Device for transferring fluid from a marine mounting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9919911-B2
Application number	US-201113988840-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 24, 2011
Priority date	Nov 30, 2010
Publication date	Mar 20, 2018
Grant date	Mar 20, 2018

Abstract

A device for transferring fluid from a support installed at sea and fitted with a device for storing flexible pipes having the first ends of a plurality of flexible pipes fastened thereto, the pipes preferably extending between said support and an offloading ship. The pipe device having a first connection and valve device, the pipes being connected to one another at their seconds ends by a the first connection and valve device having n first pipe portions and suitable for being connected to a second connection and valve device, preferably installed on board an offloading ship.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fluid transfer device for transferring fluid from a support installed at sea, in grounded or floating manner, to a ship which is arranged alongside said support or in tandem adjacent to said support, said fluid transfer device comprising a plurality, n, of flexible pipes that are suitable for being stored on said support by means of a flexible pipe storage device to which a first end of each of said flexible pipes is suitable for being fastened, said flexible pipes being suitable for extending between said support and said ship arranged alongside or in tandem adjacent to said support, the fluid transfer device comprises a first connection and valve device, said flexible pipes being connected together at their second ends by said first connection and valve device, said first connection and valve device having n first pipe portions held in fixed positions relative to one another, n being an integer not less than 3, each said first pipe portion comprising:
at a first end, a first pipe coupling element;
at a second end, a second coupling element, assembled to the second end of one of said flexible pipes;
each of said first pipe portions including, between its two ends, a number (n−1) of branch connections enabling said first pipe portion to communicate with respective ones of the n−1 other ones of said first pipe portions, each of said branch connections including a first communication valve;
a first connection valve situated between said first pipe coupling element and one of said branch connections;
said first pipe portions being held by a first rigid support to which said first pipe portions are secured; wherein said support is installed at sea, fitted on a surface of said support with a storage device for storing and guiding flexible pipes and which said flexible pipe storage device is suitable for storing and guiding a plurality of said flexible pipes, said flexible pipe storage device comprising:
a first carrier structure resting on or secured to a deck of said support close to a side of said support, said first carrier structure supporting a plurality of circular turntables arranged one above another; and
each of said turntables being suitable for being driven in rotation in powered manner by a first motor about a vertical central axis ZZ′ independently of one another, each turntable having a central orifice surmounted by a central cylinder against and around which at least one of said flexible pipes can be wound in concentric juxtaposed spiral turns of increasing diameter resting on the top face of said turntable, said central orifice of said turntable being fitted with a rotary joint coupling suitable for providing coupling between firstly a first end that is closest to said central cylinder of a flexible pipe wound around said flexible cylinder, said first pipe end being suitable for being driven in rotation together with said turntable, and secondly an end of a stationary transfer pipe having an other end of said stationary transfer pipe in communication with at least one first tank within said support.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein
said support is installed at sea, in a grounded or a floating manner, and said ship is arranged alongside said support or in tandem adjacent to said support; and
said flexible pipe storage device is arranged on said support; and
said flexible pipes that are fastened at said first end to said flexible pipe storage device extend between said floating support and said ship.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of said flexible pipes is wound, at least in part, against and around said central cylinder in concentric juxtaposed spiral turns of increasing diameters resting on said turntable, said central cylinder presenting a radius greater than the minimum radius of curvature of said flexible pipe.

4. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of guide means, wherein each guide means is arranged at a different height facing a respective one of each of said turntables so as to be suitable for supporting an intermediate curved pipe portion between a downstream portion of said pipe in a substantially vertical position beside said side and said upstream pipe portion leaving the turntable in continuity with the wound pipe portion resting on said turntable, said upstream pipe portion leaving the turntable extending on a virtual plane P that is substantially tangential to the surface of the top face of said turntable on which said wound pipe portion is wound, the various downstream pipe portions in substantially vertical positions beside said side being arranged in positions that are offset relative to one another in a direction Y 2 Y 2 ′ parallel to said side on leaving said sheaves.

5. The device according to claim 4 , wherein:
each said guide means comprises a sheave mounted to revolve about a horizontal first axis of rotation Y 1 Y 1 ′, said sheave also being suitable for swiveling about a vertical second axis of rotation Z 1 Z 1 ′ extending along a diameter of the sheave;
the various sheaves are arranged offset side by side relative to one another in said horizontal direction Y 1 Y′ 1 parallel to said side at different heights; and wherein
each sheave is supported by a second carrier structure arranged outside said floating support and fastened to a common side at a different position in said horizontal direction Y 1 Y 1 ′ parallel to said side, each sheave being mounted to swivel about said vertical second axis of rotation Z 1 Z 1 ′ relative to a portion of its second carrier structure fastened to said side.

6. The device according to claim 4 , wherein each said guide means being suitable for guiding the portion of said pipe leaving a respective one of each of said turntables in continuity with the portion of pipe wound on said turntable such that the various ones of said pipe portions leaving the various turntables are arranged in straight lines, being offset in different positions along a horizontal direction Y 1 Y 1 ′ parallel to said side, at different heights, and capable of adopting different orientations for vertical axial planes of said pipe portions relative to said horizontal direction Y 1 Y 1 ′parallel to said side.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein each said turntable includes or co-operates on its under face with wheels suitable for co-operating with or respectively supported by elements of said first carrier structure, and each said turntable including a bearing at said central orifice, the bearing being secured to said first carrier structure and being suitable for enabling said turntable to rotate relative to said first carrier structure.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein at least one said turntable presents a top face that is plane and horizontal.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein at least one said turntable presents a top face of convex frustoconical shape.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein at least one said turntable presents a top face of concave frustoconical shape.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein said first communication valves are butterfly valves and said second connection valves are ball valves.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein said first and second pipe portions are rigid and each of them is held parallel to one another by said respective first and second rigid supports.

13. The device according to claim 1 , comprising a second connection and valve device suitable for being arranged on board said ship, said first connection and valve device being connected to said second connection and valve device, said second connection and valve device comprising:
n rigid second

Assignees

• Hallot Raymond
• Bruguier Cedric
• Mauries Benjamin
• Saipem Sa

Inventors

• Hallot Raymond
• Bruguier Cedric
• Mauries Benjamin

Classifications

• B63B27/34 Primary

  using pipe-lines {(anchoring arrangements for special vessels with mooring turrets B63B21/507; buoys specially adapted for mooring a vessel and for transferring fluids, e.g. liquids B63B22/021)} · CPC title

• B67D9/02 Primary

  using articulated pipes · CPC title

• B63B27/24

  of pipe-lines · CPC title

• B67D9/00

  Apparatus or devices for transferring liquids when loading or unloading ships (ship-based equipment B63B27/00) · CPC title

• B65G67/60

  Loading or unloading ships (arrangement of ship-based loading or unloading equipment for cargo or passengers B63B27/00) · CPC title