Submersible Fish Farming Platform Ballasting and Feeding Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fish farming platforms in open waters face challenges with adverse environmental conditions such as storms and high sea currents, limiting their ability to submerge and maintain operations, and have limited ration storage capacity, leading to disruptions in feeding distribution and productivity.
Innovation Solution
A submersible platform with ballasting and deballasting capabilities, allowing it to submerge and resurface, and an additional ballasting system within ration storage silos to maintain balance, ensuring continuous feeding and operational control under adverse conditions, using a vertical central structure with auger screw distributors, ration mixing containers, and mooring arrangements with energy and communication supply via buoys.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the platform operates at the surface to distribute feeding, then feeding distribution can be performed, but the platform is exposed to adverse environmental conditions such as storms and high sea currents
Solution Approach 1:
The platform transitions between surface and submerged states dynamically. When adverse conditions are detected, the platform submerges to protect equipment and maintain operations. When conditions improve, it surfaces to perform feeding distribution functions, allowing adaptive response to environmental changes
Solution Approach 2:
The platform uses ballasting chambers to intentionally submerge under adverse conditions, converting the harmful exposure into a protective measure. By submerging, the platform protects its equipment and continues operations safely, then surfaces when conditions improve to resume feeding distribution
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the platform submerges to avoid adverse environmental conditions, then protection from storms and currents is achieved, but feeding distribution operations must be suspended
Solution Approach 1:
The platform maintains continuous feeding distribution capability by operating from submerged position when possible, or by quickly surfacing and resuming operations when conditions improve. The ballasting system allows rapid transition between states to minimize interruption of feeding operations
Solution Approach 2:
The ballasting chambers act as an intermediary mechanism that enables the platform to control its position between surface and submerged states. This allows flexible response to environmental conditions while maintaining operational continuity
3Productivity
If floating platforms are used for feeding distribution, then feeding can be supplied to multiple cages, but the platforms have limited ration storage capabilities and must return to harbour when conditions worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The platform uses dynamic ballasting to adjust its position and maintain stability while storing large quantities of ration. The ballasting chambers allow the platform to submerge partially or fully while maintaining balance, enabling extended operations at sea without returning to harbour
4Stability of the object's composition
If the platform maintains balance during submersion, then operational stability is achieved, but additional ballasting systems are required within ration storage silos
Solution Approach 1:
The ballasting chambers serve multiple functions: they enable submersion, maintain balance during submerged operations, and can be used to adjust the platform's position and orientation. The same ballasting mechanism that allows submersion also provides stability control, reducing the need for separate balance adjustment systems
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
Enables continuous feeding distribution and operational control in harsh marine environments, maintaining balance and ensuring system operability during adverse conditions, thus enhancing productivity and safety by allowing submersion and resurfacing as needed.
Implementation Method 1
a ballasting and deballasting chamber, which leads the platform to a situation of submersion at the sea or of surface emersion
Implementation Method 2
a vertical auger screw distributor
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The present invention relates to a submersible platform (10) intended to perform the functions of feeding distribution, production control and command of the operations inherent to fish farming in submersible cages, which has the ability to submerge under adverse environmental conditions, returning to the surface, once the environmental conditions so do allow it, enabling thereby the fish farming in offshore spaces. For this purpose it comprises a vertical central structure (20), which constitutes the central core of the platform (10) around which it is arranged the upper structure (30), which has an outer circulating and mooring space (45) for service vessels, the access to its interior being made through doors (44), and a lower structure (50), inside which there are ration storage silos, as well as an insufflation ballasting and deballasting central chamber, which allows the submersion and the emersion of the platform (10), the balance of the platform (10) being ensured by an additional ballasting and deballasting arrangement within each silo, to compensate for the weight of the consumed ration.