driving, using staged loading on diagonal pile legs, ensures symmetrical stress on the vessel and facilitates a stable transition from soft to hard layers. Pressure is maintained until no further settlement occurs, ensuring the pile depth meets the theoretical insertion range. This method, through the prediction of the theoretical insertion range and two different staged loading loads and pressure maintenance, is adaptable to complex seabed geology, improving the reliability of the wind turbine installation vessel's installation and positioning.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of offshore wind power technology, and in particular to installation and construction methods for wind turbine installation vessels and wind turbine installation vessels. Background Technology

[0002] Offshore wind turbine installation vessels are the core equipment for offshore wind turbine construction operations. As offshore wind farms expand into deep-sea and geologically complex areas, the seabed geology often presents complex conditions such as uneven hardness and thick silt layers, which places higher demands on the stability of the installation vessel's pile legs, pile driving load, and insertion depth accuracy.

[0003] In related technologies, such as the semi-floating offshore wind power construction and installation vessel and construction method described in patent CN115107930B, the main technical idea is as follows: first, lock the pile legs to the hull, inject ballast water into the ballast water tank to press the pile legs into the seabed mud surface; release the lock to allow the hull to float to the preset draft; lock the pile legs to the hull again, and continue to inject ballast water until the pile leg pressure on the ground is greater than the rated preload; finally, dynamically adjust the ballast water volume based on the force on the hull to maintain the pile leg pressure on the ground to meet the requirements.

[0004] This type of method, through ballast water loading in conjunction with the hull locking legs, can achieve preloading and initial fixation of the pile legs, and can complete basic positioning operations under normal and uniform geological conditions. However, when applied in complex geological zones, relying on overall ballast water loading without combining geological data to predict the leg insertion range makes it difficult to adapt to complex geological conditions such as uneven hardness and silt. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to provide an installation method and a wind turbine installation vessel for addressing the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] An installation method for a wind turbine installation vessel, the installation method comprising: The theoretical insertion range of the wind turbine installation vessel's legs is determined based on current geological data; The wind turbine installation vessel was controlled to lower the pile legs until all the pile legs were lowered to the seabed. After controlling each pile leg to sink under its own weight, the first active pile driving of the wind turbine installation vessel is carried out. The first active pile driving includes: applying a graded load to the pile leg until the active pile driving load on the pile leg reaches the first preset load or the pile leg settles to the first preset depth, thus completing the first active pile driving; After the platform of the wind turbine installation vessel is raised out of the water, a second round of active pile driving is carried out. The second active pile driving includes: applying graded loads to the diagonal pile legs until the active pile driving load on the pile legs reaches the second preset load, maintaining the preset pressure holding time so that the pile legs do not settle further after the insertion depth of the pile legs reaches the theoretical insertion range, thus completing the pile driving; repeating this step to complete the second active pile driving of the other diagonal pile leg. The wind turbine installation vessel was raised to the working air gap to complete the installation work.

[0007] In one embodiment, the first active pile driving of the wind turbine installation vessel after the pile legs have sunk under their own weight includes: Control each pile leg to sink under its own weight, and monitor the natural settlement amount and natural settlement rate of the pile leg within a preset time. If the natural settlement reaches a stable depth and the self-weight of the pile leg is fully supported by the seabed, or if the natural settlement does not reach a stable depth and the natural settlement rate is greater than the safe rate, then the first active pile driving of the wind turbine installation vessel will begin, with a stable depth less than the first preset depth.

[0008] In one embodiment, the theoretical insertion depth of the wind turbine installation vessel's legs is determined based on current geological data, and this is preceded by: Identify the depth at which the weak layer and the hard layer of the current geological strata are separated; wherein, the first preset depth is lower than the depth at which the hard layer is located. The first active pile driving includes: The load is applied to the pile leg by increasing the first load amount at each level, and the pressure is maintained for a first preset time at each level until the load on the pile leg reaches the first safety threshold or the settlement of the pile leg reaches the safe depth from the hard layer. Then, the load is applied to the pile leg by increasing the second load amount at each level, and the pressure is maintained for a second preset time at each level. The second preset time is greater than the first preset time, and the second load amount is less than the first load amount. Monitor the settlement change curve during each stage of pile driving. If there is a sudden change in settlement, stop pile driving and maintain pressure until the settlement rate converges to the set value. Continue to apply load in stages until the active pile driving load on the pile leg reaches the first preset load or the pile leg settles to the first preset depth, thus completing the first active pile driving.

