Modular Buoy Device Using Fibreglass Composite Modules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing turret buoy systems for offshore hydrocarbon production are large, heavy, and costly to construct, transport, and install, requiring extensive fabrication and contingency design for potential buoyancy chamber damage.
Innovation Solution
A buoy device comprising a first part with a support structure and a second part with buoyancy elements that can be connected via rotation, using polyurethane foam-filled modules with fibreglass shells for buoyancy, allowing for modular assembly and easy replacement of damaged modules, reducing weight and fabrication time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional steel buoyancy chambers are used, then structural strength and reliability are improved, but weight and fabrication cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses fibreglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) composite material to replace traditional steel buoyancy chambers. The fibreglass shell provides sufficient structural strength and reliability while dramatically reducing the weight of the buoy device, directly resolving the contradiction between reliability and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from steel to fibreglass composite, which has fundamentally different density and strength-to-weight characteristics. This parameter change enables the buoyancy chambers to be lighter while maintaining or improving reliability through the composite material's inherent properties.
2Reliability
If traditional steel buoyancy chambers with bulkheads are used, then contingency design for damage is improved, but fabrication time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fibreglass composite material allows for monolithic or simplified segmented buoyancy chamber construction without requiring complex internal bulkhead structures. The material's inherent damage tolerance and ease of repair maintain contingency design capability while dramatically reducing fabrication time and complexity compared to steel construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The buoyancy chambers can be designed as separate modular units that are easier to fabricate and assemble using fibreglass composite material. This segmentation, combined with the material's properties, reduces overall fabrication time while maintaining reliability through modular replaceability.
3Ease of repair
If modular buoyancy elements are used, then ease of repair and assembly is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The buoyancy chambers are designed as separate modular elements that can be independently fabricated, transported, and assembled. The fibreglass composite material simplifies the connection interfaces between modules, making assembly and repair easier while the modular design itself manages complexity through standardization.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of fibreglass composite material changes the physical parameters of the modular interfaces, allowing for simpler connection methods such as mechanical fasteners or adhesive bonds instead of complex welding procedures required for steel, thereby reducing assembly complexity while maintaining ease of repair.
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 results in a significantly lighter buoy device that can be assembled more quickly and cost-effectively, with reduced lifting weights and no need for contingency design, enabling flexible buoyancy adjustment and reduced material usage.
Implementation Method 1
a second part (30) having buoyancy means and a second support structure; the buoyancy means comprises a plurality of buoyancy elements
Data Source
AI summary
A buoy device includes a first part having a first support structure and a second part having a buoyant body and a second support structure. The first and second support structures are connectable to form a rotatable connection between the first part and the second part. The buoyant body further includes one or more buoyancy elements releasably arranged on the second part. The buoy device may be a turret buoy, a CALM turret buoy, or a CALM turntable buoy.