Mooring buoy for a floating wind turbine

Abstract

The invention relates to a unit, having a floating wind turbine, which has a floating foundation, and having a floating mooring buoy, which can be connected to the floating foundation of the floating wind turbine and which has at least one anchoring means for anchoring the mooring buoy to the bed of a body of water, characterized in that the floating foundation of the floating wind turbine has a hole for holding the mooring buoy.

Claims

1. A unit comprising a floating wind turbine having a floating foundation and a floating mooring buoy connectable to the floating foundation of the floating wind turbine, having at least one anchor for anchoring the mooring buoy on the floor of the body of water, wherein the floating foundation of the floating wind turbine has a recess for accommodating the mooring buoy, wherein the recess of the floating foundation is accessible from the lower side of the foundation and is formed at least partially complementary to the outer contour of the mooring buoy, wherein the mooring buoy is formed from a base plate and a wall that is mounted to be rotatable in relation to the base plate.

2. The unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mooring buoy is formed conical.

3. The unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mooring buoy is formed from a conically tapering wall, which forms a hollow cylinder, and a base plate closing the hollow cylinder on one side.

4. The unit as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a first feedthrough, arranged centrally in the base plate, for feeding through an undersea cable.

5. The unit as claimed in claim 4 further comprising at least one second feedthrough, arranged in the base plate, for feeding through the anchor.

6. The unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the mooring buoy has at least one ballast water tank.

7. The unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the recess of the floating foundation and the mooring buoy inserted into the recess form a closed space.

8. The unit as claimed in claim 3 further comprising at least one second feedthrough, arranged in the base plate, for feeding through the anchor.

9. The unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the mooring buoy has at least one ballast water tank.

10. The unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the recess of the floating foundation and the mooring buoy inserted into the recess form a closed space.

11. The unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the recess of the floating foundation and the mooring buoy inserted into the recess form a closed space.

12. The unit as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a first feedthrough, arranged centrally in the base plate, for feeding through an undersea cable.

13. The unit as claimed in claim 3, further comprising at least one second feedthrough, arranged in the base plate, for feeding through the anchor.

14. The unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the mooring buoy has at least one ballast water tank.

15. The unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the recess of the floating foundation and the mooring buoy inserted into the recess form a closed space.

16. The unit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for tensioning the anchoring means and/or undersea cable provided in the mooring buoy.

17. The unit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising shock absorbing elements arranged on the outer circumference of the mooring buoy.

18. A method for installing a unit including a floating wind turbine having a floating foundation and a floating mooring buoy connectable to the floating foundation of the floating wind turbine, having a ballast water tank and at least one anchor for anchoring the mooring buoy on the floor of the body of water, wherein the floating foundation of the floating wind turbine has a recess for accommodating the mooring buoy, wherein the recess of the floating foundation is accessible from the lower side of the foundation and is formed at least partially complementary to the outer contour of the mooring buoy, the method, comprising the following steps: anchoring the mooring buoy at a predetermined location for the installation of the floating wind turbine, fastening an undersea cable to the mooring buoy, sinking the mooring buoy by flooding the ballast water tank, positioning the recess of the floating foundation of the floating wind turbine above the mooring buoy, inserting the mooring buoy into the recess of the floating foundation by causing the mooring buoy to surface by emptying of the ballast water tank, fastening the mooring buoy on the wind turbine, and connecting the undersea cable to the floating wind turbine by means of a slip ring.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising sinking of the wind turbine jointly with the mooring buoy by flooding of ballast water tanks provided in the foundation of the wind turbine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be explained in greater detail on the basis of an exemplary embodiment designed in a particularly preferred manner, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. In the figures:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a mooring buoy designed in a particularly preferred manner according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the mooring buoy having a particularly preferred design according to the invention having a cover terminating the buoy space;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through the mooring buoy;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a unit having a particularly preferred design according to the invention during the installation at an offshore location;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a side view of the unit illustrated in FIG. 4;

(7) FIG. 6 shows a detailed side view of the sunken mooring buoy in the region of the recess of the foundation of the floating wind turbine;

(8) FIG. 7 shows a side view of the wind turbine positioned above the mooring buoy; and

(9) FIG. 8 shows the wind turbine connected to the mooring buoy.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(10) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a mooring buoy designed in a particularly preferred manner according to the invention.

