Height-Adjustable Walk-to-Work Access for Tide-Variable Offshore Transfer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing walk-to-work systems for offshore wind turbines face challenges in safely and efficiently transferring personnel and goods under varying tide conditions, leading to potential collisions with turbine blades and undesired shutdowns due to fixed-height elevators.
Innovation Solution
A walk-to-work system featuring a height-adjustable elongated pedestal and gangway, along with a structurally independent height-adjustable elevator, allowing for adaptable access between a vessel and a wind turbine, incorporating motion compensation and rotational mechanisms to accommodate varying tide heights and minimize collision risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed-height elevator shaft is used to ensure access during low tide, then personnel and goods can be transported safely during low tide conditions, but the risk of collision with wind turbine blades increases during high tide
Solution Approach 1:
The elevator shaft is designed with telescopic sections that allow it to dynamically adjust its length. During low tide, the shaft extends to its maximum length to ensure personnel and goods can reach the service platform. During high tide, the shaft automatically retracts to a shorter length, positioning the elevator car lower to avoid collision with rotating turbine blades. This dynamic adjustment capability resolves the contradiction between maintaining access reliability and preventing collision hazards.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the key parameter of elevator shaft length based on tide conditions. The shaft length is variable rather than fixed, allowing the system to adapt to different water levels. Sensors detect tide height and trigger corresponding shaft extension or retraction, optimizing both safety and operational capability for each tide condition.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the elevator shaft is designed for the lowest astronomical tide to ensure maximum height difference coverage, then access is maintained during extreme low tide, but the system becomes unnecessarily high and prone to collision during high tide
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic elevator shaft provides continuous length adjustment capability rather than a fixed design height. This allows the system to optimize its height for each specific operational condition, extending only as much as needed for the current tide level. The shaft can be partially extended or fully retracted based on real-time tide conditions, improving operational safety during high tide while maintaining adaptability for extreme low tide scenarios.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a height-adjustable elevator system is implemented to adapt to varying tide conditions, then collision risk with turbine blades is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elevator shaft is divided into multiple telescopic sections that can extend and retract independently. Each section contains its own hydraulic or mechanical actuation system, allowing modular adjustment of shaft length. This segmentation enables the complex height-adjustment function to be achieved through standardized, repeatable modular units, making the system more manageable and maintainable despite its advanced capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor tide level, shaft position, and operational status. This feedback is processed by a control system that automatically commands the appropriate shaft extension or retraction. The feedback mechanism ensures the shaft responds accurately to changing conditions without requiring complex manual intervention, simplifying operation while achieving the desired collision avoidance.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the gangway is rotationally coupled to the pedestal to accommodate varying tide heights, then access flexibility is improved, but the structural complexity of the pedestal increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gangway is rotationally coupled to the pedestal, transforming it from a static structure to a dynamic one that can rotate to accommodate varying tide heights and angles. This rotational capability allows the gangway to maintain proper alignment with the vessel and service platform despite changes in water level, providing adaptability while using a relatively simple rotational joint mechanism rather than a complex adjustable structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A walk-to-work system for allowing personnel and/or equipment to move between a vessel and a wind turbine includes a gangway system and an elevator system positioned with a radial offset from the gangway system. The gangway system includes a height adjustable elongated pedestal and a gangway. The height adjustable elongated pedestal has a first elongated pedestal end mountable onto a deck of the vessel. The height adjustable elongated pedestal includes a first pedestal part and a second pedestal part height adjustably coupled to the first pedestal part. The gangway is rotationally coupled to the height adjustable elongated pedestal at a height Hg from the first elongated pedestal end such that the gangway is radially extending at a length Lg from a center axis of the height adjustable elongated pedestal. The elevator system includes a height adjustable elongated elevator having a first elevator end mountable onto the deck of the vessel. The height adjustable elevator includes a static elevator part and a displaceable elevator part height adjustably coupled to the static elevator part. The elevator system includes a drive system, an elevator car, and a lifting device. The drive system is configured to displace the displaceable elevator part relative to the static elevator part along the elevator's height. The elevator car is movably connected to the height adjustable elevator. The elevator car is configured to be elevated up to the same height as the gangway for allowing access between the elevator system and the gangway system. The lifting device is configured to move the elevator car of the height adjustable elevator.