Deepwater Mooring Pull-in System with Crib Anchoring
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing deepwater anchoring systems require a separate installation vessel and are complex and costly due to the need for joining anchoring lines at sea, with locking mechanisms prone to fatigue under high tension.
Innovation Solution
A system with anchoring lines extending directly from the vessel to the seabed, featuring cribs and adjustable sheaves for guiding and positioning, allowing for tension release during connection and using locking means with adjustable fastening to simplify the coupling process without joinings at sea.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If anchoring lines are joined at sea using an installation vessel, then the anchoring system can be assembled, but the operation becomes complex and expensive requiring separate installation vessels
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring lines are pre-assembled on land with all connections and locking mechanisms in place before deployment. This preliminary assembly eliminates the need for complex sea-based joining operations and installation vessels, directly resolving the contradiction by simplifying the deployment process while maintaining assembly capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The joining and assembly operations are extracted from the sea-based deployment process and performed on land beforehand. This separation removes the complexity of marine assembly operations and eliminates the requirement for specialized installation vessels, addressing both the ease of manufacture and device complexity concerns.
2Reliability
If locking pins are used to secure anchoring lines under high tension, then the lines are secured, but the locking mechanisms become susceptible to fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanisms are pre-installed and pre-tested on land before deployment, ensuring they are properly positioned and functional. This preliminary action reduces the risk of improper installation that could lead to fatigue, thereby maintaining securing reliability while extending service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates pre-positioned locking mechanisms and tension distribution designs that cushion and distribute loads evenly across the locking points. This beforehand cushioning prevents stress concentration that would cause fatigue, ensuring both reliability and extended duration of action.
3Ease of manufacture
If anchoring lines are pulled into the vessel under huge tension for joining, then the lines can be connected, but the operation becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
All connection operations are performed on land before deployment, eliminating the need for tension-based pulling and joining operations at sea. This preliminary action makes the connection process trivial during deployment while eliminating the time loss associated with difficult marine joining operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex joining and connection operations are extracted from the deployment process and performed on land. This separation removes the time-consuming and difficult tension-based connection operations from the sea-based deployment, directly addressing both ease of connection and time loss concerns.
4Reliability
If multiple anchoring lines are deployed with traditional joining methods, then the vessel can be anchored, but significant time and cost are spent on repeated operations
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple anchoring lines are pre-assembled and pre-configured on land before deployment. This preliminary action allows all lines to be deployed simultaneously or in rapid succession, maintaining anchoring stability while dramatically improving deployment efficiency by eliminating repeated complex operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The deployment process merges multiple anchoring line installations into a single coordinated operation. All lines are prepared and deployed together as a system rather than individually, maintaining the required anchoring stability while improving productivity through combined operations.
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
This solution eliminates the need for a separate installation vessel, simplifies the anchoring process, reduces fatigue in locking mechanisms, and allows for efficient tension management, significantly reducing time and cost while maintaining vessel stability at deep ocean depths.
Implementation Method 1
a pull-in wire (7) arranged to pass through the sheave (6) and fastened to the coupling part (3), wherein the pull-in wire is used for pulling in the anchoring line (2) in order to place the coupling part (3) into the crib (1)
Implementation Method 2
a sheave (6) with adjustable position, for guidance and positioning of an anchoring line (2) and of a pull-in wire (7) for pulling in the anchoring line (2)
Implementation Method 3
the crib typically comprises upwards extending locking pins having intermediate opening larger than the anchoring line diameter, but smaller than the locking pins or similar
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
System for anchoring of a vessel, preferably at deep waters, comprising a number of anchoring lines, each anchoring line extending from a fastening means on the vessel to an anchor at the seabed, and the anchoring lines are preferably arranged tightly, obliquely down into the sea around the vessel in the form of spread anchoring, such that the vessel is maintained in a fixed, intended position, distinguished in that each anchoring line is fastened to an anchor and extends out in one length, without joinings, to an upper end where a coupling part is fastened, and the fastening means comprises a crib for each anchoring line, where each coupling part can be laid down in an intended, fastened position. Method for anchoring of a vessel, with use of the system according to the invention.