Floating Platform With Flexible Units for Self-Detachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aquatic floating platforms often get stuck in hardened sediment due to water level fluctuations, requiring external help to detach, which can damage carried items when water rises.
Innovation Solution
A carrying device with a floating platform and flexible units at its bottom, featuring a cavity filled with lubricant, that deforms under gravity and stress to sink into sediment, and utilizes buoyancy to deform again and break free from sediment when water levels rise, reducing friction and allowing self-detachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the floating platform is designed to be simple and rely only on buoyancy, then the device complexity is low, but the floating platform cannot break free from consolidated soil when water level rises
Solution Approach 1:
The pile foot is designed with a flexible unit that can dynamically change its shape between extended and retracted states. This dynamic flexibility allows the pile foot to adapt to different water levels and soil conditions, enabling the floating platform to break free from consolidated soil when water level rises without requiring complex external assistance mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible unit changes its physical state (shape and stiffness) in response to environmental parameters such as water level and soil consistency. When water level rises, the flexible unit transitions to a state that facilitates detachment from the soil, allowing the platform to overcome the contradiction between simple structure and effective self-detachment.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the floating platform gets stuck in hardened sediment during water shortage, then the platform remains stable during low water levels, but the platform cannot detach when water level rises subsequently
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible unit provides dynamic adaptability, allowing the pile foot to maintain a stable extended position during low water levels for anchoring, and then transition to a flexible retracted state when water level rises to facilitate easy detachment from hardened sediment without external assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible unit enables the floating platform to service itself by automatically adjusting its configuration in response to water level changes. The platform uses its own buoyancy force, transmitted through the flexible unit, to detach from the sediment when water level rises, eliminating the need for external help.
3Reliability
If external help is used to detach the floating platform from sediment, then the platform can break free, but the carried items may be damaged during the detachment process
Solution Approach 1:
The floating platform uses its own buoyancy force, transmitted through the flexible unit, to detach from the sediment independently. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external assistance that could potentially damage the carried items, while still ensuring reliable detachment when water level rises.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible unit acts as a flexible element that allows the pile foot to deform and adapt during the detachment process. This flexibility enables the platform to break free from consolidated soil in a controlled manner, protecting the carried items from sudden movements or external forces that could cause damage.
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 the carrying device to break free from consolidated soil without external assistance, preventing immersion of carried items and maintaining operational efficiency with low manufacturing and maintenance costs.
Implementation Method 1
the flexible unit is deformed by the gravity of the carrying device and a stress from the sediment
Implementation Method 2
when the level of the liquid rises, the buoyancy of the carrying device provides another stress for the flexible unit to undergo another deformation for the flexible unit to break free and detach from the sediment
Implementation Method 3
A cavity filled with lubricant, that deforms under gravity and stress to sink into sediment
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a carrying device and an operation method thereof. The carrying device includes: a floating platform; and at least one flexible unit provided on a bottom side of the floating plate and having a cavity formed therein. The flexible unit is deformed under a stress to reduce the friction force between the flexible unit and the solid in the water, which allows the carrying device to break free from the solid without external help.