Hydraulic and earth engineering – Marine structure or fabrication thereof – Floatable to site and supported by marine floor
Patent
1998-01-20
1999-08-17
Taylor, Dennis L.
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Marine structure or fabrication thereof
Floatable to site and supported by marine floor
4051951, 405203, E02B 1702
Patent
active
059383747
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a soft landing structure installed on the bottom of the ocean or other water areas in the landing state without settling, nor floating up to the surface, and an installation method of such a soft landing structure. An accomplished soft landing structure has functions equivalent to those of a land structure, and can be utilized as infrastructures including the basis of production, seawater-to-fresh water distillation facilities, and refuse disposal plants, in addition to housing facilities and recreational facilities.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A conventional method of constructing a structure on the sea is roughly classified into two. One is a creation of a land on the sea either by "reclamation" or by "reclamation by drainage" followed by an ordinary construction of a structure on the land. The other is a floatation of a structure on the sea. The reclamation method is that an embankment is constructed along the periphery of an expected reclaimed land, which sea-bottom poor subsoil at the area to be reclaimed is improved, and a strucuture is constructed on the ground prepared by filling up an embanked area with earth and sand or the like. The method of land reclamation by drainage is that a bank is constructed in the shallow water offshore, water is drained from an embanked area to expose the ground at sea-bottom, and a construction of a structure is executed similarly to the reclamation method. The flotation method is that a floating structure is allowed to simply keep afloat on the sea due to buoyancy, while being moored to the bottom of the sea.
Among the above methods, the construction of a structure by the reclamation method is accomplished through process of execution of works similar to the construction of a normal land structure, after the reclaimed land has been created and improved if necessary. Therefore, the structure in this case, when accomplished, is resistant to wind, tidal current or the like as the land structure. On the other hand, a lot of time and cost have been required to suffer a great loss in a term of works and a cost of construction, until a start is made with construction of a structure. Besides, there is a possibility of encountering the settlement of ground with the passage of time or a liquefaction risk when an earthquake happened. It should be noted that, within the context of the present specification, terms "settling" and "settlement" refer to subsidence or sinking of the land at the water bottom due to the weight of the structure. Further, within the context of the specification, terms "improve" or "improvement" of land refers to procedures on the land at the water bottom to increase the strength thereof against the weight of the structure. Further, when a place adjoining the already-reclaimed land is reclaimed, the already-reclaimed land is dragged toward a newly-reclaimed land. Thus, the existing facilities on the already-reclaimed land are liable to differential settlement. As a result, it is greatly difficult to enlarge the plan of reclamation according to the reclamation method.
According to the method of a land reclamation by drainage, since the reclaimed ground is on a level with or below the surface of the sea, the safety of a structure against disaster is dependent on the reliability of the bank. However, when the bank is broken due to an earthquake or storm surge, the structure is left in a defenseless state. Further, a long period of time should be spared for the construction of bank and drainage of water as preliminary works for the construction of the structure, similarly to the reclamation method.
The structure according to the flotation method is separated from the sea-bottom ground, and hence, is not directly affected by seismic force, nor settles. Thus, this structure is highly secured against earthquake damage. However, since the structure is afloat on the sea it is easily subjected to rocking motion due to wind or tidal current. Such a floating structure has a defect in stability, and in the worst ca
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Isemura Kunio
Masaki Noriaki
Nakase Akio
Ozawa Yoshio
Terashi Masaaki
Nikkensekkei Ltd.
Taylor Dennis L.
LandOfFree
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