Patent Grant
10253475
This application claims priority to International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2016/090331 filed on Jul. 18, 2016, and Chinese Patent Application No. 201510481801.9 filed on Aug. 3, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of offshore wind turbine foundation construction, and particularly to a construction device and a construction method for offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed later.
So far, there are two methods for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation, i.e. with piling performed beforehand and piling performed afterwards. The method, in which piling is performed beforehand, normally comprises driving steel pipe piles into the seabed first, pitching the pile legs of an offshore wind turbine foundation into the steel piles, and then performing grouting connection. The construction method for an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards is a traditional method for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation. In such method, several pile casings for pitching piles are provided at the bottom of the offshore wind turbine foundation. For such offshore wind turbine foundation with pile casings, the traditional construction method comprises placing the offshore wind turbine foundation at the seabed first, pitching steel piles from the pile casings to a design depth, and then performing leveling and grouting underwater. In such method, underwater robots or divers are required to perform leveling and grouting underwater, which is difficult and is even more difficult especially in most sea areas in China with thick sludge and muddy seabed. Besides, for rock seabed, it is very difficult to embed piles into rocks by such traditional construction method, and highly sophisticated equipment is required.
The present disclosure provides a construction device for offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed later (i.e. device for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards), which is intended to overcome the above problems to eliminate the need of leveling and grouting underwater.
The present disclosure is realized in the following way.
A device for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards includes an offshore wind turbine foundation, pile casings and sleeves. The pile casings are each configured to install a steel pile and provided at the bottom of the offshore wind turbine foundation. The lower end of each sleeve is detachably connected with the upper end of one pile casing.
Further, the pile casing includes a vertical pipe at the grouting segment of the pile casing, a platform inside the pile casing and an upper-end casing of the pile casing. The lower end of the upper-end casing of the pile casing is connected with the upper end of the vertical pipe at the grouting segment of the pile casing through the platform inside the pile casing. The upper end of the upper-end casing of the pile casing is detachably connected with the lower end of the sleeve. The platform inside the pile casing is provided for facilitating grouting connection in dry construction.
Further, leveling devices for leveling the offshore wind turbine foundation are also included. The leveling devices are provided within the pile casings.
The leveling devices each include a jack and a leveling supporting plate. The leveling supporting plate is provided at the top of the steel pile. The jack is provided between the leveling supporting plate and the platform inside the pile casing.
By providing the leveling device, it is convenient for construction persons to perform leveling in dry construction and ensures that leveling of the offshore wind turbine foundation requires no underwater operation by persons, which is safe and reliable.
Further, the upper portion of the pile casing is connected with the offshore wind turbine foundation by a bottom connecting plate. The lower portion of the pile casing is connected with the offshore wind turbine foundation by a transverse connecting plate. The outer sidewall of the pile casing is connected with the offshore wind turbine foundation by a vertical connecting plate.
With the bottom connecting plate, the transverse connecting plate and the vertical connecting plate, the pile casing can be fixedly connected with the offshore wind turbine foundation very steadily.
Further, the lower end of the pile casing is flush with the bottom connecting plate or protrudes from the bottom connecting plate. The lower end of the pile casing is flush with the bottom connecting plate or protrudes from the bottom connecting plate, wherein the protruded portion can be placed on the seabed or inserted into the sand layer of the seabed, so as to improve the sealing performance between the pile casing and the sleeve.
Further, the sleeve is provided with a temporary platform at its upper end. The temporary platform is connected with the offshore wind turbine foundation.
The temporary platform serves as both a pedestrian passage between a platform of the offshore wind turbine foundation and the sleeve, and a supporting structure for stabilizing the sleeve. And it can be used as a platform for placing devices for embedding piles into rocks or other construction devices.
The present disclosure also provides a construction method for offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed later (a method for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards), to overcome the above problems.
The method is applicable to any one of the above devices for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards. The method includes: connecting the sleeves to the upper ends of the pile casings before hoisting the offshore wind turbine foundation; placing the offshore wind turbine foundation on the seabed in such a manner that the steel pipes at the bottoms of the pile casings are placed on the seabed or inserted into soil of the seabed; placing each steel pile inside one pile casing, and driving the steel pile by using a pile hammer to a specified design elevation within the pile casing; drawing out seawater and silt within the sleeves and the pile casings after the pile-driving process is completed; leveling the offshore wind turbine foundation; connecting the pile casings with the steel piles on site by welding and grouting which can be performed separately or simultaneously; and removing the sleeves.
