Floating or semi-submersible installation with wind turbine

Abstract

Floating or semi-submersible installation (1) comprising a deck (2), a hull (3), with the deck covering the hull so as to form an enclosed space divided into compartments by partitions (4), and a wind turbine (5) having a mast, the base (6) of which is located below the deck and fixed to at least two of said partitions (4) by means of a foundation system (7) comprising free spaces (9), (10).

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] TITLE: Floating or semi-submersible installation with wind turbine

[0003] The present invention relates to floating or semi-submersible installations comprising a hull and a wind turbine anchored in the hull.

[0004] There are many offshore production and operating units, particularly for oil and gas extraction. These units are often shaped like ship hulls and are permanently moored at the production site. Energy requirements are then provided by equipment that generally consists of mechanical or electrical power generators, such as piston engines or gas turbines, possibly combined with alternators.

[0005] These usual solutions have the disadvantage of either requiring the importation of fuels such as gasoline, diesel or gas, or of self-consuming part of their hydrocarbon production.

[0006] Furthermore, these conventional energy generation solutions take up space in the hull or on its deck, thus increasing the volume or space requirements, at the respective expense of storage volumes in the hull or space for conditioning processes on deck for a given hull size, or require a larger hull.

[0007] From this, a problem that arises is to provide a floating or semi-submersible installation including a means of producing energy occupying a limited space in said installation.

[0008] A solution of the present invention is a floating or semi-submersible installation 1 comprising a deck 2, a hull 3, with the deck covering the hull so as to form an enclosed space compartmentalized by partitions 4, and a wind turbine 5 having a mast whose base 6 is located below the deck and fixed to at least two of said partitions 4 by means of a foundation system 7 comprising free spaces 9, 10.

[0009] In the context of the invention, the term "hull" will be understood to mean the envelope of the boat located under the deck.

[0010] Similarly, "free spaces" will be understood to mean spaces not occupied by the structure of the foundation system or by the base of the wind turbine mast.

[0011] Advantageously, the free spaces in the foundation system represent between 50 and 75% of the volume of the foundation system. It should be noted that these percentages do not take into account the volume between the shell and the foundation system since this volume is not part of the foundation system.

[0012] The wind turbine 5 will preferably be adjustable so as to orient the blades of the wind turbine according to the wind.

[0013] Furthermore, the installation may preferably be mobile so as to also ensure partial alignment of the wind turbine with existing wind conditions.

[0014] [Fig 1] Figure 1A represents a side view of an installation according to the invention.

[0015] [Fig 1] Figure 1B more specifically represents a view of a cross-section of the foundation system 7 fixed in two partitions 4.

[0016] Depending on the case, the installation according to the invention may have one or more of the characteristics below:

[0017] - the bulkheads are ballast tank or storage compartment bulkheads;

[0018] - the installation includes a free space 14 between the foundation system 7 and the shell 3;

[0019] - the foundation system includes a parallelepiped frame;

[0020] - the frame defines 2n + 1 rectangular volumes, a central volume 8 and 2n lateral volumes 9, 10, in series across the width of the hull, with the central volume comprising the base of the wind turbine and the lateral volumes being free spaces and with n > 1. Preferably n will be between 1 and 4.

[0021] - the central volume comprises vertical panels 11 fixed between the base of the mast and the walls of the central volume; preferably the vertical panels will have a height similar to the height of the central volume; preferably the central volume will comprise between 4 and 16 vertical panels, uniformly distributed around the base of the wind turbine mast; preferably the vertical panels will be made of steel; These vertical panels will be intended to transfer the forces from the wind turbine mast to the foundation system 7;

[0022] - the frame is made of steel;

[0023] - free spaces 9, 10 and 14 are storage spaces;

[0024] - the base of the wind turbine mast is fixed in the installation so as to limit translational movements in the 3 axes, preferably at a point located close to the metacenter of the hull of the installation, preferably less than 30 meters from the metacenter of the hull of the installation;

[0025] - the installation comprises means 12 for transferring the forces, fixed between the part of the wind turbine mast located above the bridge and the bridge itself; The means 12 for transferring the forces will preferably be gussets; - the installation comprises means 13 for transferring the forces, fixed between the base of the foundation system and the partitions; the means 13 will preferably be chosen from horizontal gussets or vertical gussets;

