Flexible Scour Screen for Offshore Suction Piles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-scouring systems for offshore suction piles are limited by their bulkiness, stiffness, and reliance on costly and time-consuming submersible vessels for deployment, which can exacerbate scouring due to water currents and interspaces between the system and the seabed.
Innovation Solution
A seabed scour protection device comprising a carrier attached to the offshore suction pile, a flexible sheet-like screen with radial tubular arms, and a pump system to inflate the arms and expand the screen, which can be automatically deployed as the suction pile penetrates the seabed, effectively covering the seabed area and reducing scouring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a bulky and stiff anti-scouring system is used, then the system provides structural stability, but it causes water currents that result in more scouring
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible screen made of thin, pliable material that can adapt to seabed contours without creating rigid structures. This flexible screen is attached to the offshore pile and extends to the seabed, allowing it to conform to irregularities in the seabed surface while preventing water current formation that would occur with rigid systems
Solution Approach 2:
The anti-scouring system is designed to be dynamic rather than static, allowing the screen to move and adapt with seabed variations. The system can be deployed in a retracted state during pile installation and then expanded to cover the seabed area, providing flexibility in both deployment and operation
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid anti-scouring system is used, then the system maintains its position, but it creates interspaces with the seabed that give rise to water currents
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible screen is designed to conform to the seabed surface, eliminating gaps and interspaces between the system and the seabed. This flexibility ensures continuous contact with the seabed contours, preventing water current formation while maintaining position stability
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes its physical state from a rigid structure to a flexible configuration that adapts to seabed conditions. The flexible screen can adjust its shape and position to match seabed variations, ensuring intimate contact and eliminating harmful interspaces
3Ease of operation
If deployment is accomplished from seawater level using ropes or chains, then the system can be deployed, but it restricts maximum depth and reduces reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-deployment by utilizing the suction pile's own penetration through the seabed as the deployment mechanism. As the suction pile drives into the seabed, it automatically releases the flexible screen from a retracted state, eliminating the need for external deployment systems and achieving reliable deployment at any depth
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible screen is pre-loaded in a retracted state on the suction pile, ready for automatic deployment. The hold-and-release mechanism is prepared in advance to automatically release the screen when the suction pile penetrates the seabed, ensuring reliable deployment without requiring external intervention
4Reliability
If a submersible vessel is used to deploy the scouring protection, then the system can be deployed at depth, but it is costly and time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-deployment using the suction pile's penetration action as the triggering mechanism. The hold-and-release system automatically releases the flexible screen when the suction pile reaches the seabed, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming submersible vessels while maintaining deep water deployment capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical deployment systems (submersible vessels, ROVs) with a simpler automatic release mechanism that utilizes the suction pile's penetration force. This mechanical substitution dramatically reduces deployment time and cost while maintaining the ability to deploy at significant depths
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 solution enhances the reliability and efficiency of offshore foundation installations by providing effective scour protection that adapts to seabed height variations, reduces water current-induced scouring, and allows for faster and cheaper deployment without the need for submersible vessels.
Implementation Method 1
pumping a pressure medium under pressure via the pump connection and the duct into one or more of the flexible radial tubular arms
Implementation Method 2
removing water (by suction) from the interior of the offshore pile
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2
AI summary
A seabed scour protection device for protecting an area of a seabed around at least one offshore suction pile is provided. The device comprises a sheet-like flexible screen wherein along a free outer circumferential edge flexible ballast elements are provided, wherein the flexible screen is configured to be movable between a retracted state wherein the screen is in a rolled-up position and an expanded state wherein the screen is in an unrolled position so as to cover the area of the seabed, the sheet-like flexible screen further including a plurality of flexible radial tubular arms. A pressure medium may be pumped into the flexible radial tubular arms in order to cause the flexible scree including the flexible radial tubular arms to move between a retracted state wherein the flexible screen is in a rolled-up position and an expanded state wherein the flexible screen is in an unrolled position so as to cover the area of the seabed thereby substantially avoiding scouring.