Arctic caisson system
First Claim
1. A stable marine platform structure for supporting plant or equipment for marine operations and of the type adapted to be supported on the sea bottom or other support surface, comprising:
- a continuous base slab for engaging the sea bottom or other support surface;
an interior hexagonal cell structure formed of a plurality of vertically oriented inter-connected cell walls standing upon said base slab;
a substantially vertical perimeter wall adjoining the periphery of said interior cell structure and surmounting said base slab, said perimeter wall being formed of a plurality of inter-connected, arcuate wall segments and a plurality of vertically oriented, planar wall segments, said planar segments formed between the juncture of said arcuate segments and the perimetrical vertices of said interior hexagonal cell structure;
a horizontally oriented, continuous top slab supported upon the upper extremities of said interior cell structure and adjoining said perimeter wall, said top slab being adapted for supporting plant or equipment used in the marine operation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A marine structure comprising a cellular caisson which forms a stable platform for carrying out a variety of offshore operations in the arctic and sub-arctic regions is provided. The structure may be grounded on reasonably level sea bottom with a minimum of sea bed preparation in shallow water or mounted upon a previously prepared berm. Resistance to local ice forces is provided by the hexagonal cellular arrangement of the perimeter and interior walls which make up the cellular caisson. Global foundation resistance is obtained by introducing a suitable quantity of ballast into the structure. The design allows clusters of two or more structures to be grouped together to augment the offshore installation and to permit the offshore installation to be developed in stages at the site.
21 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A stable marine platform structure for supporting plant or equipment for marine operations and of the type adapted to be supported on the sea bottom or other support surface, comprising:
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a continuous base slab for engaging the sea bottom or other support surface; an interior hexagonal cell structure formed of a plurality of vertically oriented inter-connected cell walls standing upon said base slab; a substantially vertical perimeter wall adjoining the periphery of said interior cell structure and surmounting said base slab, said perimeter wall being formed of a plurality of inter-connected, arcuate wall segments and a plurality of vertically oriented, planar wall segments, said planar segments formed between the juncture of said arcuate segments and the perimetrical vertices of said interior hexagonal cell structure; a horizontally oriented, continuous top slab supported upon the upper extremities of said interior cell structure and adjoining said perimeter wall, said top slab being adapted for supporting plant or equipment used in the marine operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15)
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14. A stable marine platform structure for supporting plant or equipment for marine operations of the type supported on the sea bottom or other support surface, comprising two or more support structures, assembled at a single location, each of said structures comprising:
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a continuous base slab for engaging the sea bottom or other support surface; an interior hexagonal cell structure formed of a plurality of vertically oriented inter-connected cell walls standing upon said base slab; a substantially vertical perimeter wall adjoining the periphery of said interior cell structure and surmounting said base slab, said perimeter wall being formed of a plurality of inter-connected, arcuate wall segments and a plurality of vertically oriented, radially extending, planar wall segments, said planar segments formed between the juncture of said arcuate segments and the perimetrical vertices of said interior hexagonal cell structure; a horizontally oriented, continuous top slab supported upon the upper extremities of said interior cell structure and adjoining said perimeter wall, said top slab being adapted for supporting plant or equipment used in the marine operation.
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Specification