Importance

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Abstract

A flexible structure of controlled yieldability for use as a hydrocarbon drilling and production platform in deep seas, or as a mooring point for oil tankers, constituted by a foundation base assembly, a vertical cylindrical tubular element placed under tension by a buoyancy chamber disposed at its top in proximity to the water surface, and an overlying lattice which at its top supports the plant platform. The tubular element is connected at its lower end to the base and at its upper end to the buoyancy chamber by means of suitable profiled tapered terminal elements able to withstand the bending loads which are generated at said connections. The entire structure is constituted by four separate pieces, namely the foundation base assembly with the lower terminal element, the lower half of the cylindrical tubular element, the upper half thereof, and the upper buoyancy chamber which is connected at one end to the upper terminal connection element and at the other end to the top lattice. For transportation purposes, these four pieces are assembled telescopically in pairs. On final on-site installation, the telescopic tubular parts are connected together and to the respective profiled terminal elements by mechanical clamps which restore complete structural continuity along the entire axis of the structure.

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First Claim