Offshore Wind Power Cable Attached to Anchoring Wire
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing offshore wind power parks face high costs and time-consuming processes for establishing and maintaining power cables due to the need for seabed exploration and burial, which are risky and dependent on seabed topography, making cable replacement difficult and costly.
Innovation Solution
A power cable arrangement where primary cables are attached to and extend along anchoring wires, allowing for surface-based installation and removal without seabed burial, using connection elements and guide arrangements to facilitate quick and cost-effective setup and maintenance, with redundancy features for fault tolerance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If power cables are buried in the bottom sediment to protect them from damage, then the cables are protected from damage, but the establishment process becomes time-consuming and costly requiring divers and specially arranged ships
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power cable from the seabed burial environment and relocates it to the water column by attaching it to the anchoring wire. This eliminates the need for time-consuming burial operations while maintaining cable protection through the anchoring wire's structural integrity and positioning away from seabed hazards.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring wire serves as an intermediary carrier that transports and supports the power cable from the surface to its final position. This mediator enables cable deployment without direct seabed interaction, avoiding the need for divers and specialized burial equipment.
2Reliability
If power cables are buried in the bottom sediment, then the cables are protected from damage, but the establishment process requires use of divers and specially arranged ships which adds cost and potential safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the power cable from the complex burial process involving divers and specialized ships. By attaching the cable to the anchoring wire, it can be deployed using standard surface vessels, dramatically simplifying the equipment requirements and eliminating diving operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring wire system performs multiple functions including cable support, positioning, and protection without requiring additional specialized equipment. The system serves itself by utilizing the existing anchoring infrastructure to accomplish cable deployment and positioning.
3Manufacturing precision
If the position and extension of power cables are adjusted based on seabed exploration results, then the cables are optimally positioned, but the establishment process becomes costly and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of exploring the seabed first and then positioning cables accordingly, the patent inverts the process by positioning cables based on surface-determined anchoring points. The anchoring wire transmission automatically guides the cable to its final position, eliminating the need for seabed exploration while maintaining precise positioning through the anchoring geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring elements are installed and positioned in advance at predetermined locations. This preliminary action establishes the geometric framework that automatically determines the optimal cable path and position, eliminating the need for subsequent seabed exploration and adjustment operations.
4Reliability
If power cables are arranged in the bottom sediment, then the cables are protected from damage, but replacing a defect power cable becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power cable from the buried seabed environment where replacement is difficult. By positioning the cable in the water column attached to the anchoring wire, it becomes accessible from the surface, allowing for easy retrieval and replacement of defective cables without complex seabed operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static buried cable configuration to a dynamic water-column configuration where the cable can be moved, retrieved, and replaced. The anchoring wire provides a flexible support that allows cable replacement operations to be performed from the surface, making the system adaptable and maintainable.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
A power cable arrangement (1, 50) for an offshore wind power park (40). The wind power park comprises a plurality of wind power plants each comprising a floatable wind power unit (5) floating at the surface of the sea, a plurality of anchoring elements (7) arranged in a bottom sediment (10) of the sea and a plurality of anchoring wires (9) extending between the anchoring elements and the wind power unit. The power cable arrangement comprises, for each wind power unit, at least one primary power cable (15) for connecting the wind power units to the grid. The primary power cable is, for at least a portion of the wind power units, attached to and extends along at least one of the anchoring wires.