Air-Floating Towing Behaviors of Multi-Bucket Foundation Platform

Air-floating towing beha viors of multi-bucket foundation plat form （MBFP） are investigated with the 1/20-scale model tests and hydrodynamic so ftware MOSES. MOSES numerical model was val idated by test results, and M OSES prototype model of MBFP can eliminate scale effect of model. The influences of towing factors of to wing speed, water depth, freeboard, and w ave direction on air-floating tow ing stability of MBFP were analyzed by model tests and validated MOSES prototype mod el. It is sho wn that the re duction of towing sp eed can effectively d ecrease the to wing force and surge acceleration to improve towing stability. Water depth is another f actor in towing s tability. Obvious shallow water effect will appear in shallow water with sma ll water depth-draft ratio and it w ill disappear gradually and air-floating towing becomes more stable with the increase of water depth. Accelerations of surge, s way and heave are small and they have modest changes when freeboard increases from 0.5 to 2 m. For MBFP, the freeboard is not suggested to be larger than 2 m in following wave. Wave direction has large influence on the towing stability, the surge acceleration and towing force are sensitive to the va riation of wave direction, the surge acceleration and towing force in following wave （0°） and counter wave （180°） are much larger than that in transverse sea （90°and 270°）.

Experimental Study on Influencing Factors of Motion Responses for Air-Floating Tetrapod Bucket Foundation

Air floating transport is one of the key construction technologies of bucket foundation.The influences of draft,water depth and bucket spacing on the motion response characteristics of tetrapod bucket foundation(TBF)during air-floating transportation were studied by models tests.The results showed that with the increase of draft,the natural periods of heave motion increased,while the maximum amplitudes of oscillating motion decreased.The maximum amplitudes of heave motion decreased while pitch motion increased with the increasing of water depth;further,the period range of oscillating amplitude close to the maximum amplitude was expanded due to shallow water effect.With increasing bucket spacing,the maximum amplitudes of heave motion first increase and then decreased,whereas the maximum amplitudes of pitch motion decreased.Therefore,the favorable air-floating transportation performance can be achieved by choosing a larger bucket spacing under the condition of meeting the design requirements and reducing the draft under shallower water.

Experimental Study on the Influencing Factors of Motion Responses on an Air-Floating Caisson with Multiple Compartments

The structure of an air-floating caisson is suitable for the major structure of caisson-type artificial islands.Thus,it has been rapidly developed and widely used in the exploration and development of oil and gas fields in shallow sea and intertidal zones.Air-floating transportation technology is one of the key technologies employed in this structure.In this paper,the factors influencing the dynamic response characteristics of air-floating caisson with multi-compartments(AFCMC)were studied using model tests.The length and the height of each air-floating structure in the model were 1.0 and 0.1 m,respectively.In addition,the 1:100 models with 6,8,and 10 compartments under regular waves were tested in the wave flume,respectively.In the experiments,the respective water depths were set at 0.2,0.3,and 0.4 m,and the corresponding drafts were 0.05,0.06,and 0.07 m.Results show that with the increase of draft,the heave natural period increased and the maximum amplitude of the heave motion decreased.Meanwhile,the pitch motion decreased at 6 and 8 compartments and increased at 10 compartments.As the water depth increased,the maximum amplitude and amplitude change of heave and pitch motions first increased and then decreased.However,several amplitudes close to the maximum amplitude appeared in the measured period at shallower water depth,thereby indicating the vertical movements of the structure enhanced under shallow water.The increase in the number of compartments reduced the vertical movements under 6.0 m draft,but it increased the vertical movements under 5.0 and 7.0 m draft.Thus,increasing the number of compartments has a limited capacity to improve the motion performance of the structure.

Stability Study on the Bucket Foundation with Multi-Compartment During the Floating-up Process Considering Air Compressibility

In the process of developing offshore wind power towards deeper waters,the advantages of the bucket foundation in terms of integrated construction and economy are becoming increasingly evident.In contrast to conventional floating bodies,the air-floating bucket foundations can achieve self-floating with the help of the air in the compartment and adjust its buoyancy and stability by controlling the air volume in the compartment.The construction process of the bucket foundation involves the control of air in the compartment,thus making it more difficult to construct.Especially after the prefabrication of the bucket foundation,the stability of the bucket foundation at the floating-up stage is particularly critical.The stability of a multi-compartment bucket foundation during the floating-up process cannot be accurately evaluated as the existing theoretical method of air-floating structures does not adequately consider air compressibility.To ensure the safety of the floating-up process,a theoretical method based on the idea of intact stability has been developed to analyze the stability of the air-floating bucket foundations,which will allow accurate calculation of the righting arm for different tilt states and critical air leakage angle.At the same time,accuracy and feasibility of the proposed theoretical method are verified through indoor model tests and practical operation of the prototype structure during the floating-up process.In addition,measures to enhance the stability of the bucket foundation are proposed through sensitivity analysis of influencing factors.

Evaluation of measurement uncertainty of the high-speed variable-slit system based on the Monte Carlo method

This paper presents a dynamic and static error transfer model and uncertainty evaluation method for a high-speed variable-slit system based on a two- dimensional orthogonal double-layer air-floating guide rail structure. The motion accuracy of the scanning blade is affected by both the moving component it is attached to and the moving component of the following blade during high-speed motion. First, an error transfer model of the high-speed variable-slit system is established, and the influence coefficients are calculated for each source of error associated with the accuracy of the blade motion. Then, the maximum range of each error source is determined by simulation and experiment. Finally, the uncertainty of the blade displacement measurement is evaluated using the Monte Carlo method. The proposed model can evaluate the performance of the complex mechanical system and be used to guide the design.