Hoisting system and method for hoisting a vertically-suspended object

A hoisting system is for hoisting a vertically-suspended object. The hoisting system has a winch having a winch drum with a hoisting rope. A first part of the hoisting rope has a first diameter and a second part has a second diameter being larger than the first diameter. The first part is connected with a first end of the second part. The first part is an inner part on the winch drum when the winch drum is completely wound. The second part has a further end that is connectable to the object for hoisting the object. A ratio between the first diameter and the second diameter is such that the minimum breakable load of the first part differs less than a factor of four from the minimum breakable load of the second part, and preferably less than a factor of three. A corresponding method is disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of and priority from European Patent Application No. 20153151.4, filed Jan. 22, 2020 in the European Patent Office. The European application is incorporated herein by reference, in entirety.

FIELD

The invention relates to a hoisting system for hoisting a vertically-suspended object, the hoisting system having a winch having a winch drum with a hoisting rope. The invention further relates to a method for hoisting a vertically-suspended object with such hoisting system.

BACKGROUND

Hoisting systems for hoisting vertically-suspended objects are known from the prior art. Examples of such hoisting systems are cranes, A-frames with winches mounted on them and overboard sheaves combined with winches. Such hoisting systems may typically be placed on vessels, platforms, semis and jack-up rigs. In addition these hoisting systems may be placed at or over a moon pool or they operate directly over the sea via further sheaves that are guiding a hoisting rope from a winch to the operation point. An example hoisting system may be a crane, which typically comprises a crane pedestal, a main boom pivotable connected to the crane pedestal, a knuckle-boom (or jib) pivotable connected to the main boom. Such crane further comprises a winch having a winch drum with a hoisting rope. The hoisting rope is typically guided from the winch along the main boom and knuckle-boom to the boom tip at the end of the knuckle-boom. Wire sheaves are generally placed along this path to guide the hoisting rope.

The known hoisting systems function well, but their winches may become very bulky (and thereby costly) due to the required length and thickness of the hoisting rope, which is to be designed for the minimum breakable load required by the application. This is particularly so for offshore hoisting systems, wherein lengths of the hoisting rope may be up to several kilometers in order to be able to reach the seabed.

SUMMARY

The invention has for its object to remedy or to reduce at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art, or at least provide a useful alternative to prior art.

The object is achieved through features, which are specified in the description below and in the claims that follow.

The invention is defined by the independent patent claims. The dependent claims define advantageous embodiments of the invention.

In a first aspect the invention relates to a hoisting system for hoisting a vertically-suspended object, the hoisting system having a winch having a winch drum with a hoisting rope. A first part of the hoisting rope has a first diameter and a second part has a second diameter being larger than the first diameter, the first part being connected with a first end of the second part. Furthermore, the first part is an inner part on the winch drum when the winch drum is completely wound. The second part has a further end that is connectable to the object for hoisting the object, wherein a ratio between the first diameter and the second diameter is chosen such that the minimum breakable load of the first part differs less than a factor of four from the minimum breakable load of the second part, and preferably less than a factor of three.

The effects of the hoisting system in accordance with the invention are as follows.

The first important feature of the invention is that the hoisting rope on the winch comprises at least two parts having different diameter, wherein the inner part of the winch (that is un-wound the latest) comprises the thinner part of the hoisting robe. Furthermore, the diameters are chosen such that the minimum breakable load between said parts does not differ more than a factor of four, and preferably less than a factor of three. The inventors have realized that this combination of features leads to an enormous advantage in offshore hoisting applications. When a heavy and bulky load is hoisted offshore, either lifted from the seabed or placed onto the seabed the buoyancy forces acting by the water on the object cause the load on the hoisting rope to be significantly smaller. In certain applications the inventors have seen a 66-ton-weighing object (in air) resulting in a 20-ton load on the hoisting rope (and hoisting system) when the object is fully submerged under water. This is a factor of 3.3 difference, even though in most applications the weight reduction will be between 20% and 50%, resulting in ratio of the minimum breakable load (of the first and second part) between about 1.2 and 2. The inventors came to the realization that this opens up the possibility to exploit this effect. Instead of designing the complete hoisting rope for the 66-ton load capacity the major part of the hoisting rope may be designed for a much smaller load. In practical applications the second part does not need to be longer than 200 meters or 300 meters. The remainder, which may easily have lengths up to several thousands of meters may be designed with a significantly smaller diameter. Consequently the winch may be designed much smaller and additionally a lot of material (and costs) are saved for the hoisting rope material. The latter effect is in fact quite large as hoisting rope is very costly, particularly fiber ropes. Nevertheless for metal ropes the impact is also quite large. The invention is therefore not limited to any specific type of hoisting rope.