[0009] In one embodiment, the first active pile driving includes applying a graded load to the diagonal pile legs, and applying a stabilizing platform load to each of the two diagonal pile legs that are not in an active pile driving state; after completing the pile driving of this diagonal pile leg, the first active pile driving is completed by applying a graded load to the two pile legs of the other diagonal, wherein the first preset load is 7500T and the stabilizing platform load is 1000T.

[0010] In one embodiment, if there is a sudden change in settlement, pile driving is stopped and pressure is maintained until the settlement rate converges to a set value, and then the graded loading is continued. The method also includes: If there is a sudden change in settlement, stop pile driving and maintain pressure for a preset observation time; If the settlement rate does not converge to the set value, after unloading the corresponding pile leg, wait for the soil at the pile driving location to recover for at least half an hour, and then re-apply the load in stages; repeatedly monitor the settlement change curve during each stage of pile driving until the first active pile driving is completed.

[0011] In one embodiment, the settlement change curve is repeatedly monitored during each stage of pile driving, and then the process further includes: If the settlement rate fails to converge to the set value at least three times, the method will be changed to alternating single-leg pile driving to reduce disturbance to the soil.

[0012] In one embodiment, the second active pile driving further includes: If the actual insertion depth of the pile leg exceeds the theoretical insertion range after the second active pile driving, the pile leg shall be pulled out, the position of the wind turbine installation vessel shall be readjusted, and the insertion operation shall be repeated, and the current position of the wind turbine installation vessel shall be completely different from the previous position.

[0013] In one embodiment, raising the wind turbine installation vessel into the working air gap includes: Raise the wind turbine installation vessel to the working air gap and monitor the tilt of the wind turbine installation vessel platform; If the current tilt is greater than the preset tilt, adjust the load difference on the diagonal pile legs until the current tilt of the wind turbine installation vessel platform is less than or equal to the preset tilt.

[0014] In one embodiment, the process of controlling the wind turbine installation vessel to lower its pile legs includes, prior to: Based on the installation location of the wind turbine, the wind turbine installation vessel is moved to one side of the wind turbine installation location using the ship's DP propulsion system; wherein, the wind turbine installation vessel is located downstream of the wind turbine installation location in the direction of water flow. After each pile leg sinks under its own weight, the DP dynamic positioning system of the wind turbine installation vessel is shut down.

[0015] A wind turbine installation vessel, wherein the wind turbine installation vessel is used for installation by the installation method described above.

[0016] The above-mentioned installation method and the wind turbine installation vessel have at least the following advantages compared to existing technologies: First, the theoretical leg insertion range is determined based on geological data. All legs are lowered to the seabed and then sink under their own weight to achieve initial positioning. Then, the first active pile driving is performed, with the legs subjected to staged loading to the first preset load / depth. After staged loading, pressure is maintained to allow the soil around the legs to return to a stable state, facilitating the subsequent loading and improving the stability of leg settlement. This also prevents sudden load changes that could lead to soil damage or sudden settlement around the piles. Foundation anchoring is completed before the wind turbine installation vessel platform is raised, providing initial stability for the lifting. After the platform is raised, the weight of the wind turbine installation vessel is primarily borne by the legs. At this point, a second active pile driving further compacts the legs under actual load conditions, penetrating the hard layer and increasing bearing capacity. The second active pile driving, through graded loading of the diagonal pile legs, can ensure symmetrical force on the hull and prevent excessive local loads from causing hull twisting or displacement. The graded loading can cope with the stable transition from weak to hard layers and has stronger adaptability to complex geology. Holding the pressure until there is no further settlement directly verifies that the pile legs have reached the stable bearing layer and the insertion depth meets the theoretical insertion range.

[0017] The above installation method, through theoretical prediction of the leg insertion range, two graded loading at different times, and pressure holding for stability, avoids soil liquefaction, landslides, and hollowing caused by impact pile driving. It is suitable for complex seabed geology such as uneven soft and hard soil, silt, and sand, reduces the risk of pile leg instability, slippage, and sudden sinking, and improves the reliability of installation and positioning construction of wind turbine installation vessels. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this application, are used to provide a further understanding of this application. The illustrative embodiments of this application and their descriptions are used to explain this application and do not constitute an undue limitation of this application.

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to a 1:1 scale, and the relative dimensions of the various components are shown in the drawings only as examples and not necessarily to actual scale.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating an installation method for a wind turbine installation vessel in one embodiment.

