Floating Platform Anchoring With Swinging Arms to Reduce Cable Fatigue
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anchoring systems for floating wind turbine platforms face issues such as cable breakage due to high tension and bending fatigue, and uncontrolled movements due to tidal and weather conditions, leading to instability and potential tipping.
Innovation Solution
An anchoring system with swinging arms connected by articulated joints, using first and second anchoring lines to minimize pitch and roll movements, eliminating the need for pulleys and reducing cable section requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If high tension cables are used to keep the platform vertical and avoid pitch/roll movements, then platform stability is improved, but the risk of cable breakage increases and larger section cables or more anchoring lines are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by allowing the anchoring system to adapt its configuration in response to changing conditions. The swinging arms can rotate about vertical axes, and the anchoring lines can pay out or wind in on winches, enabling the system to dynamically adjust to tidal changes, wave action, and wind forces while maintaining platform stability without requiring excessive cable tension.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters by allowing the geometry of the anchoring lines to vary. As the platform moves vertically with tides or tilts due to waves, the lengths and angles of the anchoring lines automatically adjust, maintaining optimal tension distribution and platform orientation without requiring fixed high-tension cables.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the anchoring lines are arranged in tension to maintain vertical position, then pitch and roll movements are avoided, but the platform cannot move vertically with tides
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring system is designed to be dynamic rather than static. The anchoring lines are connected through swinging arms that can rotate and winches that can pay out or wind in cable, allowing the system to adapt its length and configuration as the platform moves vertically with tides, maintaining stability while accommodating vertical displacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The swinging arms act as intermediaries between the fixed anchoring blocks on the seabed and the floating platform. These arms can rotate about vertical axes and connect to the anchoring lines at points that allow for vertical movement, mediating between the need for stable anchoring and the need for tidal range accommodation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If counterweight and pulleys are used to allow vertical and lateral displacement, then adaptability to tides and waves is improved, but bending fatigue of anchoring lines increases due to repeated bending
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the bending action from the anchoring lines by eliminating pulleys from the system. Instead of routing cables through pulleys that cause repeated bending, the anchoring lines connect directly to the swinging arms at points that allow rotation without cable bending, removing the source of fatigue while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the pulley-based mechanical system with a direct connection system using swinging arms. The rotation and movement functions previously performed by pulleys are achieved through the articulated joints of the swinging arms, which allow the anchoring lines to remain relatively straight while still accommodating platform displacement.
4Reliability
If a large number of anchoring lines or elevated section anchoring lines are used, then cable breakage risk is reduced, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic configuration allows each anchoring line to work more efficiently by adjusting its tension and angle in real-time. The swinging arms and winch system distribute loads more evenly across the anchoring lines, allowing fewer lines with standard sections to provide the same overall reliability as many more lines would be needed in a static system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple functions into integrated components. The swinging arms serve both as structural supports and as mechanisms for adjusting anchoring line tension. The winches perform both winding and paying out functions. This merging reduces the number of separate anchoring lines needed while maintaining system reliability.
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
The system minimizes platform pitch and roll, reduces cable wear, and maintains stability by synchronizing anchoring line movements with a central float, allowing for lower section cables and reducing the risk of breakage.
Implementation Method 1
a central float (3), a plurality of swinging arms (4)... second anchoring lines (12) between the central float (3) and the inner end parts containing the inner free ends (6) of the swinging arms (4)
Implementation Method 2
each swinging arm (4) being joined by an articulated joint (5) to an anchoring block (2), said articulated joint (5) being located in an intermediate zone of the swinging arm (4)
Implementation Method 3
TLP platforms comprise a set of floats designed to produce an excess of buoyancy of the platform (taking into account the weight of the structure that is set on the platform). This excess buoyancy guarantees a high level of tension in the cables
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b~1c
Figure 2a
AI summary
Anchoring system and installation and uninstallation procedures of anchoring system. The anchoring system (10) comprises: - a floating platform (1) from which a plurality of first anchoring lines (11) emerge, - at least one anchoring block (2) with at least three non-aligned anchoring points, - a central float (3), - a plurality of swinging arms (4), each swinging arm (4) being joined by means of an articulated joint (5) to an anchoring block (2), said articulated joint (5) being located in an intermediate area of the swinging arm (4) so that each swinging arm (4) comprises an internal section (6) and an external section (7) joined in the intermediate area of the swinging arm (4) corresponding to the articulated joint (5), the internal section (6) being located between the intermediate area of the swinging arm (4) and an inner free end and the outer section (7) being located between the intermediate area of the swinging arm (4) and an outer free end, the inner free end being closer to the central float (3) than the outer free end, so that the first anchoring lines (11) leaving the floating platform (1) are joined to the outer end containing the outer free end of the outer sections (7) of the swinging arms (4), and - second anchoring lines (12) between the central float (3) and the inner end portions containing the inner free ends of the inner sections (6) of the swinging arms (4).