System for transporting an offshore structure
AssigneeDelft Offshore Turbine B.V.
InventorsJan Van Der Tempel, Andrey Vladimirovich Metrikine
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Abstract
System for transporting an offshore structure, the system comprising: a transport apparatus, in particular a vessel or a vehicle, which is configured to receive an offshore structure and to form a slip joint with a slip joint section of a received offshore structure, wherein the system is configured to enter a releasable state, from a fixing state, wherein, in the releasable state, the slip joint formed by the transport apparatus and the offshore structure is smaller than that force in the fixing state.
Claims22
A system for transporting an offshore structure, the system comprising:
- a transport apparatus which is configured to receive an offshore structure and to form a slip joint with a slip joint section of the received offshore structure,
- wherein the slip joint is established between a lower end of the received offshore element forming the slip joint section of the offshore element and a complementary slip joint section of the transport apparatus;
- wherein the complementary slip joint section of the transport apparatus comprises a conical surface or a frusto-conical surface and the slip joint section of the off shore structure comprises a complementary conical surface or a frusto-conical surface,
- wherein the slip joint is formed and/or maintained under influence of the self-weight of the offshore structure, wherein during use the conical surfaces or frusto-conical surfaces of the slip joint section and the complimentary slip joint section are configured to mate and are provided such that the self-weight of the off shore structure pushes the off shore structure further onto the slip joint section of the transport apparatus,
- wherein the system is configured to enter a releasable state from a fixing state, wherein, in the releasable state, a slip joint force of the slip joint formed by the transport apparatus and the offshore structure is smaller than the slip joint force in the fixing state.
A method for transporting an offshore structure, the method comprising:
- receiving an offshore structure on a transport apparatus and forming a slip joint between the transport apparatus and the received offshore structure, wherein the slip joint is formed and/or maintained under the influence of the self-weight of the offshore structure;
- wherein the slip joint is formed by lowering a lower end of the off shore structure with a conical surface or a frusto conical surface onto a slip joint section of the transport apparatus having a complementary conical surface or a frusto conical surface;
- reducing a slip joint force of the slip joint;
- and
- releasing the offshore structure from the transport apparatus after reducing the slip joint force.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.