[0022] Figure 2 Completed diagram showing the positioning of the wind turbine installation vessel.

[0023] Figure 3 A diagram showing the lowering of the pile legs of the wind turbine installation vessel to the seabed.

[0024] Figure 4 A diagram showing the ship being lifted out of the water to install the wind turbine.

[0025] Figure 5 Diagram showing the lifting of the wind turbine installation vessel into operation. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this application more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of this application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of this application. However, this application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar modifications without departing from the spirit of this application. Therefore, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0027] See Figure 1 The installation method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to one embodiment of this application can adapt to the complex seabed geology of deep seas and improve the installation and positioning reliability of the wind turbine installation vessel. Specifically, the installation method includes: Step S1: Determine the theoretical insertion range of the wind turbine installation vessel's legs based on current geological data. In complex geological conditions at deep sea locations, the strata are intricate. Before construction, a theoretical analysis of the wind turbine installation vessel's insertion at the predetermined turbine location is conducted to calculate the theoretical insertion range and clarify the soil layers the pile shoes need to penetrate, thus avoiding pile punctures due to unclear soil layer analysis.

[0028] Specifically, the depth of the boundary between the current weak and hard geological layers is identified. Based on this boundary depth, the theoretical leg insertion range, subsequent pile driving depth, and load control are determined. The pile shoe must penetrate the weak layer and reach a sufficient depth into the underlying hard soil layer to ensure the bearing capacity meets the maximum operating load of the wind turbine installation vessel platform, including the pile driving load. At the interface between layers with stronger and weaker bearing capacity, puncture is likely to occur, which can cause the wind turbine installation vessel platform to tilt, increasing construction risks.

[0029] See also Figure 2In one embodiment, before installation, the wind turbine installation vessel needs to be moved to the side of the wind turbine installation location using the vessel's DP propulsion system, based on the wind turbine's installation position. The wind turbine installation vessel is located downstream of the wind turbine installation location in the direction of the water flow. Further, after the wind turbine installation vessel reaches the vicinity of the wind turbine location, construction personnel set up a distance measuring instrument on the stern deck of the wind turbine installation vessel, bringing the main crane side of the wind turbine installation vessel close to the wind turbine, and measuring the straight-line distance from the stern edge of the wind turbine installation vessel to the center of the wind turbine foundation. The position of the wind turbine installation vessel is adjusted based on the real-time monitored distance data. Using the DP propulsion system, the position of the wind turbine installation vessel is moved to a location approximately 50 meters from the center of the wind turbine foundation and the rotation center of the main crane. The wind turbine installation vessel is then positioned, and its main crane meets the requirements for the entire wind turbine installation.

[0030] See Figure 1 and Figure 3 Step S2: Control the wind turbine installation vessel to lower the legs until all legs are lowered to the seabed. Specifically, after positioning, start the leg system and slowly lower the legs until all legs are slowly lowered to the seabed. During the lowering process, the wind turbine installation vessel continues to operate its DP propulsion system to keep the vessel's position unchanged.

[0031] Furthermore, after each leg has sunk under its own weight, the DP dynamic positioning system of the wind turbine installation vessel is shut down. In this embodiment, after the bottom shoe of the leg makes contact with the seabed, the leg operators continue to lower the leg until the weight of the approximately 1000T leg is completely supported by the seabed, at which point the DP dynamic positioning system of the wind turbine installation vessel is shut down.

[0032] Step S3: After controlling each pile leg to sink under its own weight, perform the first active pile driving of the wind turbine installation vessel.

[0033] Specifically, the sinking of each pile leg under its own weight is controlled, and the natural settlement amount and natural settlement rate of the pile leg within a preset time are monitored. If the natural settlement amount reaches a stable depth and the self-weight of the pile leg is completely supported by the seabed, or if the natural settlement amount does not reach a stable depth and the natural settlement rate is greater than the safe rate, then the first active pile driving of the wind turbine installation vessel is started.

[0034] Pile leg self-settlement control involves allowing the pile leg to settle to a stable depth under its own weight, preventing sudden penetration. If the natural settlement rate exceeds the safe rate, it indicates that the surface soil is weak, requiring a slower lowering speed or earlier initiation of the first pile driving operation to prevent the pile leg from penetrating the boundary between soft and hard soil layers due to natural settlement. The stable depth is less than the first active pile driving depth, i.e., the first preset depth, which is lower than the depth of the hard layer.

