Brown & Root, Inc.

Jay B Weidler, Jr

Bert E Gracia

Charles Warren Stelly

Tommy L Hull

An offshore jacket is provided which comprises a plurality of main hollow pile sleeves and a plurality of secondary hollow pile sleeves of shorter height than the main sleeves and connected thereto by framing. A plurality of main piles and secondary piles are disposed within the main sleeves and secondary sleeves, respectively, and project downwardly therebeyond into the seabed. The main and secondary piles are connected to their respective main and secondary sleeves by grout disposed within an annulus between the sleeve and the pile, so that the pile resists axial forces. The grout within the secondary piles extends to the seabed. The grout within at least some of the main sleeves terminates above the seabed to decrease the axial spring value of the associated piles and thereby increase the proportion of the axial forces which are borne by the secondary piles. Also provided is an offshore jacket which does not employ secondary sleeves and piles; the lower level of grout within some of the sleeves is disposed above the level of grout within others of the sleeves located closer to a central axis of the jacket to decrease the axial spring values of the former piles and thereby more uniformly distribute the axial forces among the piles.

Grouting of offshore jackets to distribute forces among the anchoring

An offshore structure comprises a jacket having buoyant compartments defined by a jacket leg. A rupturable closure defines a lower end of the buoyant compartment. The rupturable closure is operable to be ruptured by a pile impacting on an upper side thereof. The rupturable closure comprises a cup-like cap having a convex under side, and a concave upper side. A plurality of circumferentially spaced, generally radially extending weakened zones in the cap are operable to define generally radially extending rupture zones when the cap is impacted by a pile on its concave upper side. The cup-like cap, when impacted by the pile, ruptures along the generally radially extending weakened zones to define a plurality of triangular cap segments. The generally triangular cap segments are pressed generally radially outwardly of the central axis of the leg toward the inner periphery of the jacket leg by the impacting pile.

Rupturable closure plug for offshore structures

Improvements in buoyancy structures independently comprising each of

Methods and apparatus for applying buoyant forces to offshore tower legs

Disclosed is an apparatus for cushioning and absorbing force between relatively moving bodies and for dissipating the impact energy, preferably in a marine environment. The apparatus is securable to a structure in a marine environment and typically cushions the impact between a marine means (i.e., barge, boat, etc.) and that structure. The apparatus comprises an upright frame, laterally spaced apart upper shock mounts securing the frame to the structure. Each of the shock mounts includes a shear-type, shock-absorbing, resiliently-deformable member disposed intermediate the upright frame and the structure to which it is secured. The resiliently-deformable members of the upper shock mounts are disposed in an orientation in which they provide both compressive and shear resistance to horizontal loading on the frame. The resiliently-deformable members of the lower shock mounts are disposed to support a major portion of the vertical weight of the frame with compressive resistance, while providing shear resistance to horizontal loading on the frame.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Jay B Weidler, Jr