In order to facilitate understanding of the invention one or more expressions are further defined hereinafter.

A few definitions and expressions as used throughout this specification are defined hereinafter.

Wherever the word “rope” is used, this is to be interpreted as similar to the words cable and wire.

In an embodiment of the hoisting system in accordance with the invention the length of the second part of the hoisting rope is chosen such that, while, in operational use, the object is suspended in the hoisting rope and touches the water, the second part remains wound around the winch drum with at least a predefined number of windings and stretches all the way from the winch drum along the hoisting system and down to the further end of the hoisting rope near the water. The advantage of this embodiment is that it creates a safety zone during the hoisting where an effective minimum breakable strength of the hoisting rope is maintained higher in the transition from air-suspended to submerged load. In addition for the second part to be used as hoisting rope it needs to be wound around the winch at least a predefined number of times in order to create enough friction on the winch. In practical applications this may be 5 times or more, for example.

In an embodiment of the hoisting system in accordance with the invention the second part has a length between 10 and 500 meters, and preferably between 10 and 400 meters, and even more preferably between 10 and 300 meters. This embodiment gives the range for the length of the second part, which is suitable for most applications.

In an embodiment of the hoisting system in accordance with the invention the first part has a length between 10 and 10000 meters, and preferably between 20 and 5000 meters, and even more preferably between 30 and 3000 meters. This embodiment gives the range for the length of the first part, which is suitable for most applications.

In an embodiment of the hoisting system in accordance with the invention the first diameter of the first part of the hoisting rope is between 5 mm and 300 mm. This embodiment gives the range for the diameter of the first part, which is suitable for most applications.

In an embodiment of the hoisting system in accordance with the invention the second diameter of the second part of the hoisting rope is between 25 mm and 500 mm. This embodiment gives the range for the diameter of the suitable part, which is suitable for most applications.

In a second aspect the invention relates to a method for hoisting a vertically-suspended object with a hoisting system, the hoisting system having a winch having a winch drum with a hoisting rope. A first part of the hoisting rope has a first diameter and a second part has a second diameter being larger than the first diameter, the first part being connected with a first end of the second part. Furthermore, the first part is an inner part on the winch drum when the winch drum is completely wound. The second part has a further end that is connectable to the object for hoisting the object, wherein a ratio between the first diameter and the second diameter is chosen such that the minimum breakable load of the first part differs less than a factor of four from the minimum breakable load of the second part, and preferably less than a factor of three. The method comprises a step of hoisting the object either into or from the water, in such a way that the second part of the winch drum is always at least partially wound on the winch drum before the object is lifted out of the water during lifting of the object, and that the first part is not unwound from the winch drum before the object is fully submerged in the water during lowering of the object. Even though ropes with parts with unequal diameter have been reported before, these ropes were not used in hoisting methods, and particularly not in hoisting methods, wherein the load re-mains vertically suspended in the hoisting rope both in air as well as when being sub-merged. The latter is exactly the application area where the benefits of the hoisting system (and winch) in accordance with the other aspects of the invention are most profound.

