Patent Application
20100074691
Not applicable.
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to production systems and methods for manufacturing of components for offshore structures, including fixed or floating platforms and vessels. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to systems and associated methods for high-volume fabrication of modular components for the offshore structures.
Conventional methods for fabrication and assembly of offshore structures are driven by the design of the offshore structures themselves and typically require special procedures that can be performed only by skilled technicians. Consequently, production of an offshore structure is a lengthy and expensive process. Limited capacity of existing yards wherein offshore structures may be fabricated and assembled further increases production costs and completion time for these structures. Moreover, in some locations, expansion beyond existing yard capacity to reduce production time and cost is either impossible due to a lack of space or undesirable due to local conditions. In other locations, expansion is possible but not desirable for economic reasons. For example, there may be only a short term need for expansion of an existing yard or construction of a new yard that does not justify the associated expense.
Production systems and associated methods for high volume production of modular components of offshore structures are disclosed. In some embodiments, the production system includes a production barge and a production facility disposed on the production barge. The production facility is operable to produce a plurality of modular components for use in construction of an offshore structure, wherein the modular components comprise at least one of a stiffened plate and a stiffened tubular.
In some embodiments, the production system a production facility adapted to produce modular components for use in construction of an offshore structure, wherein the modular components comprise at least one of a stiffened tubular and a stiffened plate modified using automation within the production facility, a yard assembly area proximate the production facility, wherein the modular components are assembled to form a portion of the offshore structure, and a load out barge operable to deliver the portion of the offshore structure to an offshore installation site.
Some methods for producing an offshore structure include identifying modular components that are manufacturable substantially using automation, developing a design for the offshore structure, the design incorporating a plurality of the modular components, fabricating the modular components within a production facility positioned proximate a load out barge, and transporting the modular components on the load out barge to an offshore installation site.
Thus, the embodiments of the invention comprise a combination of features and advantages that enable substantial enhancement of production systems and associated methods for offshore structures. These and various other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
For a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
Various embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used for like parts throughout the several views. The drawings in the figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features of the invention may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form, and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
Also, in the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Further, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection, or through an indirect connection via other devices and connections.
Referring now to
Production facility 105 has a manufacturing layout 120 within a receiving end 125 and a delivery end 130. Receiving end 125 and delivery end 130 can be situated anywhere with respect to one another in production facility 105. For example, receiving end 125 and delivery end 130 can be adjacent one another or opposite one another as illustrated. Raw materials/components 105 are input to production facility 105 at receiving end 125. Modules 115 produced by facility 105 are output from facility 105 at delivery end 130. In some embodiments, the spatial requirements for manufacturing layout 120 are determined by the installed location of facility 105. For example, production facility 105 may be installed on a production vessel or barge, enabling production facility 105 to be relocatable. In such embodiments, the spatial requirements for layout 120 of facility 105 are limited by available space on the production barge. Alternatively, the production facility 105 may be installed on land. In such embodiments, layout 120 may be larger, relatively speaking.
Manufacturing layout 120 includes one or more fabrication or assembly lines 140, each line 140 having one or more stations 150 disposed therein. In some embodiments, layout 120 further includes one or more storage containers 152 for storing tools, replacement parts, and/or other devices useful for maintaining operation of lines 140. Each station 150 receives an input 155, modifies that input 155 in some manner, and delivers an output 160. If a particular station 150 is positioned proximate receiving end 125 of facility 105, input 155 is raw material(s)/component(s) 110. Otherwise, input 150 is output 160 from an adjacent or nearby station 150. Upon receipt, station 150 modifies input 155, such as by but not limited to cutting, bending, heating, repositioning, coating, painting, joining with another input 155 by welding for example, and/or assembly with another input 155. When modification of input 155 by station 150 is complete, output 160 is then delivered from station 150 to another station 150 or from facility 105 through delivery end 130.
Input 155 may be received and output 160 delivered by station 150 via automated means, such as by conveyor belt or gantry, or by manual means, such as by one or more human technicians. Modification of input 155 by station 150 may be via automated means, such as by one or more gantries configured to lift, weld, cut, set, or perform another task, via skilled technicians, or a combination thereof. Preferably, all tasks performed by station 150 are automated or mechanized to minimize the use of human labor. This enables high-volume, repeatable, and continuous production of modules 115 by facility 105, which, in turn, enables faster production of offshore structures at reduced expense, as compared to conventional production systems and methods.
Manufacturing layout 120 is flexible. Each line 140 and stations 150 disposed therein are arranged such that facility 105 modifies raw material(s)/component(s) 110 in a systematic and efficient manner to produce modules 115. One or more of lines 140 may extend such that the direction of work flow within the line, defined by arrows extending betweens stations 150 in the line, is parallel to or in series with another line 140. For example, lines 132, 134, 136, and 138 are in parallel, while line 133 is in series with parallel lines 132, 134, 136, 138. Thus, tasks performed by stations 150 of lines 132, 134, 136, and 138 preferably occur at least to some degree simultaneously. Tasks performed within stations 150 of line 133, however, are dependent upon the productivity of lines 132, 134, 136, 138. Further, lines 140 and stations 150 disposed therein may be moved within layout 120 as needed to promote production of modules 115 or to change the type of modules 115 produced.
