GRAVITY FOUNDATION FOR THE INSTALLATION OF OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES

Abstract

A gravity-based foundation for the installation of offshore wind turbines, manufactured in a floating dock for towing to the final destination thereof, where it is anchored and finally completely submerged below sea level, comprising a concrete floating caisson, in the shape of a prism, with a hexalobular base, divided into several cells by at least one partition with a significantly circular cross section, concentric with a central cell, determining inner vertical cells interconnected with each other and with the exterior, which is closed at the top by a cover or covers that are removed once the foundation is anchored before being filled with a ballast material.

Claims

1-6. (canceled)

7. A gravity-based foundation for the installation of offshore wind turbines, manufactured in a floating dock for towing to the final location thereof, where it is anchored and finally completely submerged below sea level comprising a floating concrete caisson, in the shape of a straight prism, closed at its base, provided with vertical inner cells interconnected with each other and with the exterior, equipped with emptying and filling devices, which enables self-regulation of the ballast level for anchoring at its final location; closed at the top by means of a cover and provided with at least one concrete node in at least one of the cells of the caisson, which defines means of connection of a shaft or structure that joins the caisson to the superstructure, to which in turn the wind turbine is fastened, characterized in that said caisson has a lobular cross section, in a circular arrangement, wherein each of said lobes has a trapezoidal configuration, with a curved-convex outer side, while the inner side is a portion of the partition that defines a significantly circular central cell, each of these lobes being divided into several cells by at least one partition with a significantly circular cross section, concentric with the central cell; the closing cover or covers having a configuration equivalent to the caisson or to each of said lobes and a support on said caisson that enables the removal of the cover or covers once the foundation is anchored, before being filled with a ballast material.

8. The foundation according to claim 7, wherein the base of the caisson has a polygonal floor plan, thicker than the walls of the caisson, and protruding slightly from the bottom of the caisson, acting as a counterweight with the aim of lowering the center of gravity, which allows the caisson to be stabilized in flotation, during the transfer thereof or in anchoring operations.

9. The foundation according to claim 7, wherein the closing cover or covers do not cover the central cell in which the mast is fastened, particularly when a node has been formed in said cell for the fastening of the shaft.

10. The foundation according to claim 8, wherein the closing cover or covers do not cover the central cell in which the mast is fastened, particularly when a node has been formed in said cell for the fastening of the shaft.

11. The foundation according to claim 7, wherein the radius of curvature of each of the lobes into which the floor plan is divided is smaller than the radius of the body of the foundation.

12. The foundation according to claim 8, wherein the radius of curvature of each of the lobes into which the floor plan is divided is smaller than the radius of the body of the foundation.

13. The foundation according to claim 9, wherein the radius of curvature of each of the lobes into which the floor plan is divided is smaller than the radius of the body of the foundation.

14. The foundation according to claim 10, wherein the radius of curvature of each of the lobes into which the floor plan is divided is smaller than the radius of the body of the foundation.

15. The foundation according to claim 7, wherein the number of lobes is comprised between 5 and 8.

16. The foundation according to claim 8, wherein the number of lobes is comprised between 5 and 8.

17. The foundation according to claim 9, wherein the number of lobes is comprised between 5 and 8.

18. The foundation according to claim 10, wherein the number of lobes is comprised between 5 and 8.

19. The foundation according to claim 11, wherein the number of lobes is comprised between 5 and 8.

20. The foundation according to claim 12, wherein the number of lobes is comprised between 5 and 8.

21. The foundation according to claim 13, wherein the number of lobes is comprised between 5 and 8.

22. The foundation according to claim 14, wherein the number of lobes is comprised between 5 and 8.

23. The foundation according to claim 7, wherein the caisson has a hexalobular floor plan.

24. The foundation according to claim 8, wherein the caisson has a hexalobular floor plan.

25. The foundation according to claim 9, wherein the caisson has a hexalobular floor plan.

26. The foundation according to claim 22, wherein the caisson has a hexalobular floor plan.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] To complement to the description, and for the purpose of helping to make the characteristics of the invention more readily understandable, the present specification is accompanied by a set of drawings, which by way of illustration and not limitation, represent the following:

[0044] FIG. 1 shows a general perspective view of the support structure of a wind turbine or meteorological tower in which the caisson (1) is closed on top by several removable covers (2a).

[0045] FIG. 2 corresponds to a view of the caisson (1) with a single cover (2) used for towing and anchoring processes and which can be removed after the foundation is positioned at the location thereof.

[0046] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along a vertical plane passing through the central cell (16) of the caisson (1) in which a node (19) locking the shaft (3) is formed, making up the support structure of the wind turbine together with the foundation (1).