[0035] In this embodiment, the pile legs are lowered until they contact the seabed, and the natural settlement rate, initial natural settlement rate, and final stable depth are recorded. After the pile legs, which weigh 1000T, are fully supported by the seabed, the process is paused for about half an hour to two hours to allow the soil around the pile legs to recover, which facilitates subsequent active pile driving.

[0036] Step S4: The first active pile driving includes: applying a graded load to the pile legs until the active pile driving load on the pile legs reaches the first preset load or the pile legs settle to the first preset depth, thus completing the first active pile driving. The first preset depth is lower than the depth of the hard layer.

[0037] Specifically, the first active pile driving includes applying a graded load to the diagonal pile legs, with a stabilizing platform load applied to each of the two diagonal pile legs that are not in active pile driving state; after driving the piles to this diagonal pile leg, the second active pile driving is completed by applying a graded load to the other two diagonal pile legs, wherein the first preset load is 7500T. The stabilizing platform load is approximately 1000T.

[0038] The first active pile driving pre-presses the pile shoe of the pile leg to the bottom of the weak layer, close to the interface of the hard layer, but does not trigger puncture. By maintaining pressure, the surrounding soil can be initially consolidated. The pile shoe must pass through the risk interface and embed into the stable bearing layer, without being suspended at the interface.

[0039] In this embodiment, the first active pile driving includes: applying a load to the pile leg by increasing the first load amount at each level, maintaining the pressure at each level for a first preset time, until the load on the pile leg reaches a first safety threshold or the settlement of the pile leg reaches a safe depth from the hard layer, then applying a load to the pile leg by increasing the second load amount at each level, maintaining the pressure at each level for a second preset time, wherein the second preset time is greater than the first preset time, and the second load amount is less than the first load amount; Monitor the settlement change curve during each stage of pile driving. If there is a sudden change in settlement, stop pile driving and maintain pressure until the settlement rate converges to the set value. Continue to apply load in stages until the active pile driving load on the pile leg reaches the first preset load or the pile leg settles to the first preset depth, thus completing the first active pile driving.

[0040] Specifically, a first preset load of 7500T is applied to the pile leg using a tiered loading method, such as increasing the load by 1000T-1500T per tier, with a first preset holding time of 10-30 minutes for each tier, and the pile leg settlement is recorded. When the load on the pile leg reaches the first safety threshold, such as 5000T, or the safe depth from the hard layer, such as 3-8 meters, the load increase in each tier can be reduced, and the second load can be 300T-1000T. The settlement curve is closely monitored when the load reaches 5000T-7500T. If there is a sudden change in settlement, the load increase is immediately stopped, and the pressure is held for 30 minutes to observe whether it stabilizes. If stable, the load is continued to 7500T and held for 30 minutes. The first active pile driving uses a large load and short holding time to quickly reach near the hard layer, improving the efficiency of the initial pile driving. Once the soil reaches the hard layer, switch to a low load and long holding time to allow the soil to consolidate slowly and the pile legs to gradually penetrate, avoiding impact damage to the bearing layer.

[0041] Furthermore, during the first active pile driving process, if there is a sudden change in settlement, pile driving is stopped and pressure is maintained until the settlement rate converges to the set value, then the graded loading of loads continues, including: If there is a sudden change in settlement, stop pile driving and maintain pressure for a preset observation time; If the settlement rate does not converge to the set value, after unloading the corresponding pile leg, wait for the soil at the pile driving location to recover for at least half an hour before re-grading the load. If the settlement rate converges to the set value, the graded loading of loads will continue. Repeatedly monitor the settlement change curve during each stage of pile driving until the first active pile driving is completed.

[0042] During pile driving, real-time monitoring of pile leg settlement trends allows for assessment of soil disturbance and stability, enabling early identification of anomalies. Stopping pile driving and maintaining pressure until the settlement rate converges during sudden settlement changes prevents further soil damage. Holding pressure and waiting for settlement convergence allows the soil to reconsolidate and pore water pressure to dissipate. Once stability is confirmed, further loading can be resumed in stages to avoid sudden settlement leading to hull tilting or uneven pile leg loading, thus improving the reliability of the final pile bearing capacity. If settlement fails to converge, partially unloading the load and waiting for soil recovery for at least half an hour eliminates overstress in the soil around the pile legs. This allows pore water pressure to dissipate and the soil structure to re-stabilize, preventing continued soil disturbance and increasing the probability of a successful second round of active pile driving.

