Concrete structures used in offshore marine environments
Offshore concrete structures, or concrete offshore structures, are structures built from reinforced concrete for use in the offshore marine environment. They serve the same purpose as their steel counterparts in oil and gas production and storage. The first concrete oil platform was installed in the North Sea in the Ekofisk oil field in 1973 by Phillips Petroleum, and they have become a significant part of the marine construction industry. Since then at least 47 major concrete offshore structures have been built.
Concrete offshore structures are mostly used in the petroleum industry as drilling, extraction or storage units for crude oil or natural gas. These large structures house machinery and equipment used to drill for, or extract, oil and gas.[1] Concrete offshore structures are not limited to applications within the oil and gas industry, several conceptual studies have shown that concrete support structures for offshore wind turbines can be competitive compared to the more common steel structures, especially for greater water depths.
Depending on the circumstances, platforms may be attached to the ocean floor, consist of an artificial island, or be floating. Generally, offshore concrete structures are classified into fixed and floating structures. Fixed structures are mostly built as concrete gravity based structures (CGS, also termed as caisson type), where the loads bear down directly on the uppermost layers as soil pressure. The caisson provides buoyancy during construction and towing and acts also as a foundation structure in the operation phase. Furthermore, the caisson could be used as storage volume for oil or other liquids.[1] Floating units may be held in position by anchored wires or chains in a spread mooring pattern. Because of the low stiffness in those systems, the natural frequency is low and the structure can move with all six degrees of freedom. Floating units serve as production units, storage and offloading units (FSO) or for crude oil or as terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG). A more recent development is concrete sub-sea structures.[1]
Concrete offshore structures are highly durable, constructed of low-maintenance material, suitable for harsh and/or arctic environment (like ice and seismic regions),[1] can carry heavy topsides, may be designed to provide storage capacity, can be suitable for soft ground and are economical for water depths larger than 150 m. Most gravity-type platforms need no additional fixing because of their large foundation dimensions and extremely high weight.[1]
^ abcdeCite error: The named reference Gerwick 2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 27 Related for: Offshore concrete structure information
An oil platform (also called an oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, etc.) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum...
building materials, predominantly steel and concrete. Some examples of marine structures include ships, offshore platforms, moorings, pipelines, cables, wharves...
prestressed structure is widely employed in the design of buildings, underground structures, TV towers, power stations, floating storage and offshore facilities...
A floating wind turbine is an offshore wind turbine mounted on a floating structure that allows the turbine to generate electricity in water depths where...
gravity-based structureoffshore natural gas platform in the Troll gas field off the west coast of Norway. Built from reinforced concrete, as of 2014[update]...
Structure is an offshore oil platform on the Hibernia oilfield southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. A 600-kilotonne gravity base structure (GBS)...
fixed platform is a type of offshore platform used for the extraction of petroleum or gas. These platforms are built on concrete and/or steel legs directly...
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind...
abbreviation for concrete deep water structure. A Condeep usually consists of a base of concrete oil storage tanks from which one, three or four concrete shafts...
offshore oil platforms and onshore oil well casings; offshore wind farm foundations and metal reinforcement bars in concrete buildings and structures...
A submarine pipeline (also known as marine, subsea or offshore pipeline) is a pipeline that is laid on the seabed or below it inside a trench. In some...
serviceability of the structure and its foundation during its operational lifespan and need to be taken into account in offshore design. In subsea geotechnical...
for the design and construction of structures below the ground Offshore construction – Installation of structures and facilities in a marine environment...
in. This allows a user of the concrete to be confident that the structure will perform properly. Various types of concrete have been developed for specialist...
construction method in which concrete is poured into a continuously moving form. Slip forming is used for tall structures (such as bridges, towers, buildings...
capacity largely from their weight. As offshore developments move into deeper waters, gravity-based structures become less economical due to the large...
above-surface structure. A large number of monopile foundations have been utilized in recent years for economically constructing fixed-bottom offshore wind farms...
regulating structures still in use. Roman engineers built dams with advanced techniques and materials, such as hydraulic mortar and Roman concrete, which...
materials, including steel, concrete, timber and glass. Tekla allows structural drafters and engineers to design a building structure and its components using...
waste encapsulation, and as cementing components in making or repairing concretes. The properties and uses of geopolymers are being explored in many scientific...
Selby RG, Vecchio FJ, Collins MP (1997). "The Failure of an Offshore Platform". Concrete International. 19 (8): 28–35. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23...
A concrete finisher is a skilled tradesperson who works with concrete by placing, finishing, protecting and repairing concrete in engineering and construction...
Global Information