Compliant offshore platform
US4696603A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 5, 1985 |
| Grant date | Sep 29, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 5, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE02B17/0017
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A complaint offshore platform in which the primary restoring force to lateral displacement is established by flex piles driven into the seafloor and fixedly secured to the platform legs a preselected distance above the seafloor. The platform includes a substantially rigid space-frame structure extending from the ocean bottom to a position above the ocean surface. A drilling and production deck is secured atop the space-frame structure. Shear piles extend through the base of the space-frame structure to prevent lateral displacement of the base while permitting the space-frame structure to pivot about its base. As the platform sways about its base in response to environmental forces, the flex piles establish a vertical couple at the location at which they are attached to the space frame structure. This couple resists movement of the platform away from a vertical orientation. In the preferred embodiment, the flex piles are secured to the platform at or near one-half the total height of the space-frame structure.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.