Floating Platform 3D Printing for Marine Cementitious Foundations
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of cementitious bodies for marine applications, such as foundations for wind turbines or marine-pumped hydroelectric systems, requires substantial land area and high-capacity wharves, and often involves challenging shapes and large sizes that are difficult to achieve with conventional materials and methods.
Innovation Solution
The use of floating platforms equipped with additive manufacturing systems, such as 3D printers, spray systems, and slip-forming systems, allows for the fabrication of cementitious bodies on-site, enabling the creation of complex shapes and reducing material requirements. Additionally, modular designs and automated concrete manufacturing methods, like 3D concrete printing and spraying, are employed to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If conventional material stock and manufacturing methods are used, then manufacturing process is simple, but achieving challenging shapes and large sizes requires substantial land area and high-capacity wharves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions manufacturing from a land-based two-dimensional workspace to a three-dimensional floating platform environment. This allows complex geometries to be constructed in situ on water, eliminating the need for extensive land area and high-capacity wharves while enabling challenging shapes through additive and slip-forming processes
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing process is segmented into modular components including additive manufacturing systems, slip-forming systems, and spray systems that can operate independently on the floating platform. This segmentation enables complex geometries to be built through systematic layer-by-layer or form-by-form construction without requiring large continuous land areas
2Volume of moving object
If conventional material stock is used, then material selection is simple, but large sizes require a significant amount of material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material deposition parameters by using additive manufacturing to place cementitious material only where structurally necessary, rather than using conventional formwork that requires complete filling. This parameter change in material placement strategy reduces the total quantity of cementitious material needed for large-volume foundations while achieving the required foundation size and strength
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing system applies local quality by varying material composition and density at different locations within the foundation. Additive manufacturing and slip-forming systems can adjust material properties locally to optimize structural performance, reducing overall material quantity while maintaining required foundation size and strength characteristics
3Productivity
If automated concrete manufacturing methods are employed, then production efficiency increases, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The floating platform is designed as a universal manufacturing system that can perform multiple functions: additive manufacturing, slip-forming, and spray application. This multi-functionality increases productivity by consolidating different manufacturing processes on a single platform while managing complexity through integrated system design and standardized operational procedures
Data Source
AI summary
In a general aspect, a submersible barge includes a deck having a support surface and an additive manufacturing system. The submersible barge may be deployed on a body of water. The additive manufacturing system is configured to fabricate a cementitious body on the support surface by successively depositing layers of flowable cementitious material on top of each other. The submersible barge also includes a buoyancy system that is configured to lower the cementitious body into the body of water by altering a draft of the submersible barge between first and second drafts. When the submersible barge is at the first draft, the support surface resides above a surface of the body of water. When the submersible barge is at the second draft, the support surface resides below the surface of the body of water.