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0047] FIG. 1 enables distinguishing the three parts that make up the support structure of the wind turbine or the meteorological tower, namely: [0048] a) A concrete caisson (1), lightened with inner cells interconnected with each other and with filling and emptying devices that enable ballasting and de-ballasting, said caisson being the foundation that supports the structure of the offshore wind turbine. [0049] b) A metallic or concrete shaft (3), which connects the foundation (1) with a connection element (4) located at the upper end, on which the mooring area or pier, rest platforms and stairs are arranged. [0050] c) A connection element (4) between the shaft (3) and the wind turbine superstructure, which optionally has a maintenance platform and the necessary instrumentation for the operation of the wind turbine.

[0051] The concrete caisson (1) represents the basis of the invention and can be seen in detail in all the attached figures. The caisson is manufactured in a port using a caisson box or floating dock, which has a slipform system like the ones commonly used in maritime-port constructions in Spain. Once the caisson has been built, the caisson box is ballasted until the caisson floats, so it can be towed and stockpiled at sea.

[0052] The floating concrete caisson (1) in the shape of a straight prism closed at its base, provided with vertical inner cells (18) interconnected with each other and with the exterior, equipped with emptying and filling devices, which enables self-regulation of the ballast level for anchoring at its final location. Specifically, this caisson (1) has a lobular cross section, in a circular arrangement, wherein each of said lobes (11) has a trapezoidal configuration with a curved-convex outer side (12), while the inner side (13) is a portion of a partition that defines a significantly circular central cell (16). Each of these lobes (11) is joined to the adjoining lobe by means of a radial partition (15) and is internally divided into several cells (18) by at least one partition (14) of a significantly circular section, concentric with the central cell (16).

[0053] The figures show a caisson with a hexalobular floor plan, i.e., made up of 6 lobes (11), although studies have been carried out determining that this number can vary between 5 and 8 with optimal operation. Each of these lobes (11) has an outer partition wall (12) with a radius of curvature smaller than that of the caisson (1), so that exteriorly the set of lobes that make up the caisson do not form a circular surface of the caisson, which enables optimizing and simplifying the assembly of the walls (12, 13, 14, 15) and reducing the amount of steel required, while the installation thereof is extremely simple since there are no 90 nodes; the inner structure favors the efficient distribution of stresses from the central substructure towards the base, while increasing the support surface at the base (17).

[0054] The base (17) of the caisson (1) has a polygonal floor plan and is generally thicker than the walls (12, 13, 14, 15) of the caisson, while at the same time protruding slightly from the floor of the caisson. This base (17) acts as a counterweight in order to lower the center of gravity enabling great flotation stability during the transfer thereof or in anchoring operations.

[0055] Optionally, the caisson (1) can be closed temporarily (until it is anchored) by means of a cover (2) or with several covers (2a). FIG. 2 shows a single cover (2) with a configuration equivalent to that of the caisson (1), which in some embodiments may also have a central hole (21), coinciding with the central cell (16) of the caisson, particularly when a connection node has been created in this cell with the mast (3), as can be seen in FIG. 3. On the other hand, FIG. 1 shows several covers (2a), each of which has a surface area equivalent to one or more lobes (11), such that they are easier to remove since they do not need to be moved along the length of the shaft (3). In any case, the cover (2) or covers (2a) are intended to maintain the watertightness of the cells (18) of the caisson while it is towed to the anchoring site and a controlled anchoring of the same is carried out; once this operation is concluded, they are removed from the closing position of the caisson (1) before filling the latter with a ballast material.

[0056] The caisson (1) has several communication channels with the exterior (which are not shown), in which a water passage control valve is placed towards the interior of the same during the anchoring process or, if applicable, during the refloating of the foundation. The inner cells are also interconnected with each other by ducts equipped with emptying and filling devices, which enables self-regulation of the ballast level for anchoring at the final location thereof.

[0057] FIG. 3 shows a node (19) in a cell (16) for efficiently resisting the stresses to which the whole of the structure mounted on it will be subjected. The node (19) itself is formed only in the upper area of said cell (16), which enables lightening the foundation as a whole and also creating an empty space that is filled with seawater during anchoring in order to stabilize it and contribute to the settlement thereof. An alternative embodiment is possible in which this node takes up the entire cell (16) in which it is manufactured.

[0058] The shaft and the connection element can be installed with the caisson afloat by means of cranes, without having to carry out pre-anchoring at port.

[0059] Having sufficiently described the nature of the invention, in addition to an example of a preferred embodiment, it is hereby stated for the relevant purposes that the materials, shape, size and layout of the described elements may be modified, provided that it does not imply altering the essential characteristics of the invention claimed below: