Concrete Floating Wind Turbine Platform with Steel Transition Piece

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

There is a need for improved floating wind turbine platforms with concrete hulls that provide a stable platform for mounting wind turbines, addressing the challenges of mounting metal wind turbine towers and ensuring structural stability and buoyancy in offshore installations.

Innovation Solution

A floating wind turbine platform design featuring a pontoon base and integrally formed concrete columns, with a wind turbine tower connected to the first column, utilizing a hollow elongate support member for secure attachment and a ballast arrangement for stability, allowing for efficient construction and maintenance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If concrete sections are used for the buoyant hull, then versatility in shaping is improved, but difficulties arise when mounting metal wind turbine towers thereto

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveshaping versatilityVSAvoidmounting difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

A steel transition piece serves as an intermediary component between the concrete pontoon base and the steel wind turbine tower. This transition piece includes a concrete interface portion that couples to the pontoon base and a steel tower interface portion that couples to the wind turbine tower, thereby resolving the material incompatibility between concrete and steel components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The transition piece utilizes composite construction with a concrete interface portion and a steel tower interface portion, combining different materials to achieve compatibility between the concrete hull and metal wind turbine tower while maintaining structural integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Stability of the object's composition

If multiple concrete sections are attached together to form the hull, then structural stability is improved, but construction complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidconstruction complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The pontoon base and support columns are integrally formed as a single monolithic concrete structure rather than assembling multiple separate sections. This merging of components simplifies construction while maintaining the structural stability benefits of a multi-section design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The design provides a stable and versatile platform for offshore wind turbines, enabling efficient installation and maintenance while ensuring structural integrity and buoyancy, even in deep water conditions, and allowing for easy access and repair.

Implementation Method 1

a buoyant hull onto which the wind turbine may be mounted

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectBuoyancy: Archimedes' Principle (Buoyancy)

Data Source

PatentUS20240343358A1Floating wind turbine platform

Publication Date: 2024.10.17 AKER OFFSHORE WIND OPERATING CO AS

AI summary

Described herein is a floating wind turbine platform comprising a hull, a wind turbine tower. The hull comprises a pontoon base and a first, second and third column integrally formed with the pontoon base, and the wind turbine tower is fixed to and extends upwardly from the first column. The pontoon base and the first, second and third columns are formed substantially of concrete.