Stabilizing bluff structures against oscillation
US4505617A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 4, 1983 |
| Grant date | Mar 19, 1985 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 4, 2003 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21B17/01
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
Method and apparatus for stabilizing an upright structure such as a pile against transverse oscillation due to the relative horizontal motion of the sea past it. Gas is discharged from orifices formed either in a ring duct surrounding the pile, or in the wall of the pile itself. The bubbles tend to rise within the region of low-pressure which forms closely downstream of the pile, so breaking the synchronism of the known vortex-shedding mechanism that can promote the transverse oscillation. A perforated shroud may surround the structure and the bubbles may rise within the gap between structure and shroud. Such a shroud may itself have some stabilizing property even when the gas supply is turned off.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.