Method and apparatus for a guard
AssigneeOreco III, Inc.
InventorsOrde R. Evans, William D. Rhodes, Joseph O. Trahan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for installing and thereby protecting existing offshore structures, existing platforms and flow line risers in the splash and/or wave action zone.
Claims6
A guard for protecting existing offshore structures, platforms, legs and the like from environmental conditions in the wave action area, including:
- (a) an epoxy mounted around the periphery of the existing structure in the wave action area;
- and
- (b) a body of flexible material mounted with said epoxy on the structure suitable for protecting existing structures from environmental conditions.
- (c) said body having
- (i) a width sufficient to extend throughout the wave action area,
- (ii) a length sufficient to enable said body to overlap when wrapped around the structure, and
- (iii) at least two cut-away areas on opposite sides of said body for overlapping one another.
- (d) said cut-away areas of said body being of less thickness than the thickness of the non-overlap portion of said body while having complimentary thicknesses to enable said body to be of the same thickness when mounted with the existing structures.
A method of protecting existing offshore tubular members in a wave action or splash zone area offshore, comprising the steps of:
- a. selecting a suitable flexible material capable of preventing rust and damage to such tubular member in the wave action area;
- b. forming a body from the selected material with a width sufficient to cover such tubular member along the wave action area and with a length sufficient to overlap when wrapped around the body;
- c. removing at least two sections of said flexible material along the entire width of said body, said two sections being cut-away and thereafter being of approximately one-half the thickness of the non-cut-away portion of said body;
- d. suitably cleaning and thereafter placing a suitable epoxy on such tubular members in the wave action area and on such surfaces of said body that come in contact with each other;
- e. wrapping the flexible material around the tubular members in the wave action area such that the length of said body will cover the circumference of the tubular member and one cut-away portion will meet with the other cut-away portion of said body by a sufficient extent to permit overlap with a thickness of approximately the non-cut-away portion.
The method as set forth in claim 5, including the step of thereafter removing said wrapping material for forming a suitable guard around such tubular member in the wave action area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.