[0043] In another embodiment, if the settlement rate fails to converge to the set value at least three times, the pile driving is switched to alternating single-leg driving to reduce soil disturbance. Switching from synchronous / group pile driving to alternating single-leg driving significantly reduces the range and intensity of soil disturbance, avoiding large-area soil damage, slippage, and through-damage surfaces caused by simultaneous loading of multiple pile legs. The pile driving is completed through a degradation strategy, improving the tolerance for complex geological conditions.

[0044] See Figure 1 and Figure 4 Step S5: After the platform of the wind turbine installation vessel is raised above the water surface, the second active pile driving is carried out. Once the platform is raised above the water surface, its own weight is evenly distributed to the four pile legs.

[0045] Specifically, as the platform load gradually increases, the soil recovery is verified to prevent platform tilting. For every 0.5 meters the wind turbine installation vessel platform is raised, pressure is maintained for 15 minutes, and platform settlement and tilting are monitored. If settlement exceeds the safety threshold (e.g., 3-10 cm), it indicates insufficient soil consolidation; raising is then paused, and the pressure maintenance time is increased until settlement stabilizes. During platform raising, the pressure on each pile leg is adjusted in real time to maintain platform level.

[0046] Step S6: The second active pile driving includes: applying graded loads to the diagonal pile legs until the active pile driving load on the pile legs reaches the second preset load, maintaining the preset pressure holding time so that the pile legs do not settle further after the insertion depth of the pile legs reaches the theoretical insertion range, thus completing the pile driving; repeat this step to complete the second active pile driving of the other pair of diagonal pile legs.

[0047] Specifically, the second active pile driving operation is carried out after the wind turbine installation vessel platform has been raised above the water, and the weight of the platform is entirely supported by the pile legs. At this stage, diagonal pile driving is mainly performed, that is, by applying a second preset load of 13500T to each of the two pile legs on one diagonal side, while keeping the lifting system of the other diagonal leg in braking mode. After the second active pile driving, the pile shoe reaction force should be maintained at its maximum level for at least one hour. Once no further settlement of the pile legs is observed, the pile driving is complete. The above steps are repeated to complete the pile driving of the other diagonal leg, similarly applying the second preset load of 13500T.

[0048] In this embodiment, the second active pile driving control involves fully pressing the pile shoe of the pile leg into the hard layer to the design depth, achieving the final design bearing capacity. Initially, the pile leg needs to gradually penetrate from the weak layer into the hard layer. Each initial pile driving stage increases the first-stage load. When the pressure on the pile shoe increases to the set pressure, it is determined that the pile shoe has entered the hard layer. At this point, a second-stage load can be applied, increasing the load by one stage per stage. The second-stage load is greater than the first-stage load. For example, if the first-stage load is less than or equal to 1000T, the second-stage load is 1500T-2000T. The first-stage pressure is maintained for half an hour to an hour per stage, and the second-stage pressure is maintained for half an hour to 15 minutes per stage. In the hard layer, initial settlement is small. As the load increases, settlement will increase. When the load reaches 10000T or more, settlement should be closely monitored. After reaching 13500T, pressure should be maintained for at least one hour. If settlement is not stable, the pressure maintenance time should be extended to two hours.

[0049] The second active pile driving adopts diagonal pile legs for graded loading, so that the hull is subjected to symmetrical force and the load is transferred evenly, avoiding platform torsion, tilting or stress concentration caused by concentrated loading on one side. The pile driving is judged to be completed based on three conditions: the load meets the standard, the depth enters the theoretical range and there is no further settlement, so as to ensure that the pile legs truly enter the designed bearing layer.

[0050] In this embodiment, the second active pile driving is followed by: If the actual insertion depth of the pile leg exceeds the theoretical insertion range after the second active pile driving, the pile leg shall be pulled out, the position of the wind turbine installation vessel shall be readjusted, and the insertion operation shall be repeated, and the current position of the wind turbine installation vessel shall be completely different from the previous position.

[0051] If the actual insertion depth exceeds the theoretical insertion range, indicating poor soil stability at the current insertion location, it's crucial to avoid overloading the pile leg structure and causing excessive soil disturbance due to excessive insertion depth, which could affect pile leg stability. Re-inserting the pile leg ensures that the insertion depth remains within the designed safe range from the outset. During pile insertion, if the pile shoe position overlaps with an existing pile shoe footprint, the support reaction force on the pile leg will not be collinear with the pile leg center, potentially causing the pile shoe to slip. This situation can lead to additional bending moments on the pile leg, easily causing platform tilting or damage to the pile leg on the wind turbine installation vessel. Therefore, the original pile insertion position should be staggered to reduce safety risks.

