US3343372A - Drilling platform - Google Patents
Drilling platform Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US3343372A US3343372A US456084A US45608465A US3343372A US 3343372 A US3343372 A US 3343372A US 456084 A US456084 A US 456084A US 45608465 A US45608465 A US 45608465A US 3343372 A US3343372 A US 3343372A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- platform
- columns
- drilling
- drilling platform
- column
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
- 238000005553 drilling Methods 0.000 title description 25
- 239000002689 soil Substances 0.000 description 5
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007665 sagging Methods 0.000 description 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
- E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
- E02B17/00—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
- E02B17/04—Equipment specially adapted for raising, lowering, or immobilising the working platform relative to the supporting construction
- E02B17/08—Equipment specially adapted for raising, lowering, or immobilising the working platform relative to the supporting construction for raising or lowering
- E02B17/0818—Equipment specially adapted for raising, lowering, or immobilising the working platform relative to the supporting construction for raising or lowering with racks actuated by pinions
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
- E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
- E02B17/00—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
- E02B17/02—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor placed by lowering the supporting construction to the bottom, e.g. with subsequent fixing thereto
- E02B17/021—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor placed by lowering the supporting construction to the bottom, e.g. with subsequent fixing thereto with relative movement between supporting construction and platform
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B15/00—Supports for the drilling machine, e.g. derricks or masts
- E21B15/02—Supports for the drilling machine, e.g. derricks or masts specially adapted for underwater drilling
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
- E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
- E02B17/00—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
- E02B2017/0056—Platforms with supporting legs
Definitions
- the present invention relates to drilling platforms and the like, more particularly of the type in which a buoyant platform is provided with a number of columns movable vertically relative to the platform and adapted to be fixed in vertically adjusted positions.
- Drilling platforms of this type have been devised in the past.
- such a drilling platform is provided with three columns or legs, by means of which the drilling platform can stand on the oceanfloor. It is also known to provide drilling platforms with four columns or legs mounted at the corners of a rectangle. Also, it is known to provide such platforms with six or eight columns, arranged in groups of three or four along the sides of a rectangle.
- drilling platforms as heretofore conceived have all suffered from certain disadvantages.
- a platform with three columns presents difliculties when the soil underneath one column washes away, as the drilling platform will then lean over and may even topple and be lost.
- the load on one column cannot be increased as desired unless the column in question is ballasted; and this ballasting is a complicated operation. This is true because the load imposed on any one column by a platform supported by three columns tends automatically to be equally distributed among the three.
- a drilling platform having four columns is undesirable.
- the weight which is borne by two diagonally opposite columns can be increased by decreasing the load on the other two diagonally opposite columns.
- the platform will thereupon assume an unstable position.
- such a distribution is not even theoretrically possible unless the center of gravity of the platform is in the center of the platform; and this is seldom, if ever, the case.
- an unstable equilibrium may also be produced if the load is largely supported by the column from beneath which the soil has been washed away.
- drilling platforms with six or eight columns are characterized by certain disadvantages. Specifically, when a column in one of the corners loses its subjacent support, then certain conditions of wind loading or wave loading can cause the next column, on the same side as the unsupported column, to bear much more than its intended load. Thus, when wind or wave load is applied perpendicular to the line that extends diagonally between the two corners of the rectangle which are nearest to the vertex where the soil has been washed away, then the next column in the line is quite near that diagonal line and bears a very high load.
- FIGURE 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view of a drilling platform according to the present invention.
- FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of a drilling platform according to the present invention.
- the present invention comprises the discovery that the above objects can be achieved by providing a drilling platform having five columns or legs, which are disposed in the corners of a substantially equilateral pentagon.
- the drilling platform itself is also pentagonal and substantially congruent with the pentagon whose vertices are marked by the columns or legs.
- a drilling platform comprised of a platform 1 which is in the form of a pontoon having positive buoyancy when the entire assembly is supported on the water, so that the drilling platform of the present invention may be floated from place to place as desired when its columns or legs are suitably raised.
- Platform 1 is in the form of a substantially equilateral pentagon as viewed in plan.
- each of the five corners of platform 1 there is provided an opening through each of which one of the vertical columns or legs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 extends.
- each of legs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 is vertical.
- a framework 7 is mounted on the upper side of platform 1 adjacent each opening through which one of the columns extends.
- Each frame 7 provides a vertical guideway for the vertical movement of the associated column.
- Each frame 7 also carries means 8 for moving the associated column vertically relative to platform 1, and means 9 for selectively fixing the vertically adjusted position of the associated column relative to platform 1.
- These means comprise, in one embodiment, conventional teeth cooperating with locking bars, and jacks for the actuation of the moving parts, as shown in a number of earlier patents, among them my US. Patent No. 3,056,585, Oct. 2, 1962.
- a drilling platform or the like comprising a buoyant platform, five vertical supporting columns disposed in the corners of a substantially equilateral pentagon, and means mounting the columns for vertical sliding movement relative to the platform.