[0026] - the installation is an installation for the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide and it comprises a storage compartment for carbon dioxide in the liquid state, located in the space formed by the hull and the deck, and an injection device, capable of injecting carbon dioxide into an underwater geological reservoir, from said storage compartment;

[0027] - the wind turbine is capable of producing energy and supplying the injection device;

[0028] - The installation comprises a storage device for the energy produced by the wind turbine, preferably a battery for storing the energy produced by the wind turbine; The storage device combined with the wind turbine allows continuous use of the energy given that the wind turbine provides energy that varies over time;

[0029] - The installation is a ship, a floating unit or a barge.

[0030] [Fig 2] Figure 2 represents a 3D view of the foundation system 7 with its different volumes 8, 9, 10, the base of the wind turbine mast 6, and the different means for transferring the forces 11, 12, 13.

[0031] [Fig 3] Figure 3 represents a 3D view of the block formed by the wind turbine mast, the foundation system 7, the bulkheads 4, the deck 2 and the hull 3. It can be clearly seen that the installation includes a free space 14 between the foundation system 7 and the hull 3.

[0032] The solution proposed by the present invention allows the installation of a wind turbine on a floating or semi-submersible unit avoiding the use of foundations created on the bottom of the hull itself, as is often the case on offshore oil and gas units for the installation of heavy equipment (by "heavy equipment" we mean equipment with a weight greater than 4 tons). Indeed, the installation of such heavy equipment on offshore units usually requires the use of large quantities of steel (for example between 8 and 10% of the weight of the heavy equipment carried) in the foundations whose sole purpose is to transfer forces to the hull of the boat. These foundations are made of steel or reinforced concrete depending on the material used for the hull.The solution proposed by the present invention has the advantage of using already existing bulkhead structures, ballast bulkheads or compartment separation bulkheads, while limiting the embedding in the height of the space between the deck and the hull. Indeed, the free spaces included in the foundation system and in the space between the foundation system and the hull are spaces available for storage or the location of secondary functionalities necessary for the installation.This constitutes a significant additional advantage compared to the solutions of the prior art: unlike the foundation system proposed within the framework of the invention, the volumes inside the foundations according to the prior art cannot be used to accommodate other functions such as storage volumes or control or power rooms, in particular due to the forces passing through the foundations and the associated risks.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Floating or semi-submersible installation (1) comprising a deck (2), a hull (3), with the deck covering the hull so as to form an enclosed space compartmentalized by partitions (4), and a wind turbine (5) having a mast whose base (6) is located below the deck and fixed to at least two of said partitions (4) by means of a foundation system (7) comprising free spaces (9), (10).

2. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the partitions are ballast or storage tank partitions.

3. Installation according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a free space (14) between the foundation system and the shell.

4. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the foundation system (7) comprises a parallelepiped frame.

5. Installation according to claim 4, characterized in that the frame defines 2n + 1 rectangular volumes, a central volume (8) and 2n lateral volumes (9), (10), in series across the width of the hull, with the central volume comprising the base of the wind turbine and the lateral volumes being free spaces and with n > 1.

6. Installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the central volume (8) comprises vertical panels (11) fixed between the base of the mast and the walls of the central volume.

7. Installation according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the frame is made of steel.

8. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the free spaces are storage spaces.

9. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the base of the wind turbine mast is fixed in the installation so as to limit translational movements in the 3 axes, preferably at a point located near the metacenter of hull of the installation, preferably less than 30 meters from the metacenter of the hull of the installation.

10. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises means (12) for transferring the forces, fixed between the part of the wind turbine mast located above the bridge and the bridge itself.

11. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it comprises means (13) for transferring the forces, fixed between the base of the foundation system and the partitions.

12. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that said installation is an installation for the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide and it comprises a compartment for storing carbon dioxide in the liquid state, located in the space formed by the hull and the deck, and an injection device, capable of injecting carbon dioxide into an underwater geological reservoir, from said storage compartment.

13. Installation according to claim 12, characterized in that the wind turbine is capable of producing energy and supplying the injection device.

14. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that it comprises a member for storing the energy produced by the wind turbine, preferably a battery for storing the energy produced by the wind turbine.

15. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that it is a ship, a floating unit or a barge.

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