Drilling Tower Support for Drill Floor Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current offshore drilling units require a structurally oversized drill floor to accommodate box-like drilling towers with external drilling devices, leading to inefficiencies and operational challenges.
Innovation Solution
The drill floor is supported by the drilling tower itself, which crosses the drill deck and is structurally integrated with the floating unit, allowing for independent operation and reducing the need for a heavy, oversized drill deck.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a box-like structure tower with external drilling devices is used, then the tower construction becomes simpler and more industrialized, but the drill floor must be structurally oversized to withstand the asymmetric weight distribution
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having the drill floor support the tower from below, the invention inverts the support relationship by having the tower structure extend through and support the drill floor from above. The tower acts as a compression member that transfers loads directly to the hull structure, eliminating the need for an oversized drill floor to handle asymmetric loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the tower structure with the drill floor support function. The tower is integrated to extend through the drill floor and provide direct structural support, combining the drilling function with the support function in a single unified structure that eliminates separate support elements.
2Ease of manufacture
If the drill floor is oversized to support box-like tower, then the tower can be simpler and more industrialized, but the floating unit becomes heavier and less efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the traditional support arrangement where the drill floor supports the tower. Instead, the tower extends through and supports the drill floor, transferring loads directly to the hull structure. This eliminates the need for an oversized drill floor, reducing the overall weight of the floating unit while maintaining the simplified box-like tower construction.
3Ease of operation
If drilling devices are placed externally to the tower, then operational advantages are achieved, but asymmetric weight distribution requires oversized structural support
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the support relationship to resolve the issue of asymmetric weight distribution. By having the tower extend through and support the drill floor from above, the asymmetric loads from externally positioned drilling devices are transferred directly to the hull structure through the tower, eliminating the need for an oversized drill floor.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the support function from the drill floor and transfers it to the tower structure. The tower is designed to carry the asymmetric loads from externally positioned drilling devices directly to the hull, freeing the drill floor from structural support requirements and allowing it to be smaller.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a floating unit for drilling operations in particular a drill ship, comprising a floating structure 2 which defines a main deck 3, above which a drill floor 4 is placed, and at least one drilling tower 5 having a box-like structure which extends above the drill floor 4 next to at least one moon pool 6, which vertically crosses the floating structure at the drill floor 4 as far as the bottom 8 of said floating structure. The drilling tower 5 is directly supported by a support structure 10 structurally integrated with the floating structure 2. The support structure 10 of the tower 5 and/or the tower 5 crosses the drill floor 4. The drill floor is structurally supported by the support structure 10 of the tower and/or by the tower itself.