Further, the method further includes a leveling method for leveling the offshore wind turbine foundation. The leveling method is applicable to a leveling device. The leveling device includes a jack and a leveling supporting plate. The leveling supporting plate is provided at the top of the steel pile. The pile casing is provided therein with the platform inside the pile casing. The jack is provided between the leveling supporting plate and the platform inside the pile casing.
The leveling method includes: the construction person going down from the sleeve to the platform inside the pile casing; the construction person placing the jack between the leveling supporting plate and the platform inside the pile casing; and the jack abutting against the leveling supporting plate to jack up the steel pile so that the offshore wind turbine foundation is pressed down, thus leveling the offshore wind turbine foundation.
It is convenient for the construction persons to perform leveling in dry construction and ensures that leveling of the offshore wind turbine foundation requires no underwater operations by persons, which is safe and reliable.
The present disclosure provides the following beneficial effects. In use, the device for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards obtained by the present disclosure through the above design is implemented by first hoisting the sleeves to the pile casings of the offshore wind turbine foundation and connecting the sleeves with the pile casings, placing the offshore wind turbine foundation with the sleeves at the seabed in such a manner that the steel pipes at the lower ends of the pile casings are placed on the seabed or inserted into the soil of the seabed, placing each steel pile inside one pile casing, driving the steel pile by using a pile hammer to the specified design elevation within the pile casing, drawing out the seawater and silt, leveling the offshore wind turbine foundation, connecting the pile casing and the steel pile by welding and grouting which can be performed separately or simultaneously, and then removing the sleeves, thus completing the construction.
The construction device and the construction method for an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards provided by the present disclosure, by adding sleeves for temporary work, ensure that leveling of the offshore wind turbine foundation and connecting operation of the steel piles with the offshore wind turbine foundation requires no underwater operations of persons, i.e. the dry construction is used throughout the process, which is safe and reliable. By changing from wet construction to dry construction, the construction persons are allowed to perform monitoring in real time on the platform of the pile casing and the construction accuracy is easy to control. Moreover, it is easy to embed piles into rocks in dry construction.
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, drawings necessary for the embodiments will be briefly described below. It should be understood that the following drawings merely show some embodiments of the disclosure and thus should not be construed as limiting the scope. Other related drawings can be obtained by those ordinarily skilled in the art according to these drawings without using any creative efforts.
Reference signs from the figures: offshore wind turbine foundation 1; pile casing 2; bottom connecting plate 21; vertical connecting plate 22; transverse connecting plate 23; vertical pipe 24 at the grouting segment of the pile casing; platform 25 inside the pile casing; upper-end casing 26 of the pile casing; sleeve 3; temporary platform 31; steel pile 4; leveling supporting plate 41; jack 5; pile delivering pipe 6.
In order to make the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure more clear, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and comprehensively described with reference to the figures for the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the embodiments described below are merely some, but not all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All the other embodiments obtained by those ordinarily skilled in the art based on the embodiments provided in the present disclosure without using creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Hence, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure provided in the figures is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure as claimed, but merely shows the selected embodiments of the present disclosure. All the other embodiments, obtained by those ordinarily skilled in the art based on the embodiments provided in the present disclosure without using creative efforts, shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.
Referring to
In the present embodiment, the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 may be an offshore wind turbine jacket foundation, an offshore wind turbine three-pile foundation or multi-pile foundation, or the like.
Further, the pile casing 2 is in a prior structure, i.e. a structure which is connected with the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 and configured to pitch piles. And, the position where the pile casing 2 is provided at the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 belongs to the prior art. Normally, it is provided at the bottom of the offshore wind turbine foundation 1. The quantity of pile casings 2 is not specifically defined. There could be multiple pile casings. In the present embodiment, there are four pile casings 2.