- a drilling platform as claimed in claim 1 the platform being in the form of a pentagon with the columns disposed in the corners of the pentagon.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Civil Engineering (AREA)
- Geology (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Earth Drilling (AREA)
Description
Sept. 26, 1967 A. M. SMULDERS 3,343,372
. DRILLING PLATFORM FiiedMay 17. 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Y m Ja a/W ATTORNEY-S Sept. 26, 1967 A, H. M. SMULDERS 3,343,372
DRI LLING PLATFORM Filed May 17. 1965 v v 2 Shets-Sheet 2 IN VE N TOR. Ava usr A ia/pew Mme/A J/wuwaes W Y-JM,
United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A drilling platform of the type in which the platform and columns are vertically adjustable relative to each other, has five columns disposed in the corners of a regular pentagon, for increased safety against sagging.
The present invention relates to drilling platforms and the like, more particularly of the type in which a buoyant platform is provided with a number of columns movable vertically relative to the platform and adapted to be fixed in vertically adjusted positions.
Drilling platforms of this type have been devised in the past. In one form, such a drilling platform is provided with three columns or legs, by means of which the drilling platform can stand on the oceanfloor. It is also known to provide drilling platforms with four columns or legs mounted at the corners of a rectangle. Also, it is known to provide such platforms with six or eight columns, arranged in groups of three or four along the sides of a rectangle.
However, drilling platforms as heretofore conceived have all suffered from certain disadvantages. In the first place, a platform with three columns presents difliculties when the soil underneath one column washes away, as the drilling platform will then lean over and may even topple and be lost. Also, in the case of a drilling platform having three columns, the load on one column cannot be increased as desired unless the column in question is ballasted; and this ballasting is a complicated operation. This is true because the load imposed on any one column by a platform supported by three columns tends automatically to be equally distributed among the three.
Similarly, a drilling platform having four columns is undesirable. In theory, the weight which is borne by two diagonally opposite columns can be increased by decreasing the load on the other two diagonally opposite columns. In fact, however, the platform will thereupon assume an unstable position. Moreover, such a distribution is not even theoretrically possible unless the center of gravity of the platform is in the center of the platform; and this is seldom, if ever, the case. Moreover, when the soil underneath one of the columns of a platform with four columns is washed away, an unstable equilibrium may also be produced if the load is largely supported by the column from beneath which the soil has been washed away.
Similarly, drilling platforms with six or eight columns are characterized by certain disadvantages. Specifically, when a column in one of the corners loses its subjacent support, then certain conditions of wind loading or wave loading can cause the next column, on the same side as the unsupported column, to bear much more than its intended load. Thus, when wind or wave load is applied perpendicular to the line that extends diagonally between the two corners of the rectangle which are nearest to the vertex where the soil has been washed away, then the next column in the line is quite near that diagonal line and bears a very high load.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a drilling platform or the like which does not sulfer the above disadvantages when the soil washes out from beneath one of its columns.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a drilling platform or the like as to which the load borne by one or more of the columns can be readily adjusted.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
'FIGURE 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view of a drilling platform according to the present invention; and
FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of a drilling platform according to the present invention.
Briefly, the present invention comprises the discovery that the above objects can be achieved by providing a drilling platform having five columns or legs, which are disposed in the corners of a substantially equilateral pentagon. In a preferred form, the drilling platform itself is also pentagonal and substantially congruent with the pentagon whose vertices are marked by the columns or legs.
Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown a drilling platform comprised of a platform 1 which is in the form of a pontoon having positive buoyancy when the entire assembly is supported on the water, so that the drilling platform of the present invention may be floated from place to place as desired when its columns or legs are suitably raised. Platform 1 is in the form of a substantially equilateral pentagon as viewed in plan.
In each of the five corners of platform 1, there is provided an opening through each of which one of the vertical columns or legs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 extends. When platform 1 is horizontal, each of legs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 is vertical.
A framework 7 is mounted on the upper side of platform 1 adjacent each opening through which one of the columns extends. Each frame 7 provides a vertical guideway for the vertical movement of the associated column. Each frame 7 also carries means 8 for moving the associated column vertically relative to platform 1, and means 9 for selectively fixing the vertically adjusted position of the associated column relative to platform 1. These means comprise, in one embodiment, conventional teeth cooperating with locking bars, and jacks for the actuation of the moving parts, as shown in a number of earlier patents, among them my US. Patent No. 3,056,585, Oct. 2, 1962.
It will also be noted from FIG. 1, as indicated above, that the columns are disposed at the apices of an equilateral pentagon, and that that pentagon is substantially congruent with and disposed inside the pentagon defined by the contour of platform 1 in a horizontal plane.
The above construction has the advantages that when one column loses its subjacent support, and even when two columns which are not contiguous have lost their support, platform 1 will still remain standing on three columns, which will of necessity give three-point support. It is also possible, by raising one or more columns, to vary the load on the remaining columns. It will furtherbe noted that the loss of support by any single column, or by any pair of noncontiguous columns, cannot give rise to the imposition of undue loads on any of the remaining columns, as the diagonals between the remaining supported columns do not pass undesirably close to any supported column.
