Free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation, which belongs to the fields of offshore and ocean engineering. The mudmat comprises a base foundation, an upper foundation, and a cover plate. The base foundation sits on the seabed to support dead weights of the mudmat itself and the subsea production system fixed on the mudmat. The upper foundation, with a plurality of universal rolling ball bearing being attached to the bottom, can slide on the base foundation when it is subjected to a horizontal push force generated by the pipeline during operation. Therefore, the axial load on the pipeline during operation due to heating and pressurization is released and the buckling failure risk is then reduced. The mudmat disclosed has smaller size and lighter weight, which is beneficial in reducing fabrication costs and reducing requirements for cranes on the pipeline laying vessel.

Claims

1. A free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation, comprising: a base foundation siting on a seabed to support dead weights of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation and a subsea infrastructure; an upper foundation siting and sliding in an inner space of the base foundation; and a cover plate fixed on a top of the base foundation; said base foundation mainly comprises a base plate, a plurality of lateral baffles, and a plurality of skirts; the skirts are symmetrically attached to a bottom of the base plate to enhance a rigidity of the base plate, and are inserted in the seabed to improve a horizontal anti-sliding resistance and a vertical bearing capacity of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation; the lateral baffles are fixed around the base plate to form an open hexahedral space, and a top of the lateral baffles further has a plurality of screw holes to fix the cover plate; said upper foundation further comprises an upper plate, a plurality of stop blocks, and a plurality of universal rolling ball bearings; the upper plate is configured with a plurality of springs around the upper plate and is configured with a plurality of dowel holes on the upper plate, and the upper plate has a size smaller than a size of the open hexahedral space formed by the lateral baffles and the base plate; the springs are connected between an inner side of the lateral baffle and a lateral side of the upper plate; the stop blocks are fixed on four corners of an upper surface of the upper plate to limit a rotation movement of the upper foundation; the universal rolling ball bearings are fixed on a bottom of the upper plate and sit on an upper surface of the base plate; the subsea infrastructure is configured on the upper surface of the upper plate to connect an end of a pipeline to transport oil; a horizontal push force acts on the upper plate generated by the pipeline due to heating and pressurization during operation, causing the upper plate to slide on the base plate through the universal rolling ball bearings, and to release a axial force on the pipeline due to heating and pressurization; said cover plate further comprises a flat plate with a mid-hole, allowing the subsea infrastructure and the pipeline to extend through the mid-hole, and a plurality of eyebolts configured on an upper surface of the flat plate for installation and recovery of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation; the flat plate further has a plurality of screw holes to match the screw holes on the top of the lateral baffles, and to fix the flat plate to the lateral baffles; and the flat plate further has a plurality of dowel holes to match the dowel holes on the upper plate, and to fix the upper foundation to the cover plate through dowel pins.

2. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 1, wherein a height of the lateral baffle is greater than a total height of the upper plate, the universal rolling ball bearing, and the stop block; when the upper foundation sits on the base plate, a height difference exists between the top of the lateral baffle and a top of the stop block, causing a gap between a bottom of the flat plate and the top of the stop block with the flat plate being fixed on the lateral baffles; the gap between the bottom of the flat plate and the top of the stop block has a size meeting following principles: a) the gap has a size to ensure a horizontal movement of the upper foundation on the base plate is not constrained by the flat plate; b) under a condition of meeting principle a), the gap has a size to constrain a vertical movement of the stop blocks by the flat plate, and to avoid a movement outside the horizontal movement of the upper foundation.

3. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 1, wherein the springs have a compression limit and a tension limit that is not less than a maximum deformation of the pipeline due to heating and pressurization; and the springs further have a rigidity meeting a following principle: a maximum restoring force of the springs under compression limit or tension limit that is less than an ultimate anti-sliding horizontal resistance of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation or a buckling force of the pipeline.

4. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 3, further comprising an anodic protection device configured at the inner side of the lateral baffle to prevent corrosion of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation.

5. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 3, further comprising a damping device arranged between the subsea infrastructure and the upper plate to reduce a cyclic disturbance of a seabed soil caused by a vibration of the subsea infrastructure during operation; said damping device is further comprised of springs and dampers.

6. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 1, further comprising an anodic protection device configured at the inner side of the lateral baffle to prevent corrosion of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation.

7. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 6, further comprising a damping device arranged between the subsea infrastructure and the upper plate to reduce a cyclic disturbance of a seabed soil caused by a vibration of the subsea infrastructure during operation; said damping device is further comprised of springs and dampers.

8. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 1, further comprising a damping device arranged between the subsea infrastructure and the upper plate to reduce a cyclic disturbance of a seabed soil caused by a vibration of the subsea infrastructure during operation; said damping device is further comprised of springs and dampers.

9. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 1, wherein said skirts are grilled skirts, cylindrical piles, or suction caissons; and wherein said stop block is a universal rolling ball bearing.

10. The free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation according to claim 9, wherein the lateral baffles and the base plate are fixed through welding, rivets, or screws; wherein the springs are connected between the upper plate and the lateral baffle through screws or rivets; wherein the universal rolling ball bearings are connected to the bottom of the upper plate by screws or rivets; and a size and a number of the universal rolling ball bearing are determined based on practical requirements.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation.

(2) FIG. 2a shows the base foundation.

(3) FIG. 2b shows the upper foundation.

(4) FIG. 2c shows the cover plate.

(5) FIG. 3a shows a top view of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation.

(6) FIG. 3b shows the cross-sectional view (A-A) of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation.

(7) FIG. 3c shows the cross-sectional view (B-B) of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation.

(8) FIG. 4 shows the universal rolling bearing ball beneath the upper foundation.

(9) FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b show the grilled skirts beneath the base plate.

(10) FIG. 5c and FIG. 5d show the cylindrical piles beneath the base plate.

(11) 1 base foundation; 2 upper foundation; 3 cover plate; 4 subsea infrastructure; 5 pipeline; 6 damping device; 7 dowel pin; 8 screw; 11 base plate; 12 lateral baffle; 13 screw hole (a); 14 skirt; 15 anodic protection device; 21 upper plate; 22 spring; 23 dowel hole (a); 24 stop block; 25 universal rolling ball bearing; 31 flat plate; 32 screw hole (b); 33 eyebolt; 34 dowel hole (b).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(12) For illustrative purposes, some of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, with reference to the drawings.

(13) 1. Free-Sliding Subsea Mudmat Foundation

(14) FIG. 1, FIGS. 2a-2c, and FIGS. 3a-3c show the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation, which is mainly comprised of a base foundation 1, an upper foundation 2, and a cover plate 3. The base foundation 1 comprises a base plate 11, a plurality of lateral baffles 12 and a plurality of skirts 14. The base plate 11 sits on the seabed to support the dead weights of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation and the subsea infrastructure 4. The skirts 14 are symmetrically attached to the bottom of the base plate 11, which are inserted in the seabed soils to improve the horizontal anti-sliding resistance and vertical bearing capacity of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation. Hence the stability of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation is improved. The skirts 14 can also improve the rigidity of the base plate 11. The size of the base plate 11 should be large enough to provide enough vertical bearing capacity to support the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation and the subsea infrastructure. The ultimate vertical bearing capacity of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation can be calculated by Eq. (1).
F.sub.u=N.sub.cs.sub.umA  (1)
where F.sub.u is the ultimate vertical bearing capacity of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation; N.sub.c is the bearing capacity factor, which is associated with the aspect ratio of the base plate 11, the shape and size of the skirts 14, the heterogeneity of the seabed soil, and many other factors; s.sub.um is the undrained shear strength of the seabed soil; and A is the projected area of the base plate. Generally, the total weight of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation and the subsea infrastructure 4, W, should be less than 0.5F.sub.u. Therefore, the size of the base plate 11 can be determined by Eq. (1) based on the summary of the total weight of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation and the subsea infrastructure.

(15) The lateral baffles 12 are fixed around the base plate 11 through welding, rivets, or screws. An anodic protection device 15 is configured at the inner side of the lateral baffle 12, which is used to prevent the corrosion of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation.