In preferred embodiments, production facility 105 is operable to mass produce stiffened tubular members 117 using a plurality of plate members 116, stiffeners 112, and girders 114. In such embodiments, raw material/components 110 provided to facility 105 are plate members 116, stiffeners 112, and girders 114, and modular components 115 produced by facility 105 are stiffened tubular members 117. As will be shown and described, stiffened tubular members 117 may form a portion of a cell for a cellular spar, a column for an offshore platform, and/or a buoyancy can for an offshore platform. Each stiffened tubular member 117 includes one or more stiffened tubular columns 200 joined end to end and a deck 205 coupled thereto. Thus, stiffened tubular columns 200 and decks 205 are modular subcomponents of stiffened tubular member 117. Turning briefly to
Returning to
Lines 132, 134, 136 are operable to fabricate portions of tubular columns 200, and line 138 is operable to fabricate portions of deck 205. Beginning with line 132, plate members 116 are received by station 150 proximate receiving end 125 of production facility 150. Within line 132, plate members 116 are rolled to form a quarter panel 210, as illustrated by
At substantially the same time as production of quarter panels 210 by line 132, lines 134, 136 receive plate members 116 and through welding and rolling form large and small T-beams 220. As illustrated by
Also at substantially the same time as production of quarter panels 210 and T-beams 220 by lines 132, 134, 136, line 138 receives plate members 116, stiffeners 112, and girders 114. Line 138 cuts stiffeners 112 to appropriate lengths, as needed, and welds each stiffener 112 to a circular plate member 116. Line 138 then positions girders 114 over and extending substantially normally to stiffeners 112 and welded to circulate plate 116. This assembly 235, shown in
At station 215, tubular columns 200 and decks 205 are formed. Specifically, two T-beams 220 and four quarter panels 210 are assembled and joined through welding to form each tubular column 200, as illustrated by
Within assembly stations 240, four tubular columns 200 are joined end to end through welding, as illustrated by
Although line 132 is depicted as including three stations 150, line 132 may have fewer or more stations 150 than shown, wherein tasks necessary to form quarter portions 210 are combined or distributed, as needed. The same is also true for other lines 140 of production facility 105, including lines 133, 134, 136, 138. Moreover, the tasks performed within each line 140 may be executed in varied order. For example, within lines 134, 136, plate members 116 may be rolled and welded end to end to form flanged portion 230, and additional plate members 116 then welded to flanged portion 230 to form web 225, rather than web 225 formed initially and plate members 116 subsequently welded thereto to form flanged portion 230 as described above.
In the above-described embodiment, production facility 105 is operable to combine plate members 116, stiffeners 112, and girders 114 to from stiffened tubular members 117. In other embodiments, production facility 105 may be reconfigured to produce other types of modular components 115 using many of the same, preferably automated, processes. For example, production facility 105 may be configured to mass produce stiffened plate members 119, illustrated in
Turning now to
In the illustrated embodiment, production facility 105 is located on a production barge 420 (
In preferred embodiments, load out barge 305 is reconfigurable and submersible. To enable reconfiguration, barge 305 includes two pontoons 700 with a plurality of pontoon members 705 connected therebetween. Pontoon members 705 have a width 710 and a length 715 exceeding their width 710. Pontoon members 705 may be connected between pontoons 700 such that the length 715 of each extends substantially normally between pontoons 700, as shown in
This flexibility enables barge 305 to transport wide loads, such as but not limited to an offshore platform 725 shown in
As described, production facility 105 is preferably automated to minimize the use of human labor in the production of modules 115. This enables high-volume, repeated, and continuous production of modules 115, which in turn, reduces the time and associated cost for building offshore structures formed from such modules 115. Due to limited capabilities of existing automated fabrication and/or assembly means, the preference for maximizing the use of automation for fabrication or assembly within production facility 115 places constraints on the types of modules 115 which may be produced therein. For example, modules 115 formed from one or more basic or elementary shapes, such as a tubular and/or plate, lend themselves to automated fabrication.
To further reduce the time and associated cost for building the offshore structure, it is preferable to design the offshore structure in such as way as to maximize the use of modules 115 produced by facility 105 and to minimize the use of components that cannot be fabricated using automated means. In this way, manufacturing of the offshore structure is not design driven. Rather, the opposite is true—that the design of the offshore structure is driven by manufacturing. Thus, in some embodiments for producing an offshore structure in accordance with the principles disclosed herein, the types of modules 115 which may be produced by facility 105 given the constraints of its manufacturing layout 120 are initially identified. The design of the offshore structure is then developed based on a maximized use of the identified types of modules 115.
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or teachings herein. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the systems are possible and are within the scope of the invention. For example, the relative dimensions of various parts, the materials from which the various parts are made, and other parameters can be varied. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but is only limited by the claims that follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.
This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/096,174 filed on Sep. 11, 2008, and entitled “Modular, High Volume Deepwater Facility Production,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61096174 | Sep 2008 | US |