In view of the foregoing disclosure, it will be seen that all ofthe initially recited objects of the present invention have been achieved.
Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
Having described my invention, I claim:
1. A drilling platform or the like, comprising a buoyant platform, five vertical supporting columns disposed in the corners of a substantially equilateral pentagon, and means mounting the columns for vertical sliding movement relative to the platform.
2. A drilling platform as claimed in claim 1, the platform being in the form of a pentagon with the columns disposed in the corners of the pentagon.
for independently selectively fixing any of said columns in any of a plurality of vertically adjusted positions relative to the platform.
References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,906,100 9/1959 De Long et al 61--46.5 2,959,016 11/1960 Parks 61-465 3,171,259 3/1965 Roussel 6146.5 3,195,313 7/1965 Swatek 6146.5 3,246,476 4/1966 Wolfi 61-465 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.
3. A drilling platform as claimed in claim 1, and means 15 JACOB SHAPIRO Assistant Examiner-
Claims (1)
1. A DRILLING PLATFORM OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING A BUOYANT PLATFORM, FIVE VERTICAL SUPPORTING COLUMNS DISPOSED IN THE CORNERS OF A SUBSTANTIALLY EQUILATERAL PENTAGON, AND MEANS MOUNTING THE COLUMNS FOR VERTICAL SLIDING MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE PLATFORM
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
NL6405458A NL6405458A (en) | 1964-05-15 | 1964-05-15 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US3343372A true US3343372A (en) | 1967-09-26 |
Family
ID=19790087
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US456084A Expired - Lifetime US3343372A (en) | 1964-05-15 | 1965-05-17 | Drilling platform |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US3343372A (en) |
DE (1) | DE1634501A1 (en) |
NL (1) | NL6405458A (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3443543A (en) * | 1966-03-03 | 1969-05-13 | Inst Francais Du Petrole | Semi-submersible floating structure of high stability |
JPS4930921B1 (en) * | 1970-07-30 | 1974-08-17 | ||
US4657438A (en) * | 1986-01-10 | 1987-04-14 | Gillis Don A | Advancing mechanism and system utilizing same for raising and lowering a work platform |
EP1472431A2 (en) * | 2002-05-08 | 2004-11-03 | Anadarko Petroleum Corporation | Method and system for building modular structures from which oil and gas wells are drilled |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2906100A (en) * | 1955-05-16 | 1959-09-29 | De Long Corp | Method of operating portable marine structure |
US2959016A (en) * | 1957-10-21 | 1960-11-08 | Jersey Prod Res Co | Offshore apparatus and method of installing same |
US3171259A (en) * | 1960-09-30 | 1965-03-02 | Universal Drilling Company Inc | Offshore drilling barge |
US3195313A (en) * | 1962-10-08 | 1965-07-20 | Dravo Corp | Offshore drilling platform |
US3246476A (en) * | 1963-12-05 | 1966-04-19 | Kerr Mc Gee Oil Ind Inc | Submersible vessel for submarine operations |
-
1964
- 1964-05-15 NL NL6405458A patent/NL6405458A/xx unknown
-
1965
- 1965-05-12 DE DE19651634501 patent/DE1634501A1/en active Pending
- 1965-05-17 US US456084A patent/US3343372A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2906100A (en) * | 1955-05-16 | 1959-09-29 | De Long Corp | Method of operating portable marine structure |
US2959016A (en) * | 1957-10-21 | 1960-11-08 | Jersey Prod Res Co | Offshore apparatus and method of installing same |
US3171259A (en) * | 1960-09-30 | 1965-03-02 | Universal Drilling Company Inc | Offshore drilling barge |
US3195313A (en) * | 1962-10-08 | 1965-07-20 | Dravo Corp | Offshore drilling platform |
US3246476A (en) * | 1963-12-05 | 1966-04-19 | Kerr Mc Gee Oil Ind Inc | Submersible vessel for submarine operations |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3443543A (en) * | 1966-03-03 | 1969-05-13 | Inst Francais Du Petrole | Semi-submersible floating structure of high stability |
JPS4930921B1 (en) * | 1970-07-30 | 1974-08-17 | ||
US4657438A (en) * | 1986-01-10 | 1987-04-14 | Gillis Don A | Advancing mechanism and system utilizing same for raising and lowering a work platform |
EP1472431A2 (en) * | 2002-05-08 | 2004-11-03 | Anadarko Petroleum Corporation | Method and system for building modular structures from which oil and gas wells are drilled |
EP1472431A4 (en) * | 2002-05-08 | 2005-12-07 | Anadarko Petroleum Corp | Method and system for building modular structures from which oil and gas wells are drilled |
US20060157275A1 (en) * | 2002-05-08 | 2006-07-20 | Kadaster Ali G | Method and system for building modular structures from which oil and gas wells are drilled |
US20100143044A1 (en) * | 2002-05-08 | 2010-06-10 | Kadaster Ali G | Method and System for Building Modular Structures from Which Oil and Gas Wells are Drilled |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
NL6405458A (en) | 1965-11-16 |
DE1634501A1 (en) | 1971-10-14 |
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