Marine Drain Pipe Integrated with Structural Wall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional marine drainage systems are prone to damage from water waves, underwater currents, and wind forces, leading to potential detachment of drain pipes from marine structures, which can cause structural damage and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A marine drainage system with a supporting member that has a wall delimiting an inner volume and an outer side facing the environment, where the drain pipe is integrated with the supporting member's periphery, featuring a non-uniform cross-sectional area that reduces loads and includes a removable cover, filter means, and a hoisting arrangement for maintenance, with sections angled to optimize fluid flow and structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a drain pipe is fixedly attached to a supporting member by multiple welding connections, then the attachment strength is improved, but the complexity of construction and maintenance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drain pipe is integrated with the supporting member such that the outer side of the wall partially delimits the drain pipe, merging two separate components into a unified structure. This eliminates the need for multiple welding connections while maintaining attachment strength, as the drain pipe becomes an inherent part of the supporting member's geometry rather than a separate attached component.
2Reliability
If a drain pipe is fixedly attached with multiple connecting means, then the reliability against detachment is improved, but the ease of repair deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drain pipe is designed with a removable cover that segments the structure, allowing access to the interior for maintenance and repair. This segmentation enables the drain pipe to remain reliably attached to the supporting member while providing easy access points for maintenance activities without requiring detachment or complex disassembly of multiple welding connections.
3Ease of manufacture
If the drain pipe is designed with uniform cross-sectional area, then the manufacturing simplicity is improved, but the structural loads increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drain pipe is designed with a non-uniform cross-sectional area where the lower portion has a smaller cross-sectional area than the upper portion. This local variation in geometry optimizes the structural distribution of environmental forces (water waves, currents, wind), reducing overall structural loads while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standard forming processes.
4Productivity
If the drain pipe extends directly to water level, then the drainage efficiency is improved, but the vulnerability to environmental forces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drain pipe is positioned within the supporting member structure rather than extending directly to the water level, utilizing the three-dimensional space within the supporting member. This spatial arrangement maintains effective drainage functionality while reducing exposure to harmful environmental forces by embedding the vulnerable portions within the protected structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
A marine structure (10) comprising a supporting member (12) that comprises a wall at least partially delimiting said supporting member (12) such that an inner side (28) of said wall is arranged to at least partially delimit an inner volume of said supporting member (12) and an outer side (24) of said wall is arranged to face the ambient environment of said supporting member (12). The marine structure (10) further comprises a drain pipe (30) adapted to guide fluid from said marine structure (10) to a body of water (22) at least partially surrounding said marine structure (10). At least a portion of said outer side (24) of said wall partially delimits said drain pipe (30).