Patent ID: 6010278
Filing Date: 2000-01-04
Classification: B63B,E21B,F16L

Abstract:
A fairing is disclosed for deployment about a drilling riser deployed in a deepwater application, comprising:a fairing shroud having a pair of fairing sides, each fairing side having a hinge edge and a tail edge and configured to have a hemicylindrical profile region that begins at the hinge edge and is configured to substantially encircle about one half of a cylindrically shaped drilling riser and a tail profile region that trails off from the hemicylindrical profile region;at least one hinge connecting the fairing sides together at their hinge edges;a pair of flanges, one each along an upper edge and a lower edge of the hemicylindrical profile region of each fairing side;a pair of bearing rings, one formed across the flange on the upper edge and one formed across the flange on the lower edge in the hemicylindrical profile region of each of the fairing sides;a tail connection system about which the trailing edge of the tail edge of the fairing sides are connectable together; anda pair of struts, one strut connectable between the fairing sides on the flange on the upper edge and one connectable at the tail end of the flange on the lower edge, each strut presenting an interior bearing surface tangential to a nominal interior circumference defined by the hemicylindrical profile regions of the fairing sides and an axial bearing surface on each end and each strut connected to the flanges in a manner that allows the struts to be relocated to positions that do not interfere with stowing the fairings.