In use, the device for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards provided by the present embodiment is implemented by first hoisting the sleeves 3 to the pile casings 2 of the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 and connecting the sleeves 3 with the pile casings 2, placing the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 with the sleeves 3 to the seabed in such a manner that the steel pipes at the lower ends of the pile casings 2 are placed on the seabed or inserted into the soil of the seabed, placing each steel pile 4 in one pile casing 2, driving the steel pile to the specified design elevation within the pile casing 2 by using a pile hammer, drawing out the seawater and silt, leveling the offshore wind turbine foundation 1, connecting the pile casings 2 with the steel piles 4 by welding and grouting which can be performed separately or simultaneously, and then removing the sleeves 3, thus completing the construction.
The device for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards provided by the present embodiment, by adding sleeves 3 for temporary work, ensures that leveling of the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 and connecting operation of the steel piles 4 with the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 require no underwater operations of persons, that is to say, dry construction is employed throughout the process, which is safe and reliable. By changing from wet construction to dry construction, the construction persons are allowed to perform monitoring in real time on the platform of the pile casing 2 and the construction accuracy is easy to control. Moreover, it is easy to embed piles into rocks in the dry construction. The sleeves 3 are temporary tools which may be removed and reused after the foundation construction is completed.
Based on the above technical solution of the device for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with filing performed later provided by the above embodiment, further: referring to
Additionally, water is prevented from entering the bottom of the pile casing 2 mainly by the following two measures: a) a rubber water-sealing gasket is provided at the bottom of the inner wall of the pile casing 2 in advance, and thus water seal will be formed when the rubber water-sealing gasket is pressed after driving the steel pile 4; and b) the steel pipe at the bottom of the pile casing 2 is partially inserted into the soil of the seabed for preventing water from entering.
In the present embodiment, a rubber water-sealing gasket is provided at the lower end of the inner wall of the pile casing 2. As the rubber water-sealing gasket is provided at the lower end of the inner wall of the pile casing 2 in advance, water seal will be formed when the rubber water-sealing gasket is pressed after driving the steel pile 4.
Referring to
With the bottom connecting plate 21, the transverse connecting plate 23 and the vertical connecting plate 22, the pile casing 2 can be fixedly connected with the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 very steadily. The lower end of the pile casing 2 is flush with the bottom connecting plate 21 or protrudes from the bottom connecting plate 21, wherein the protruded portion can be placed on the seabed or inserted into the sand layer of the seabed, so as to improve the sealing performance between the pile casing 2 and the sleeve 3.
Additionally, referring to
The basic idea for leveling comprises: providing the jack 5 on the platform 25 inside the pile casing, and jacking the steel pile 4 to press down the offshore wind turbine foundation 1, for leveling. The steel pile 4 is welded at its top with the leveling supporting plate 41. The bottom of the jack 5 is placed on the vertical pipe 24 at the grouting segment of the pile casing and on the platform 25 inside the pile casing. The top of the jack 5 supports the steel pile 4 and the leveling supporting plate 41. After leveling, the pile casing 2 and the steel pile 4 may be connected by welding first and then grouting.
By providing the leveling device, it is convenient for the construction persons to perform leveling in dry construction, and ensures that leveling of the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 requires no underwater operation of persons, which is safe and reliable.
Referring to
In addition, in the present embodiment, a ladder stand may be provided in the sleeve 3 as required, for easy access of construction persons to the sleeve 3 to perform construction. As to the connection between the sleeve 3 and the offshore wind turbine foundation 1, a horizontal connection and an inclined support may also be added as required.
Once the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 is placed at the seabed, the steel pile 4 is pitched into the pile casing 2 and the steel pile 4 is driven by a pile delivering pipe 6 to a design elevation and adjacent to the upper end of the pile casing 2.
Referring to
(1) By adding sleeves 3 for temporary work, dry construction may be employed after water is drained through the sleeves 3, ensuring that leveling and grouting connection of the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 requires no underwater operations of persons, thus the dry construction is used throughout the process, which is safe and reliable.
(2) The traditional pile casing 2 is optimized and modified by designing steel pipes, which are located at lower ends and inserted into the soil for water sealing, and an upper-end structure which is connected with the sleeve 3.
(3) For connection between the upper end of the sleeve 3 and the platform of the offshore wind turbine foundation 1, a temporary platform 31 as a connecting structure is added, which serves as both the supporting structure and the passage and can be used as a platform for placing other construction devices.
(4) By changing from traditional wet grouting to dry grouting, the construction persons are allowed to performing monitoring in real time on the platform 25 inside the pile casing and the construction accuracy is easy to control.