[0052] See Figure 1 and Figure 5 Step S7: Raise the wind turbine installation vessel to the working air gap to complete the installation of the wind turbine installation vessel.

[0053] Specifically, the wind turbine installation vessel is raised to the working air gap, and the tilt of the wind turbine installation vessel platform is monitored. If the current tilt is greater than the preset tilt, the load difference on the diagonal pile legs is adjusted until the current tilt of the wind turbine installation vessel platform is less than or equal to the preset tilt.

[0054] After the pile driving is completed, the pile legs have formed a stable support. At this time, the platform is raised to the working air gap to ensure that the operation is not directly affected by waves and tides. The tilt is monitored at the same time. If the tilt exceeds the preset value, the load difference between the diagonal pile legs is adjusted. By utilizing the symmetry of diagonal forces, the attitude of the wind turbine installation vessel platform is corrected through a small load difference, which does not exceed 10% of the design load. This avoids stress imbalance or secondary tilting caused by unilateral adjustment and avoids the cumulative deviation affecting subsequent operations.

[0055] In one embodiment, this application also describes a wind turbine installation vessel, which is constructed and installed using the installation method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0056] The installation and construction method proposed in this application addresses the core pain points of complex geology in the deep sea, such as the difficulty in driving piles, the difficulty in attitude control, and the low reliability of bearing capacity of wind turbine installation vessels. Through a closed-loop control of the entire process of "geological prediction - graded pile driving - diagonal loading - settlement monitoring - correction adjustment - attitude fine-tuning", the installation and construction of wind turbine installation vessels under complex geology is made more precise and controllable. It improves the precise control of pile leg driving depth and bearing capacity, and avoids problems such as pile leg eccentric loading, tilting, slippage, excessively rapid sinking, or insufficient driving depth.

[0057] The first pile driving achieves foundation anchorage, and the second pile driving verifies the stability of the bearing layer through pressure holding, completely solving the problem of unreliable bearing capacity due to the traditional process relying solely on load or depth as a single indicator; the active correction when the insertion depth exceeds the range ensures that the pile legs are always within the designed safe insertion depth range, providing stable support for wind turbine installation.

[0058] Throughout the process, soil disturbance is minimized. Through measures such as graded loading, pressure consolidation, and unloading recovery, the integrity of the soil structure around the pile is protected, ensuring that the bearing capacity of the pile legs is real and effective, and meeting the long-term stable bearing requirements under the air gap of the wind turbine installation vessel.

[0059] It should be understood that, although Figure 1 The steps in the flowchart are shown sequentially as indicated by the arrows, but these steps are not necessarily executed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order in which these steps are executed, and they can be performed in other orders. Figure 1 At least some of the steps in the process may include multiple steps or multiple stages. These steps or stages are not necessarily completed at the same time, but may be executed at different times. The execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but may be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least some of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0060] In the description of this application, it should be understood that if terms such as "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" appear, these terms indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional 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, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0061] Furthermore, where the terms "first" and "second" appear, these terms are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this application, where the term "multiple" appears, "multiple" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0062] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0063] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementation methods of this application, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this patent application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel, characterized in that, The installation and construction method includes: Identify the depth and location of the boundary between the current weak and hard geological layers; The theoretical insertion range of the wind turbine installation vessel's legs is determined based on current geological data; The wind turbine installation vessel was controlled to lower the pile legs until all the pile legs were lowered to the seabed. After each pile leg has sunk under its own weight, the natural settlement amount and natural settlement rate of the pile leg are monitored within a preset time. If the natural settlement amount reaches the stable depth and the self-weight of the pile leg is completely supported by the seabed, or if the natural settlement amount has not reached the stable depth and the natural settlement rate is greater than the safe rate, then the first active pile driving of the wind turbine installation vessel is started. The stable depth is less than the first preset depth, and the first preset depth is less than the depth of the hard layer. The first active pile driving includes: applying load to the pile leg in stages, increasing the load by a first amount at each stage, and holding the load for a first preset time at each stage, until the load on the pile leg reaches a first safety threshold or the settlement of the pile leg reaches the safe depth from the hard layer, then applying load to the pile leg by a second amount at each stage, and holding the load for a second preset time at each stage, wherein the second preset time is greater than the first preset time and the second load is less than the first load; Monitor the settlement change curve during each stage of pile driving. If there is a sudden change in settlement, stop pile driving and maintain pressure for a preset observation time. If the settlement rate does not converge to the set value, after unloading the corresponding pile leg, wait for the soil at the pile driving location to recover for at least half an hour before re-grading the load. If the settlement rate converges to the set value, the graded loading of loads will continue. Repeatedly monitor the settlement change curve during each stage of pile driving until the active pile driving load on the pile leg reaches the first preset load or the pile leg settles to the first preset depth, thus completing the first active pile driving. After the platform of the wind turbine installation vessel is raised out of the water, a second round of active pile driving is carried out. The second active pile driving includes: applying graded loads to the diagonal pile legs until the active pile driving load on the pile legs reaches the second preset load, maintaining the preset pressure holding time so that the pile legs do not settle further after the insertion depth of the pile legs reaches the theoretical insertion range, thus completing the pile driving; repeating this step to complete the second active pile driving of the other pair of diagonal pile legs; The wind turbine installation vessel was raised to the working air gap to complete the installation work.

