Floating Offshore Structure with Segmented Support Legs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floating offshore wind structures are limited to nominal outputs of up to 10 MW and lack redundancy for stability, particularly in the event of ship collisions, and are sensitive to sea conditions.
Innovation Solution
A floating offshore structure with a foundation featuring a coherent base body and support legs composed of multiple parallel support tubes, providing buoyancy and stability, with deep ballasting tanks and loose anchoring to allow for movement with the sea, and redundant support leg design to maintain stability in case of damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional floating offshore structures are used, then they can support wind turbines up to 10 MW, but they lack redundancy and are sensitive to ship collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The support legs are divided into multiple separate tubes (at least two) that are connected by cross-bracing. This segmentation provides redundancy - if one tube is damaged by a ship collision, the others remain intact to maintain structural stability. The cross-bracing connects these segmented tubes while preserving the overall structural integrity needed for high-capacity wind turbines.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple support tubes are used to provide redundancy, then collision resistance improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple support tubes are merged into a unified structural system through cross-bracing elements. This combining approach distributes collision forces across multiple tubes while maintaining the redundancy needed for collision resistance. The cross-bracing merges the individual tubes into a coordinated system that resists harmful collision forces more effectively than a single tube could.
3Stability of the object's composition
If deep ballasting tanks are used, then weight stability and reduced draft are achieved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deep ballasting tanks serve multiple functions: they provide weight stability by positioning the center of gravity low, reduce draft to enable easier deployment, and can be configured with adjustable ballast water levels to adapt to different sea conditions and wind turbine capacities. This multi-functionality justifies the manufacturing complexity by delivering multiple performance benefits from a single structural feature.
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 structure achieves weight-stable floating with reduced draft and enhanced stability, allowing for higher output capacities and improved resilience to collisions and sea conditions, while maintaining flexibility and alignment with wind directions.
Implementation Method 1
The foundation generates a buoyancy that keeps both the foundation and the superstructure floating in position
Implementation Method 2
Support legs extend from the base body and lead to a transition piece on which the superstructure, in particular the wind turbine, is arranged
Implementation Method 3
The offshore structure is designed to float in an operating position, ensuring weight stability
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a floating offshore structure (11) with a superstructure (2) and a foundation (1) with a continuous base body (8) with at least one ballast tank and with support legs (4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) extending from the base body, which lead to a transition piece (3) on which the superstructure (2) is arranged, wherein the support legs (4, 5, 6) at least partially comprise at least two adjacent support leg tubes (4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) and the offshore structure (11) floats in a weight-stable operating position.