(5) Grouting may be used and welding may be further used, for connection between the steel pile 4 and the pile casing 2, completely ensuring the strength and safety of the connection.
(6) The sleeve 3 and the water-sealing structure connected with the pile casing 2 significantly improve the water-sealing performance.
(7) The device can realize the operation of embedding piles into rocks in dry construction.
Referring to
The method is applicable to the device for constructing an offshore wind turbine foundation with piling performed afterwards provided in Embodiment 1. The method includes: connecting sleeves 3 to the upper ends of the pile casings 2 before hoisting the offshore wind turbine foundation 1; placing the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 on the seabed in such a manner that the steel pipes at the bottoms of the pile casings 2 are placed on the seabed or inserted into the soil of the seabed; disposing each steel pile 4 inside one pile casing 2 and driving the steel pile by using a pile hammer to a specified design elevation within the pile casing 2; drawing out the seawater and silt within the sleeves 3 and the pile casings 2 after the piling procedure is completed; leveling the offshore wind turbine foundation 1; connecting the pile casings 2 with the steel piles 4 on site by welding and grouting which can be performed separately or simultaneously; and removing the sleeves 3.
Referring to
The construction method provided by the present embodiment further includes a leveling method for leveling the offshore wind turbine foundation 1. The leveling method is applicable to a leveling device. The leveling device includes a jack 5 and a leveling supporting plate 41. The leveling supporting plate 41 is provided at the top of the steel pile 4. A platform 25 inside the pile casing is provided inside the pile casing 2. The jack 5 is provided between the leveling supporting plate 41 and the platform 25 inside the pile casing.
The leveling method includes the following steps.
The construction person goes down from the sleeve 3 to the platform 25 inside the pile casing. The construction person places the jack 5 between the leveling supporting plate 41 and the platform 25 inside the pile casing. The jack 5 abuts against the leveling supporting plate 41 to jack up the steel pile 4 so that the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 is pressed down, thus leveling, the offshore wind turbine foundation 1.
It is convenient for the construction persons to perform leveling in dry construction, and ensures that leveling of the offshore wind turbine foundation 1 requires no underwater operations, which is safe and reliable.
Referring to
It should be appreciated that in the description of the present disclosure, orientation or positional relations indicated by terms such as “center”, “longitudinal”, “transverse”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inner”, “outer”, “clockwise” and “counterclockwise” are the orientation or positional relations shown based on the figures, only for facilitating and simplifying description of the present disclosure, rather than indicating or implying that the referred devices or elements must be in a particular orientation or constructed or operated in the particular orientation, and therefore they should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.
In addition, terms such as “first” and “second” are only used for the purpose of description and cannot be interpreted as indicating or implying importance in relativity or implicitly showing the number of the technical features referred to. Hence, features defined with “first” and “second” can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present disclosure, “plurality” means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.
It should also be noted that, in the present disclosure, terms such as “mount”, “coupled”, “connected” and “fixed” should be interpreted in a broad sense, unless otherwise explicitly specified and defined. For example, it may be fixed connection, detachable connection, or integrated connection, or it could be mechanical connection or electrical connection, or it could be direct connection or indirect connection via an intermediate medium, or it could be internal communication or interaction between two elements. Those ordinarily skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure according to specific circumstances.
In the present disclosure, the description that a first feature is “above” or “below” a second feature may indicate that the first feature and the second feature are in direct contact, or that the first feature and the second feature are not in direct contact, but rather contact by another feature therebetween. Further, the description that a first feature is “above”, “over” and “on” a second feature indicates that the first feature is right above the second feature or is above but deviated from the central line of the second feature, or only that the first feature is located at a higher horizontal height than the second feature. Further, the description that a first feature is “below”, “under” and “beneath” a second feature indicates that the first feature is right below the second feature or is below but deviated from the central line of the second feature, or only that the first feature is located at a lower horizontal height than the second feature.
The above description only shows preferable embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Various modifications and variations of the present disclosure will occur to those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent replacements and improvements made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be encompassed by the scope of protection of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 1 0481801 | Aug 2015 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2016/090331 | 7/18/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/020697 | 2/9/2017 | WO | A |
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| 20180223497 A1 | Aug 2018 | US |