2. The installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first active pile driving includes applying a graded load to the diagonal pile legs, and applying a stabilizing platform load to each of the two diagonal pile legs that are not in an active pile driving state; after completing the pile driving of this diagonal pile leg, the first active pile driving is completed by applying a graded load to the two pile legs of the other diagonal, wherein the first preset load is 7500T and the stabilizing platform load is 1000T.

3. The installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to claim 2, characterized in that, Each stage increases the first load by 1000T-1500T, with a first preset holding time of 10-30 minutes for each stage. When the load on the pile leg reaches the first safety threshold of 5000T or the settlement of the pile leg reaches a safe depth of 3-8 meters from the hard layer, the second load is increased by 300T-1000T per stage. Monitor the settlement curve when the load reaches 5000T-7500T. If there is a sudden change in settlement, stop pile driving and hold the pressure for 30 minutes to observe whether it is stable. If it is stable, continue loading to 7500T and hold the pressure for 30 minutes.

4. The installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The settlement change curves during each stage of pile driving were repeatedly monitored, and this was followed by: If the settlement rate fails to converge to the set value at least three times, the method will be changed to alternating single-leg pile driving to reduce disturbance to the soil.

5. The installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that, After the weight of the leg is entirely supported by the seabed, it also includes: Once the 1000-ton pile leg is fully supported by the seabed, pause for half an hour to two hours to allow the soil around the pile leg to recover, which will facilitate subsequent active pile driving.

6. The installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the initial stage of the second active pile driving, the pile leg needs to gradually break through from the weak layer into the hard layer. In the initial pile driving, the first stage load is increased for each level. When the pressure of the pile leg shoe increases to the set pressure, it is determined that the pile shoe has entered the hard layer. At this time, the second stage load is increased for each level. The second stage load is greater than the first stage load. The first stage load is less than or equal to 1000T, and the second stage load is 1500T-2000T. The pressure is maintained for half an hour to one hour for each level in the first stage, and for half an hour to 15 minutes for each level in the second stage.

7. The installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The second active pile driving also includes: If the actual insertion depth of the pile leg exceeds the theoretical insertion range after the second active pile driving, the pile leg shall be pulled out, the position of the wind turbine installation vessel shall be readjusted, and the insertion operation shall be repeated, and the current position of the wind turbine installation vessel shall be completely different from the previous position.

8. The installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The process of raising the wind turbine installation vessel to the working air gap includes: Raise the wind turbine installation vessel to the working air gap and monitor the tilt of the wind turbine installation vessel platform; If the current tilt is greater than the preset tilt, adjust the load difference on the diagonal pile legs until the current tilt of the wind turbine installation vessel platform is less than or equal to the preset tilt.

9. The installation and construction method for a wind turbine installation vessel according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The process of lowering the pile legs of the wind turbine installation vessel, prior to the following: Based on the installation location of the wind turbine, the wind turbine installation vessel is moved to one side of the wind turbine installation location using the ship's DP propulsion system; wherein, the wind turbine installation vessel is located downstream of the wind turbine installation location in the direction of water flow. After each pile leg sinks under its own weight, the DP dynamic positioning system of the wind turbine installation vessel is shut down.

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