In an embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention the method comprises steps of: mounting an object resting on a first surface at a first position to the further end of the hoisting rope, wherein the second part has been partially unwound from the winch drum; lifting the object with the winch from the first surface to suspend the object in the hoisting rope, wherein the second part remains partially wound on the winch drum, wherein during the lifting the second part carries the full weight of the object; moving the hoisting system to a second position above water, wherein the second part carries the full weight of the object; lowering the object with the winch until it is fully submerged in the water, wherein the second part remains at least partially wound on the winch drum until the object is fully submerged; and further lowering the object with the winch into the water completely unwinding the second part and at least partially unwinding the first part from the winch drum, wherein the first part is exposed to a reduced effective weight of the object due to buoyancy forces acting by the water on the object and the hoisting rope. This embodiment of the method concerns the lowering of the object into the water, i.e. to be placed on the seabed. As soon as the water is touched the buoyance forces will help by reducing the effective weight (load) on the hoisting rope, which enables using the thinner part (first part) of the hoisting rope for hoisting when the object is fully submerged. The step of moving the hoisting system to the second position may be optional in embodiments where the hoisting system is provided over a moon pool or directly above water.

In an embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention, in the step of lowering the object, at least a predefined number of windings of the second part remain on the winch drum until the object is exactly fully submerged. The advantage of this embodiment is that it creates a safety zone during the hoisting where an effective minimum breakable strength of the hoisting rope is maintained higher in the transition from air-suspended to submerged load. In addition, for the second part to be used as hoisting rope, it needs to be wound around the winch at least a predefined number of times in order to create enough friction on the winch. In practical applications this may be 5 times or more, for example.

In an embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention the method comprises steps of: mounting an object that is submerged in water at a second position to the further end of the hoisting rope, wherein the second part has been fully unwound and the first part has been at least partially unwound from the winch drum; lifting the object with the winch to suspend the object in the hoisting rope, wherein the first part is wound on the winch drum until the second part is partially wound on the winch drum while the object is still submerged, wherein during the lifting the first part carries a reduced effective weight of the object due to buoyancy forces acting by the water on the object and the hoisting rope; further lifting the object with the winch out of the water, wherein the second part is being further wound on the winch drum; moving the hoisting system to a first position, wherein the second part carries the full weight of the object; and lowering the object with the winch to touch a first surface at the first position, wherein still only the second part is partially unwound from the winch drum. This embodiment of the method concerns the lifting of the object out of the water, i.e. to be taken from the seabed. While submerged the buoyance forces acting on the object will help by reducing the effective weight (load) on the hoisting rope, which enables using the thinner part (first part) of the hoisting rope for hoisting when the object is fully submerged. Then as soon as the surface of the water is approached the second part is being wound on the winch drum, such that the load can be lifted out of the water using the second part only. The step of moving the hoisting system to the first position may be optional in embodiments where the hoisting system is provided over a moon pool or directly above water.

In an embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention, in the step of lifting the object, at least a predefined number of windings of the second part are wound on the winch drum before the object is no longer fully submerged. The advantage of this embodiment is that it creates a safety zone during the hoisting where an effective minimum breakable strength of the hoisting rope is maintained higher in the transition from air-suspended to submerged load. In addition for the second part to be used as hoisting rope it needs to be wound around the winch at least a predefined number of times in order to create enough friction on the winch. In practical applications this may be 5 times or more, for example.

In a third aspect the invention relates to a winch having a winch drum with a hoisting rope, wherein a first part of the hoisting rope has a first diameter and a second part has a second diameter being larger than the first diameter, the first part being connected with a first end of the second part. Furthermore, the first part is an inner part on the winch drum when the winch drum is completely wound. The second part has a further end that is connectable to the object for hoisting the object, wherein a ratio between the first diameter and the second diameter is chosen such that the minimum breakable load of the first part differs less than a factor of four from the minimum breakable load of the second part, and preferably less than a factor of three. The invention may also be applied to hoisting systems without booms. The third aspect provides for the features required to apply the invention in those applications as well. The embodiments of the winch in accordance with the invention are the same as the embodiments mentioned for the hoisting system in accordance with the invention, as all features are related to the winch on that hoisting system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this invention a hoisting rope used for subsea load handling (offshore). Subsea load handling is normally based on a winch and a rope for lowering and hoisting a load to and from a seabed. As discussed in the introduction these load handling systems are often operated from a floating vessel or platform. The hoisting heights are depending on the depths in the operation area. Typical hoisting heights (depths) for a global operating vessel is 3000 m.

