Single-Point Mooring Buoy

The invention relates to a single-point mooring buoy consisting of a column having at least one rigid portion hingedly connected to an anchor and a buoy hingedly connected to the upper end of said column, the body of which, having buoyancy, is principally below the water level. An example of a similar buoy is disclosed in my U.S. application Ser. No. 687,755, filed May 19, 1976 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,529. This buoy consists of a column which is coupled to an anchor by means of a cardan hinge, said column having at the upper end a cardan hinge which is connected to the body of the buoy, said body being principally under water and extending above water in a portion having a small cross section at the location of the water-line. Such a buoy is held in place by the buoyancy of the body of the buoy and eventually of the column, i.e. the buoy by means of the buoyancy and the connection to the anchor will always try to take a position which is directly above the anchor. Due to the force of currents, wind and wave action, portions of the buoy may undergo a periodical movement. If the column consists of a single portion then this movement is a swinging movement around the lowest hinge point whereby the body of the buoy performs a swinging movement as well as a translatory or transverse movement, and the column also can undergo a bending vibration.

The periods of these movements are defined by the magnitude and the distribution of the mass and the distribution of the dimensions of the buoyant column and body. This distribution of the mass and dimensions, the buoyancy and the forces, exerted by currents, wind and wave action, determine the load upon the several parts with the cardan hinges as critical points.

An object of the invention is to provide a buoy such that these loads are held as low as possible.

According to the invention this object is achieved in that the distribution of the mass and the distribution of the dimensions of each rigid column portion are such that the bending frequency of the column is less than 6 seconds and the distribution of the mass and the distribution of the dimensions of the buoy are such that its period of movement is greater than 16 seconds. Furthermore mass and dimensions of the column should be such that its period of movement is also greater than 16 seconds. Waves with high energy have a period which is greater than 6 seconds but less than 16 seconds. The mass and dimensions of the buoyant column and body are thus such that no resonance occurs.

The surprising effect is that a buoy is obtained which undergoes little movement in spite of the wave action, even as to waves having high energy; and as a result, the loads on the buoy and on the cardan hinges remain low, even when a ship is moored at the buoy.

The column may consist of several portions, each having a length short enough to keep the bending frequency under 6 seconds.

It may also be desirable to provide the buoyant body with a ballast-space, which space for instance can be filled with water in order to increase the mass and thus the period.

The invention now will be elucidated on the basis of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a buoy according to the invention, said buoy in principle corresponding to that disclosed in for instance the above-identified application.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram in which wave energies are plotted against periods.

FIGS. 3a to 3d show the various vibration and/or movement possibilities.

The buoy shown in FIG. 1 consists of an anchor 1, a column 2, which by means of a cardan hinge 3 is connected to the anchor and by means of a cardan hinge 4 is connected to the body of the buoy 5, which is principally below the water level and by a slender standard 6 extends above the water level.

A conduit extending from the bottom to the top of the buoy can have revolving couplings or flexible hose portions at the location of the hinges through or along the column 2 and the body 5 of the buoy. An example of a similar connection is shown in the above-identified application.

In the illustrated example the column 2 has a length of about 100 m, the body 5 has a length of about 60 m and the standard 6 has a length of about 20 m.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship of the wave energy to the periods of the waves. From this it appears that waves with highest energy have a period of about 12 seconds, which period increases with decreasing wave energy but also decreases with lower wave energy. A wave with low energy will have a period below 6 seconds. This can be called a relatively short wave. From the diagram it appears, however, that there also are long waves, that is, waves with a very long period and low energy.

The relative masses of the buoy shown in FIG. 1 should be determined such that the mass of the column 2 has a period which lies at the left side of the 6 seconds ordinate in FIG. 2, whilst the body 5 should have such a mass that its period lies at the right side of the 16 seconds ordinate in FIG. 2.

If the length of the column portion 2 is such that its own frequency exceeds 6 seconds then this portion should consist of two portions as indicated with dotted lines at 2'.

A ballast space 7 can be filled with water in order to increase the mass of the body 5 and to alter the distribution of the mass.

In FIG. 3 the different possibilities of movement and vibration are shown.

FIG. 3a indicates with interrupted lines the bending vibration which can occur in column 2.

FIG. 3b shows in which way the body 5 can swing around the hinge 4.

FIG. 3c shows the swinging to and fro of column 2 and body 5, together in the same direction.

FIG. 3d shows the swinging to and fro of column 2 and body 5 in opposite directions.

All portions are always completely immersed. The standard 6 has been left out in these Figures.

In the following Examples, the variables are defined as follows:

.omega.=vibration frequency in rad/sec.

c=spring constant.

I=moment of inertia.

.rho.=specific mass, that is, the weight per meter run.

1.sup.1 =length of the column 2.

1.sup.2 =length of the body 5.

K=the force exerted on the column by the body 5 or the buoyancy force.

dM=own mass+added mass; the added mass for a cylindrical cross section is equal to that of the displaced water.

.mu.=own mass+added mass per meter run, that is, .rho.+mass of water of the same volume per meter run.

h=the height of K to hinge 4.

d=diameter of column 2.

d.sup.1 =diameter of body 5.

r=half the diameter.

T=period.

s=column wall thickness.

The assumption on which the following calculations are based, is that a vibrating or swinging body under water behaves as though the moving unit were the body itself plus a body of water of the same volume as the volume of the solid body. This assumption is a standard assumption when performing computations of the type of those set forth in the present specification.

The frequency of the column itself is:

I=moment of inertia of cross section of column ##EQU1##

E=2.1.10.sup.4 kg/mm.sup.2 .times.10.sup.6 =2.1.10.sup.10 kg/cm.sup.2 ##EQU2##

The above calculation of omega exhibits the integer 10 at the end of the numerator and 2 at the end of the denominator. In this expression, 10 is a rounded-off value of 9.81, which is the metric constant corresponding to the acceleration of gravity, and is needed so as to convert mass to weight. The numeral 2 is the correction needed to add an equal volume of surrounding water to the volume of the oscillating body.

If 1=100 m, d=2.5 m and s=0.025 m, then: ##EQU3##

This is less than 6 seconds.

For the column 2 with neutral buoyancy:

FIG. 3c without the buoy; so the column alone.

I=moment of inertia of swinging body, that is, the column swinging like an inverted pendulum

c=K.1 ##EQU4## For 1.sup.1 =100 m, d-2.5 m and K=250 tons T=23 seconds, which is far above the limit of 16 seconds. It is also clear that in case the buoy is connected to the column, the period of movement is still longer.

If T is 20 seconds, then the question at which height h the buoyancy force K should act can be answered, when K=250 tons and 1.sup.5 =45 m, and d.sup.1 =4 m, as follows: ##EQU5##

I.congruent.76,340,000 Kg-m ##EQU6##

c<7,634,000 c=K.h

K.h<7,634,000