(16) The upper foundation 2 comprises an upper plate 21, a plurality of stop blocks 24, and a plurality of universal rolling ball bearings 25. The upper plate 21 is used to support the subsea infrastructure 4. The upper plate 21 is configured with a plurality of springs 22 around it. The springs 22 are connected between the inner side of the lateral baffles 12 and the lateral side of the upper plate 21. When the interaction force between the upper plate 21 and the lateral baffles 12 is zero, the springs 22 are not distorted. When an interaction exists between the upper plate 21 and the lateral baffles 12, the springs 22 are extended or compressed. The springs 22 are connected to the upper plate 21 and lateral baffles 12 through screws or rivets.

(17) The expansion of the pipeline 5, connected to the subsea infrastructure 4, due to heating and pressurization can be calculated by Eq. (2).
Δl=α.sub.1.Math.l.Math.ΔT  (2)
where Δl is the expansion of the pipeline; α.sub.l is the linear expansion coefficient of the pipeline; ΔT is the temperature difference between the pipeline during operation and the seabed. The compression limit or tension limit of the spring 22 should not less than the maximum expansion of the pipeline 5 due to heating and pressurization.

(18) The stiffness of the springs 22 should meet the following principle: the maximum restoring force of the springs 22 under compression limit or tension limit is less than the ultimate horizontal resistance, F.sub.H, of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation.

(19) The maximum restoring force of the spring under compression limit or tension limit is calculated by Eq. (3).
F.sub.s,u=kΔd.sub.u  (3)
where F.sub.s,u is the restoring force of the spring under compress limit or tension limit; k is the rigidity coefficient of the springs; and Δd.sub.u is the compression limit or tension limit of the spring.

(20) The stiffness of the springs 22 should further meet the following principle: the maximum restoring force of the springs 22 under compression limit or tension limit is less than the buckling load of the pipeline 5.

(21) The relationship between the distortion of the pipeline 5 and the restoring force of the springs can be calculated by Eq. (4).

(22) $\begin{array}{cc}\Delta l=\frac{F_{N}l}{EA}+\frac{F_N}{k}& \left(4\right)\end{array}$
where F.sub.N is the restoring force of the springs; E is the modulus of the pipeline; and A is the cross-sectional area of the pipeline. When the expansion of the pipeline 5 achieve the maximum, the restoring force of the springs should reach the maximum (i.e. F.sub.N=F.sub.s,u) and should be less than the buckling load of the pipeline, as shown in Eq. (5).
F.sub.s,u≤[F.sub.buckling]  (5)
where F.sub.buckling is the buckling load of the pipeline. Note the spring rigidity k in Eq. (3) and Eq. (4) is the total rigidity of the springs. The number of the spring 22 should be determined based on practical requirements and Eqs. (3˜4).

(23) The anti-sliding resistance of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation is provided by two parts: the base plate 11 and the skirts 14. The anti-sliding resistance of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation can be determined based on the shape and size of the skirts 14, the strength of the seabed soil, the area of the base plate 11, etc.

(24) The upper plate 21 is configured with a plurality of dowel holes (a) 23, which can be used to fix the upper foundation 2 during installation and recovery of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation.

(25) FIG. 4 shows the universal rolling ball bearings 25, which is comprised of a larger ball, a support, a cover, a storage chamber, and a plurality of smaller balls. The universal rolling ball bearing 25, which can rotate towards any direction, is fixed to the bottom of the upper plate 21 through screws, rivets or other methods. The size and number of the universal rolling ball bearing 25 should be determined based on practical requirements. The universal rolling ball bearings 25 are located on the upper surface of the base plate 11, allowing the upper plate 21 to slide on the base plate 11 resulted from the horizontal push force on the upper plate 21 generated by the pipeline 5 due to heating and pressurization. Then the axial load in the pipeline 5 due to heating and pressurization is released to some extent.

(26) The stop blocks 24 are fixed on four corners of the upper surface of the upper plate 21 to limit the movement outside the horizontal movement for the upper foundation 2.