Traditional hoisting systems use steel wire ropes as a load carrier. These systems have several challenges, such as weight of the rope, corrosion and fatigue during active-heave compensation (AHC). The main advantages of such systems are robustness, well-known and established technology and several decades of experience.

Future hoisting system are going in a direction of using fiber ropes replacing the traditional steel wire ropes. These hoisting ropes may be based on different materials or a combination of these. The main advantages of fiber ropes are light weight (neutral in water), no corrosion issues, possible to transfer data signals through optionally-integrated cables, more accurate condition monitoring, possibilities to replace damaged part of the rope by splicing. Disadvantages are rope size, high cost, temperature sensitive, more fragile ropes, less experience from subsea load handling systems and the need for larger bending radius hence large sheaves and drums.

Furthermore, as the vessel is floating, an Active Heave Compensating system (AHC) is a typical part of the system for safe load handling.

The inventors got the insight that when an item is lowered into water the weight is reduced due to buoyancy from the displaced water. The main idea in the invention is to use a rope with two different diameters and different Minimum Braking Load (MBL) to utilize the effect from buoyancy. The outer part of the hoisting rope (closest to the load) needs a higher MBL as this part of the rope is used for load handling in air. In most embodiments this part should have a length of about 100 m to 200 m rope, depending of the hoisting system configuration and size. The remaining part of the hoisting rope is used for load handling when the load is submerged in water, hence experiencing a reduced load and lower MBL requirements. This is the largest part of the rope and in most embodiments between 1500 m and 3000 m length.

One benefit of the invention is the reduced rope weight, but the main advantage is the reduced overall cost and size of the hoisting system (i.e. crane). The hoisting rope determines a major part of the total cost, and by reducing the hoisting rope diameter the winch may be downsized as the rope diameter is a design factor for determining the required dimension of the winch drum and rope sheaves. These reductions also affect the overall cost and size of the total hoisting system.

The invention may be used in connection with hoisting systems (i.e. cranes, A-frames with winches mounted on them, and overboard sheaves combined with winches), where fiber ropes are used for load handling offshore, but the invention also applies to steel ropes.

FIG. 1shows an application field of the invention. This application field as earlier discussed concerns a floating vessel1(i.e. a boat, barge or platform) floating on water100(sea, lake, fjord and the like) as illustrated. The floating vessel1has a crane10on its deck as illustrated. Typically such vessels comprise storage place for storing objects (not shown) that either are to be placed on the seabed or have been taken from the seabed. In the claims this place is referred to as the “first location” P1of the object.FIG. 1further illustrates the surface99of the water100.

FIG. 2shows a winch20in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. For the sake of simplicity only the winch drum21of the winch20is shown. This figure illustrates an important aspect of the invention, which concerns the hoisting rope25that is wound on the winch drum21. The winch drum21comprises several known parts such as the winch drum cylinder22and the winch drum flanges23. This is all considered known to the person skilled in the art. The hoisting rope25comprises a first part25-1that is connected to a second part25-2. The first part25-1, that is located on the inner side20iof the winch drum21, comprises a smaller diameter than the second part25-2. This means that when the winch21is being unwound first the second part25-2with the larger diameter is unwound, and then then the first part25-1with the smaller diameter is unwound. This feature is conveniently used in the current invention as will be explained with reference toFIGS. 3-6.

FIGS. 3-6show different stages of a method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. These figures effectively show part AA ofFIG. 1. In the stage illustrated inFIG. 3the floating vessel1ofFIG. 1is shown, wherein an object50(a load) has been vertically suspended using suspension ropes51in the crane10as illustrated. The crane10has a known configuration comprising a crane pedestal11to which a main boom13is pivotably mounted. Furthermore, a knuckle-boom15(or jib) is pivotably mounted to the main boom Furthermore the winch20is visible, which includes the hoisting rope25, which is guided using a plurality of wire sheaves17to a boom tip20eat the end of the knuckle boom15as illustrated. So far, everything described is known in the field of cranes for off-shore/subsea hoisting. What is special in the crane10ofFIG. 3is that the winch20with the hoisting rope25is the same as shown inFIG. 2, having the respective first part25-1and second part25-2, wherein first part25-1has the smallest diameter. In the stage ofFIG. 3, wherein the object50is still suspended in the hoisting rope and hanging in the air above the surface99of the water100, the second part25-2is still partially wound on the winch20. This means that it is the second part25-2, which carries the full load, i.e. full weight of the object50that is hanging in the air.

