Aircraft-Transportable Drilling Platform for Unstable Ground
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Solution Overview
Problem
The traditional drilling season for stratigraphic wells is limited to about 10 weeks due to challenges in accessing remote locations with temporary roads on unfrozen, marshy ground, restricting oil reserve exploration.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft-transportable platform component with a buoyant body supported by a frame, featuring protruding frame portions for anchoring and lifting members for aircraft engagement, allowing the platform to maintain stability on unstable ground and extend the drilling season.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If temporary roads are built across unfrozen, marshy ground for drilling access, then drilling operations can be performed, but the ground becomes unstable and environmentally challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The platform is divided into multiple separate buoyant bodies (e.g., two 10-foot by 10-foot buoyant bodies) that can be independently positioned and anchored. This segmentation allows the platform to adapt to unstable ground conditions by distributing the load across multiple anchor points rather than relying on a single continuous foundation, thereby maintaining drilling operation capability while accommodating ground instability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces buoyant bodies as intermediary elements between the drilling rig and the unstable ground. These buoyant bodies float on the marshy ground surface and provide a stable platform for the drilling rig, effectively mediating between the unstable ground conditions and the requirement for stable drilling operations. The buoyant bodies act as a buffer that isolates the drilling equipment from the unstable ground.
2Ease of operation
If drilling operations are limited to winter months with frozen ground, then access by temporary roads is possible, but the drilling season is restricted to about 10 weeks per year
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical road access system with an aerial transport system. Instead of relying on temporary roads that can only be built on frozen ground, the buoyant platform is transported by helicopter directly to the drilling site. This substitution eliminates the dependency on frozen ground conditions for access, allowing drilling operations to proceed year-round when the ground is frozen or stable, thereby extending the drilling season beyond the traditional 10-week winter period.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the transport parameter from ground-based mechanical vehicles to aerial helicopter transport. This parameter change enables access to remote drilling sites regardless of ground conditions, as helicopters can operate from the air and deposit the buoyant platform components directly at the site. This eliminates the seasonal limitation imposed by road construction constraints and extends the operational window for drilling activities.
3Reliability
If conventional drilling platforms are used on unstable ground, then drilling can proceed, but the platform cannot be easily transported by aircraft
Solution Approach 1:
The platform is segmented into multiple lightweight buoyant body components that can be individually transported by helicopter. Each buoyant body is a separate, transportable unit that can be assembled on-site to form the complete platform. This segmentation reduces the size and weight of individual components, making them suitable for aerial transport while maintaining the overall stability and functionality of the complete platform when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform transitions from a static, fixed structure to a dynamic, modular system. The buoyant bodies can be independently positioned, adjusted, and reconfigured based on ground conditions and operational requirements. This dynamic modularity allows the platform to be easily transported by aircraft in a compact form and then deployed as a functional drilling platform, balancing transportability with operational stability.
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
Enables drilling operations on soft or unstable ground, such as mud, marsh, or muskeg, by providing a stable surface for drilling rigs, extending the drilling season and reducing environmental impact while facilitating rapid site reclamation.
Implementation Method 1
a buoyant body supported by a frame, a portion of the frame protruding from an underside surface of the frame for anchoring the platform component in unstable ground; wherein the buoyant body maintains a top surface of the aircraft-transportable platform component above the unstable ground
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft-transportable platform component for supporting a drilling rig includes a buoyant body supported by a frame and lifting members coupled to the frame for engagement by an aircraft. A portion of the frame protrudes from an underside surface of the frame for anchoring the platform component in unstable ground. The buoyant body maintains a top surface of the aircraft-transportable platform component above the unstable ground.