(11) The mooring buoy 20 has a conical outer contour, which is formed by the wall 22 and tapers upward. The base of the cone is formed by a base plate 24, wherein the mooring buoy 20 is connected by means of anchoring means 30 to the floor of the body of water. In addition, the mooring buoy 20 is connected to an undersea cable 40, so that the mooring buoy 20 is provided as the sole anchor point for a floating wind turbine.

(12) A means 70 supported on the upper edge of the wall 22 for tensioning the anchoring means 30 and/or the undersea cable 40 is also shown, so that the buoy 20 can be anchored precisely in location during its installation.

(13) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the mooring buoy 20 designed in a particularly preferred manner according to the invention having a cover 50 terminating a space formed by the wall 22 and the base plate 24.

(14) A float 60, whichas shown in FIG. 6can be used as a guide during the insertion of the buoy 20 into the foundation of the wind turbine, is fastened on the cover 50.

(15) The cover 50 ensures that water cannot penetrate into the space reserved in the buoy 20. This is important in particular if the recess in the foundation of the wind turbine is accessible from below the foundation and the buoy 20 has to be sunk. The cover 50 is provided with respect to its geometry so that it can be removed after the insertion of the buoy 20 into the foundation of the wind turbine.

(16) The cover 50 thus closes the buoy 20 after its anchoring until the connection to the wind turbine. The free end of the preinstalled undersea cable 40 is therefore protected from corrosion during this time span.

(17) Finally, the mooring buoy can have shock-absorbing elements 74 arranged on its outer circumference, which help to avoid damage to the mooring buoy or the wind turbine during the connection to the wind turbine.

(18) It can be seen in the sectional view illustrated in FIG. 3 that the wall 22 of the mooring buoy 20 is mounted so it is rotatable about its base plate 24. The anchoring means 30 and the undersea cable 40, in contrast, are connected in a rotationally-fixed manner to the base plate 24 through feedthroughs 26, 28 provided in the base plate 24. In this case, the undersea cable 40 is guided centrally through the base plate 24, in order to keep any strain acting on the undersea cable 40 and occurring due to the rotational movement of the buoy 20 small. A seal 34 provided on the upper fastening flange of the buoy 20 seals the recess 12 of the foundation in relation to the seawater after the connection of the buoy 20 to the wind turbine 100 (see also FIG. 8).

(19) Due to the ability of the wall 22 to rotate in relation to the base plate 24, the wind turbine can rotate around the base plate 24 fixed by means of the anchoring element 30 via the rotational connection 32 upon a fixation of wall 22 and foundation of the wind turbine.

(20) For the installation of a unit formed in this manneras shown in FIG. 4a floating wind turbine 100 on its foundation 10 is towed by two tugboats S1, S2 to the installation location in such a way that the tugboats S1, S2 take the mooring buoy 20 between them and mooring buoy 20 and foundation 10 of the floating wind turbine 100 approach one another.

(21) It can be seen in FIG. 5 both the mooring buoy 20 and also the floating foundation 10 of the wind turbine 100 float on the surface of the body of water in this method step.

(22) In order that the mooring buoy 20 can now be inserted into the recess 12 of the foundation 10 accessible from below the waterline, it is necessary for the buoy 20 to be sunk. This is performed in particular by taking on ballast water, wherein the buoy 20 preferably has a ballast water tank, which is arranged in the wall 22 and in particular is ring-shaped. This tank can be flooded with seawater by the remote control of an undersea valve.

(23) FIG. 6 shows a side view of the sunken mooring buoy 20 in the region of the foundation 10 of the floating wind turbine 100, wherein the float 60 also arranged on the buoy 20 is recognizable.

(24) The float 60 can be used as a guide structure for the insertion of the buoy 20 into the recess 12, for example, it can be grasped and guided. Alternatively or additionally, the float 60 can also be designed in such a way that it can be actively or passively located to facilitate the positioning of the wind turbine 100 in relation to the buoy 20.

(25) Via the position shown in a side view in FIG. 7, the mooring buoy 20 is finally transferred into the position shown in FIG. 8 in which the mooring buoy 20 is connected to the wind turbine 100 after the insertion into the recess 12 of the foundation 10.

(26) It can also be seen that the undersea cable 40 is connected to the slip ring body 110, which is arranged above the feedthrough 26 arranged centrally in the base 24 of the buoy 20.

(27) The wind turbine 100 is thus fundamentally ready for use.

(28) For reasons of stability, the foundation 10 is sunk by flooding ballast water tanks provided in the foundation 10, so that the influence of waves has a smaller effect than in the case of a wind turbine 100 floating on the water surface.