Assembly of a jacket structure
AssigneeSiemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S
InventorMark Reinders
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Assembling a jacket structure that includes two or more legs and crossing braces extending between the legs and forming cross joints. A first component of the jacket structure includes two or more legs and brace structures. Each brace structure includes a first brace and a second brace, sections of the first and second braces being at one end attached to the first leg at respective first and second leg-brace joints. The brace structure and the first leg form an A-frame. A second component of the jacket structure that includes a second set of brace structures and a second part of the brace cross node is further provided. The first component of the jacket structure is mounted to the second component of the jacket structure by joining the first and second parts of the brace cross nodes to form full brace cross nodes.
Claims12
A method of assembling a jacket structure that includes two or more legs and a plurality of crossing braces extending between the two or more legs and forming cross joints, the method comprising:
- providing a first component of the jacket structure that includes a first leg of the two or more legs and that further includes a first set of brace structures, wherein each brace structure includes a section of a first brace and a section of a second brace, the sections of the first brace and the second brace being at one end attached to the first leg at respective first and second leg-brace joints that are spaced apart, and the sections of the first brace and the second brace being at an other end joined to each other so as to form a first part of a brace cross node, the brace structure and the first leg thereby forming an A-frame;
- providing a second component of the jacket structure that includes a second set of brace structures, wherein each brace structure of the second set includes at least a section of the first brace and a section of the second brace which are joined at one end so as to form a second part of the brace cross node;
- and
- mounting the first component of the jacket structure to the second component of the jacket structure by joining the first and second parts of the brace cross node to form full brace cross nodes, so that the sections of braces of the first set of brace structures and the sections of braces of the second set of brace structures form braces that cross at the respective brace cross node;
- wherein the first part and the second part of the brace cross node each comprise a mounting element to which the respective ends of the brace sections of the first and second braces are attached, the mounting element of the first part comprising a plate having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, and the mounting element of the second part comprising a plate having a first side and a second side opposite the first side;
- wherein the first part and the second part of the brace cross node further comprises a first connecting piece attached to the respective section of the first brace and a second connecting piece attached to the respective section of the second brace, wherein the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece of the first part extend in a V-shape from the first side of the mounting element of the first part, and the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece of the second part extend in a V-shape from the first side of the mounting element of the second part;
- wherein the second side of the mounting element of the first part is a flat surface that faces opposite a direction that the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece of the first part extend, and the second side of the mounting element of the second part is a flat surface that faces opposite a direction that the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece of the second part extend, and, when the first part is joined to the second part to form the full brace cross node, the flat surface of the mounting element of the first part contacts the flat surface of the mounting element of the second part to form a flanged plate interface.
A jacket structure component for forming a jacket structure that includes two or more legs and a plurality of crossing braces extending between the two or more legs and forming cross joints, the jacket structure component comprising:
- a first of the two or more legs;
- and
- a first set of brace structures, wherein each brace structure includes a section of a first brace and a section of a second brace, the sections of the first brace and the second brace being at one end attached to the first leg at respective first and second leg-brace joints that are spaced apart, and the sections of the first brace and the second brace being at an other end joined to each other so as to form a first part of a brace cross node, the brace structure and the first leg thereby forming an A-frame;
- wherein the first part and a second part of the brace cross node each comprise a mounting element to which respective ends of the brace sections of the first and second braces are attached, the mounting element of the first part comprising a plate having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, and the mounting element of the second part comprising a plate having a first side and a second side opposite the first side;
- wherein the first part and the second part of the brace cross node further comprises a first connecting piece attached to a respective section of the first brace and a second connecting piece attached to a respective section of the second brace, wherein the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece of the first part extend in a V-shape from the first side of the mounting element of the first part, and the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece of the second part extend in a V-shape from the first side of the mounting element of the second part;
- wherein the second side of the mounting element of the first part is a flat surface that faces opposite a direction that the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece of the first part extend, and the second side of the mounting element of the second part is a flat surface that faces opposite a direction that the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece of the second part extend, and, when the first part is joined to the second part to form a full brace cross node, the flat surface of the mounting element of the first part contacts the flat surface of the mounting element of the second part to form a flanged plate interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.