Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation with Buoyancy and Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current offshore wind turbine foundation technologies are economically unfeasible and require extensive subsoil investigations and complex underwater assembly, especially in deep water depths and high wave conditions, limiting their stability and repairability.
Innovation Solution
A floating offshore foundation with a hollow tubular support structure connected by nodes, featuring a multi-leg design with buoyancy bodies and a weight anchor that can be filled with materials of higher specific gravity to stabilize the structure, allowing for easier transportation and anchoring, reducing reliance on subsoil conditions and enabling modular design for various loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional fixed offshore foundation structures (tripods, jackets) are used, then stability is achieved, but cost and complexity increase significantly due to high weight and complex structures
Solution Approach 1:
The foundation is divided into separate modular components: buoyancy bodies, support structure elements, and anchoring systems. These can be assembled in different configurations (mono-leg, multi-leg) depending on water depth and load requirements, reducing overall complexity while maintaining stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The foundation transitions from a static fixed structure to a dynamic floating structure that can adapt to wave conditions. The floating design allows the structure to move with waves rather than resisting them rigidly, reducing structural complexity while maintaining operational stability.
2Reliability
If fixed foundation structures are used in deep water, then stability is maintained, but economic feasibility deteriorates due to high material and installation costs
Solution Approach 1:
Buoyancy bodies provide upward buoyant forces that counteract the downward weight of the support structure and wind turbine. This eliminates the need for heavy concrete or steel foundations that would otherwise be required to achieve stability in deep water, significantly reducing material costs and improving economic feasibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Tension elements act as intermediaries connecting the floating support structure to the seabed anchors. These elements transfer loads between the floating structure and the seabed without requiring direct structural connection, enabling deep water installation with reduced material requirements and lower costs.
3Reliability
If fixed foundation structures are permanently connected to subsoil, then stability is achieved, but repairability and dismantling become extremely difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The foundation consists of separable modular components including buoyancy bodies, support structures, and anchoring systems. The anchoring system can be independently removed from the seabed, allowing the entire floating structure to be detached and transported for repair or relocation without complex underwater dismantling operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating design inherently provides ease of repair compared to fixed structures. The structure can be moved to different locations for repair work, and components can be accessed from the surface rather than requiring underwater intervention, significantly improving maintenance capabilities.
4Strength
If conventional offshore foundations are used, then structural integrity is maintained, but subsoil investigations and underwater work requirements increase costs
Solution Approach 1:
The buoyancy-based support structure achieves stability through buoyant forces rather than reliance on subsoil bearing capacity. This eliminates or significantly reduces the need for extensive subsoil investigations and complex foundation embedding work, reducing both investigation costs and underwater construction requirements while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Tension elements serve as intermediaries that transfer loads from the floating structure to seabed anchors without requiring the structure to be embedded in or directly connected to the subsoil. This minimizes subsoil interaction and associated investigation and construction costs while maintaining structural integrity through the tension anchoring system.
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 provides a technically feasible and economical means to erect and dismantle wind turbines in offshore areas with reduced subsoil dependency, enhancing stability and ease of maintenance while minimizing costs associated with subsoil investigations and underwater work.
Implementation Method 1
a buoyancy body floating in the water, anchored to the seabed with traction devices, that generates sufficient buoyancy to support the weight of a wind turbine
Implementation Method 2
a weight anchor that can be filled with materials of higher specific gravity to stabilize the structure
Data Source
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AI summary
The base (10) has a supporting structure (14) for guiding weight of a load (12) downwards. The structure has a lower end area (18) that is located under water (16) in an anchored position of the base. A lifting body (28) is provided for producing lifting force counteractive to the weight. The lifting body is arranged above the lower end area such that the structure hangs at the lifting body. The structure is made of hollow or tubular support units which are connected with each other in a liquid-tight manner. An independent claim is also included for a method for producing, transporting and anchoring a floating offshore base.