Hydraulic and earth engineering – Marine structure or fabrication thereof – Floatable to site and supported by marine floor
Patent
1986-12-03
1988-10-18
Taylor, Dennis L.
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Marine structure or fabrication thereof
Floatable to site and supported by marine floor
405203, 405222, 405195, E02B 1702
Patent
active
047783087
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an arrangement in an offshore concrete platform comprising a base structure and at least one tower structure extending upwards from the base and having a tower foot supported by the base.
Normally, the size of the tower foot, i.e. the lower part of a tower on a concrete platform, is fixed and dependent on the size and geometry of the supporting base structure. This locking of the size of the tower foot forms an obstacle to an optimal utilization of the carrying capacity and structural strength of the platform during the various loading phases in the course of the lifetime of the platform. This in turn results in that the platform structure becomes larger and has a larger quantity of concrete than it actually needs to have if it was optimally utilized during the individual loading phases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide an arrangement in a concrete platform implying that the size of the diameter of the tower foot can be chosen independently of the size of the base structure, at the same time as a good transfer of forces is secured.
According to the invention, the above object is achieved in a platform of the introductorily stated type in that the tower foot is supported by a pair of annular, essentially concentric, downwards diverging shell structures forming a transition from the tower foot to the base structure.
In an advantageous embodiment of the arrangement, wherein the tower foot has a circular cross-section, the shell structures are frusto-conical and are joined to each other at their upper ends and there have a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the tower foot.
Further, it is advantageous that the shell structures are directly supported by respective cylinders constituting an integral part of the base structure.
The freedom of design which is achieved with the arrangement according to the invention, offers the possibility of an optimalization of the geometry of the entire carrying structure, something which may involve large optimalization profits as far as material quantity and price, building time and functional quality are concerned.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be further described below in connection with exemplary embodiments schematically shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference numerals designate corresponding elements, and wherein
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a platform wherein the transition between the tower and the base of the platform is designed in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a section along the line II--II in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows a partial section of a platform wherein the supporting base is modified in relation to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-2;
FIG. 4 shows a section along the line IV--IV in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 shows a partial section of a platform having a further modified base;
FIG. 6 shows a section along the line VI--VI in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 shows a longitudinal section of a platform wherein the transistion device according to the invention rests directly on a base structure of a type different from that of the embodiment according to FIGS. 1-6; and
FIG. 8 shows a section along the line VIII--VIII in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The concrete platform illustrated schematically in FIG. 1 is a gravity platform having a base structure 1 resting on a sea bed 2, and a tower structure 3 extending upwards from the base and being intended to project above the water surface 4 to carry a deck structure (not shown). The lower part or foot 5 of the tower structure in the illustrated example is cylindrical and has a circular cross-section. Between the tower foot 5 and the base 1 there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a pair of annular, downwards diverging shell elements 6, 7 forming a transition between the tower and the base. The shell elements 6, 7 are concentric and frusto-conical with oppositely conical extension. Further, in the shown embodiment, the shells are joined to each
REFERENCES:
patent: 2912828 (1959-11-01), Gerwick
patent: 3879952 (1975-04-01), Mo
patent: 4425055 (1984-01-01), Tiedemann
patent: 4497594 (1985-02-01), Fern
Saga Petroleum A.S.
Taylor Dennis L.
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