The figure illustrates a surface51of the floating vessel1on a first position P1, where the object50was taken from, before it was vertically suspended in the crane10. Furthermore, the object50has already been moved to a second position P2different from the first position P1as illustrated.

In the stage illustrated inFIG. 4, the object50has been lowered such that it touches the surface99of the water100. In this stage the second part25-2is still partially wound on the winch20. This means that it is still the second part25-2, which substantially carries the full load, i.e. full weight of the object50that is hanging in the air.

In the stage illustrated inFIG. 5, the object50has been lowered such that it is partially submerged in the water100. The arrows illustrate the water100that has been pushed away by the object50, thereby creating upwardly-directed buoyancy forces. Now the weight (load) acting on the hoisting rope25is reduced by the buoyancy forces. Yet, still the second part25-2is partially wound on the winch20in this embodiment. The main rea-son for this is that the effective weight of the object50(load) on the hoisting rope25is still larger than the minimum breakable load of the first part (not shown) of the hoisting rope Thus it is still the second part25-2of the hoisting rope25that is to carry the load.

In the stage illustrated inFIG. 6, the object50has been lowered to underneath the surface99of the water100, i.e. it is fully submerged. Theoretically the crane10could be designed such that the second part25-2of the hoisting rope25is fully unwound as soon as the object is just fully submerged. However, the inventors have found out that it is safe to keep a certain safety margin, that is that the second part25-2, should preferably not be fully unwound until the object50has reached a predefined depth under the surface99of the water100. It is at that point that the first part25-1and a transition region25tof the hoisting rope25will be visible as illustrated inFIG. 6. The transition region25tmay be a tapered region, but also other solutions are possible as will be shown in the next figures.

FIG. 7shows a first variant of a hoisting rope25in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this variant the first part25-1and the second part25-2are connected through a tapered transition region25tas illustrated. The length of the transition region may vary and will also depend on the ratio between a (first) diameter d1of the first region25-1and a (second) diameter d2of the second region25-2.FIG. 7also illustrates what is meant by a first end25feof the second part25-2that is connected to the first part25-1(via the transition region25t), and a further end25seat the side of the object/load (not shown).

It goes without saying that many variants of the hoisting rope25are possible.FIG. 8shows a second variant of a hoisting rope25ain accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The first end25feand further end25seof the second part25-2are defined in a similar manner as inFIG. 7. A main difference is the adapted transition region25ta, which now comprises a first tapered part25ta1and a second tapered part25ta3which are connected by a cylindrical part25ta2as illustrated. The respective diameters d1, d2of the first and second parts have also been illustrated. A diameter dta2of the cylindrical part25ta2is chosen between the first diameter d1and the second diameter d2. One might also define the hoisting rope25aofFIG. 8as having at least three different parts having different diameters. This is a matter of definition. The definition chosen here is in accordance with the claims, which define at least two different diameters.

There are other ways of making transitions between two parts25-1,25-2of a hoisting rope25having a different diameter.FIG. 9shows a third variant of a hoisting rope25bin accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The first end25feand further end25seof the second part25-2are defined in a similar manner as inFIGS. 7 and 8. This variant uses a technology which has been used in rope extension systems as known from patent application publication WO2010/093251A1, owned by the same applicant. In this document a steel rope is extended using a fiber rope from a further winch. This fiber rope comprises multiple segments that are connected together using a rope connector that holds spliced ends of the fiber rope segments. This rope connector200may conveniently be used to make the transition between the first part25-1and the second part25-2of the hoisting rope25as illustrated. For details on the rope connector, including how it is built up and is connected, reference is made to the earlier-mentioned patent application publication WO2010/093251A1.