Modular Jack-Up Bridge Structure for Offshore Wind Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing jack-up ships face limitations in leg positioning and maintenance due to traditional leg designs, which restrict transverse clearance and require oversized cranes, leading to reduced lifting height and increased overturning moments.
Innovation Solution
A modular jack-up bridge structure with extendable legs and a ship-like design, allowing for flexible leg placement and integration with existing watercraft, enabling wider application and maintenance capabilities without altering internal ship structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If legs are positioned through the hull, then the vessel can be firmly anchored to the seabed, but the transverse spacing of the legs is significantly limited and maintenance of below-waterline components becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The jack-up system is divided into separate modular units: the vessel hull and the jack-up leg assemblies. Each leg assembly can be independently positioned, lifted, and maintained. The legs are segmented from the hull structure, allowing them to be lowered to the seabed while the vessel remains afloat during maintenance operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The jack-up legs are designed to be dynamically positionable and adjustable. They can be lowered to the seabed for anchoring, then lifted back up for maintenance, and repositioned as needed. This dynamic capability allows the system to transition between operational and maintenance states without fixed structural constraints.
2Ease of operation
If legs are positioned laterally outside the ship's beam, then maintenance accessibility improves, but the drive units require lateral connection to the ship's outer skin increasing structural complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The drive units and leg assembly mechanisms are extracted as self-contained modules that can be independently positioned laterally outside the vessel's beam. The legs are detached from direct structural integration with the hull, allowing them to be positioned optimally for maintenance while reducing the complexity of permanent structural connections.
3Length of moving object
If the crane is positioned close to the wind turbine, then lifting height requirements are met, but the boom size increases and the tipping moment increases requiring an oversized crane
Solution Approach 1:
The crane system utilizes vertical positioning of the vessel itself (through jack-up leg elevation) to achieve additional lifting height rather than relying solely on a longer boom. By lifting the entire vessel off the water, the crane gains vertical clearance without proportionally increasing boom length or tipping moment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a jackup bridge structure which has a modular design and is used for research, salvage, service and/or installation vessels. The object of the invention is to develop a jackup bridge structure which can be used independently of a watercraft, is suitable for retrofitting already built watercraft and/or can be used as a load-bearing component in the construction of a new jackup watercraft. The jackup bridge structure should have a modular design, whereby a variety of applications can be enabled by using identical modules. A jackup bridge structure according to the invention consists of a shipbuilding-like structure on which a housing is arranged on the port and starboard sides, which serves to accommodate downwardly extendable support legs.The shipbuilding-like structure consists of several levels and is equipped with facilities for guiding a vessel and/or accommodating machinery, equipment, and/or personnel. The invention enables new conceptual and logistical possibilities for the planning and implementation of offshore activities, such as the installation, maintenance, and dismantling of offshore wind turbines.