Offshore Cable Guide Tube With One-Way Water Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Offshore structures, particularly offshore wind turbines, face corrosion issues due to seawater exposure and marine currents, with existing guiding devices for cables and pipes being complex and inefficient in preventing water exchange.
Innovation Solution
A guiding device with a tube and closing elements that utilize pressure differences to allow water entry while preventing exit, using flexible materials to seal around the elongated element, ensuring water pressure inside the support element equals or exceeds exterior pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a guiding device is used to guide cables or pipes into the support element, then protection against marine currents and waves is improved, but sealing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible closing elements made of elastomeric material that can deform and seal around the elongated element (cable or pipe) as it moves through the tube. This flexible membrane approach provides effective sealing against water exchange while accommodating the movement and positioning of the elongated element, thereby protecting against marine currents and waves without requiring complex rigid sealing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The closing elements are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing them to adapt their position and shape based on the presence and movement of the elongated element. This dynamic sealing mechanism simplifies the overall device by eliminating the need for complex adjustable sealing systems, while still providing protection against harmful marine environmental factors.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If water exchange is prevented in the hollow interior, then corrosion processes are reduced, but water pressure equalization becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of trying to actively equalize water pressure between the interior and exterior, the patent allows pressure differential to develop naturally by preventing water exchange. The closing elements seal to trap water inside, allowing internal pressure to rise or fall with external conditions, thereby eliminating the need for complex pressure equalization mechanisms while still preventing corrosion by stopping water circulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the natural pressure differential created by preventing water exchange to achieve its protective function. The water pressure inside the hollow interior becomes equal to or larger than exterior pressure automatically, and this pressure state itself helps prevent further water exchange and corrosion, making the system self-regulating without requiring active pressure management.
3Device complexity
If a simple guiding device is used, then device complexity is reduced, but sealing effectiveness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses simple yet effective flexible closing elements made of elastomeric material that can conform to the shape of the elongated element and the tube opening. This flexible membrane design achieves reliable sealing with minimal structural complexity, as the material's inherent elasticity allows it to form a tight seal without requiring complex mechanical sealing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing mechanism utilizes water pressure itself to enhance the sealing action. As water pressure inside the hollow interior becomes equal to or larger than exterior pressure, this pressure differential helps press the flexible closing elements against the tube opening and the elongated element, improving seal effectiveness without requiring additional active sealing mechanisms.
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
Prevents water exchange, reducing corrosion and buckling, maintaining constant water pressure inside the support element, and increasing its weight, while simplifying the guiding process.
Implementation Method 1
By having a guiding device configured to prevent water from flowing out of the interior, the water pressure inside the interior will become equal or larger than the water pressure of the exterior
Implementation Method 2
using flexible materials to seal around the elongated element
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2a~2c
AI summary
Disclosed is a guiding device for guiding an elongated element such as a cable or a pipe from the exterior into a hollow interior of a support element, the support element being a support element for supporting an offshore structure and being at least partly submerged in water, wherein the guiding device comprises; a tube having a first opening at a first end for facing the exterior and a second opening at a second end opposite to the first end for facing the hollow interior of the support element. The guiding device is configured to allow water to flow into the first opening and out of the second opening of the tube, and substantially prevent water from flowing into the second opening and out of the first opening whereby the guiding device allows water to enter the hollow interior of the support element but not exit the hollow interior.