Motion Compensation Platform With Passive Pressure Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motion compensation platforms for vessels, such as those using Stewart platforms, face challenges in achieving precise motion compensation while maintaining safety and efficiency, particularly in scenarios where active drive components fail, leading to potential instability and increased complexity.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a partly passive pressure element, such as pneumatic means, to provide counterpressure and relieve the actuators, allowing for lighter pressure differences and increased precision, while ensuring the platform remains functional even in case of active drive failures, by using a combination of hydraulic cylinders and passive pressure elements like pneumatic cylinders or springs to compensate for load mass and absorb shocks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If active hydraulic cylinders are used to compensate vessel motions, then motion compensation precision is improved, but system complexity and vulnerability to active drive failures increase
Solution Approach 1:
The motion compensation system is segmented into two independent subsystems: passive pressure elements (springs/pneumatic cylinders) that handle static load support, and active hydraulic cylinders that handle dynamic motion compensation. This segmentation allows each subsystem to be optimized for its specific function, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Passive pressure elements act as intermediaries between the load and active hydraulic actuators. These intermediaries pre-load the system and relieve the active actuators from handling static weight, allowing them to focus on dynamic compensation tasks with smaller force requirements, thereby improving precision while reducing complexity.
2Reliability
If active hydraulic cylinders bear the full load, then motion compensation is achieved, but safety decreases due to vulnerability to active drive failures
Solution Approach 1:
Passive pressure elements (springs and pneumatic cylinders) are pre-loaded to support the static weight of the platform before any failure occurs. This beforehand cushioning ensures that if active hydraulic cylinders fail, the platform remains supported and stable, preventing catastrophic failure and maintaining safety without requiring complex backup active systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The passive pressure elements automatically provide load support without requiring external control or power. In case of active drive failure, these self-service elements immediately take over load-bearing functions, ensuring safety without adding complex control systems or requiring active intervention.
3Measurement precision
If passive pressure elements are added to relieve actuators, then precision is improved through lighter pressure differences, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs pneumatic cylinders as passive pressure elements to support platform weight. These pneumatic elements provide smooth, compliant force application that naturally accommodates motion compensation requirements while relieving hydraulic actuators from high static loads, improving precision without requiring overly complex mechanical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
Passive pressure elements including springs and pneumatic cylinders provide upward counter forces that balance the downward gravitational force on the platform. This anti-weight approach reduces the net force requirements on active hydraulic actuators, enabling more precise control with smaller pressure differences while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
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 enhances the precision and safety of motion compensation by reducing the load on hydraulic cylinders, allowing them to operate with smaller forces and maintaining stability even during defects in active drive components, thereby preventing unsafe motions and ensuring continuous functionality.
Implementation Method 1
at least one at least partly passive pressure element, in particular pneumatic means (9), is provided with which, during use, a passive counterpressure is exerted on the carrier (6)
Implementation Method 2
six hydraulic cylinders (5) and a carrier (6), and motion sensors (7). During use, with the aid of the sensors (7), the motions of the respective ship are measured. With the aid of these measurements, the orientation of the hydraulic cylinders (5) is driven continuously
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A vessel (1) with a motion compensation platform (4), which platform is provided with at least one carrier (6) for bearing, moving and/or transferring a load, actuators (5) for moving the carrier relative to the vessel, preferably in six degrees of freedom, a control system for driving the actuators (5), and motion sensors for measuring motions of the vessel (1) relative to the at least one element in the surrounding area, which measurements are used as input for the control system, wherein at least one at least partly passive pressure element (9) is provided for applying, during use, a pressure to the carrier for at least partly bearing this.