(27) The cover plate 3 further comprises a flat plate 31 and a plurality of eyebolts 33. The flat plate 31 is configured with a mid-hole, allowing the subsea infrastructure 4 and the pipeline 5 to extend through the mid-hole. The flat plate 31 further has a plurality of screw holes (b) 32 to match the screw holes (a) 13 on the top of the lateral baffles 12. The flat plate 31 can be fixed to the lateral baffles 12 by screws 8 through screw holes (b) 32 and screw holes (a) 13. The flat plate 31 further has a plurality of dowel holes (b) 34 to match the dowel holes (a) 23 on the upper plate 21. The upper foundation 2 can be fixed to the cover plate 3 by dowel pins 7 through dowel holes (a) 23 and dowel holes (b) 34. The eyebolts 33 are configured on the upper surface of the flat plate 31, which are used for installation and recovery of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation.

(28) The height of the lateral baffles 12 should be greater than the total height of the upper plate 21, the universal rolling ball bearing 25, and the stop block 24. When the upper foundation 2 sits on the base plate 11, a height difference exists between the top of the lateral baffles 12 and the top of the stop block 24. The height difference allows the flat plate 31 to be fixed on the lateral baffles 12 without touching the stop blocks 24. After installing the flat plate 31 on the lateral baffles 12, a gap exists between the bottom of the flat plate 31 and the top of the stop block 24. The size of the gap should meet the following principles: a) the gap should be large enough to ensure that the horizontal movement of the upper foundation 2 on the base plate 11 is not constrained by the flat plate 31; and b) under the condition of meeting principle a), the gap should be small enough to constrain the vertical movement of the stop blocks 24, and to avoid the movement outside the horizontal movement for the upper foundation 2.

(29) The skirts 14 are inserted in the seabed soils, which can be used to improve the anti-sliding resistance and vertical bearing capacity of the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation. The skirts 14 can be designed with varied shapes. For instance, grilled skirts, cylindrical piles, or suction caissons can be used as skirts. FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b show the grilled skirts beneath the base plate 11. FIG. 5c and FIG. 5d show the cylindrical piles beneath the base plate 11. Both the grilled skirts and cylindrical piles are helpful in improving the anti-sliding resistance and vertical bearing capacity of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation, and hence the stability of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation is improved.

(30) A damping device 6, including springs and dampers, is arranged between the subsea infrastructure 4 and the upper plate 21. The damping device 6 can be used to reduce the effect of the vibration of the subsea infrastructure 4 on the pipeline 5. In addition, the damping device 6 is also helpful in reducing the cyclic disturbance of the seabed soil caused by the vibration of the subsea infrastructure 4 during operation. The parameters of the springs and dampers of the damping device 6 should be designed based on the requirements of the subsea infrastructure.

(31) 2. Installation of the Free-Sliding Subsea Mudmat Foundation

(32) A method installing the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation, comprising the following steps.

(33) a) place the upper foundation 2 on the base plate 11 of the base foundation 1; and connect the upper plate 21 and lateral baffles 12 by springs 22; then fix the flat plate 31 to the lateral baffles 12 by screws 8; and then fix the upper foundation 2 to the flat plate 31 with dowel pins 7 through dowel holes (a) 23 and dowel holes (b) 34;

(34) b) install the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation by using a crane or hoist on the pipeline laying vessel, and

(35) the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation can be vertically released (i.e. the plane of the long side and short side of the base plate 11 is vertical) or horizontally released (i.e. the plane of the long side and short side of the base plate 11 is horizontal) in the seawater based on practical requirement;

(36) c) extract the dowel pins 7 by using a ROV after installing the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation, allowing the upper foundation 2 to slide on the base plate 11;

(37) d) trigger the anodic protection system 15 to avoid corrosion of the free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation in the seawater.

(38) 3. Recovery of the Free-Sliding Subsea Mudmat Foundation

(39) A method retrieving the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation, comprising the following steps.

(40) a) seal dowel pins 7 in dowel holes (b) 34 on the flat plate 31 and dowel holes (a) 23 on the upper foundation 2; and

(41) b) connect retrieval lines to the eyebolts 33, allowing the free-sliding subsea mudmat foundation to be retrieved. The retrieved free-sliding seabed mudmat foundation can be re-used, which is environmentally friendly.