Abstract:
A deep-water port is provided which comprises an upper pier deck, a natural deep-water mooring and an under-deck breakwater portion. The port is a mega-structure constructed of prefabricated modular perforated inter-connected marine structure units. The pier deck/breakwater combination is constructed in deep water, connected by bridge to the coast, independent of dry land or any structure thereon, as well as of any separate breakwater.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to natural deep-water ports located offshore and methods for their construction and more particularly to modular construction of deep-water ports that contain a breakwater as an integral component of the port. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The increasing globalization of the world economy has led to increased demands for international shipping. As a result of this increased demand, more and more cargo companies are placing orders for “jumbo” container ships with capacities of over 14,800 TEU (1 TEU or “Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit”=1445 ft 3 =the volume equal to that occupied by a 20′×8½′×8½′ container) (J. Svendsen and J. Tiedemann, “The Big Ships Are Coming,” web site article dated Jul. 17, 2007: http://containerinfo.co.ohost.de). While these large ships can improve the efficiency by which goods are transported, only some 20 ports worldwide can handle them, leading to additional transportation costs and loss of time due to the ensuing necessity of transshipment from a “hub port” to the cargo&#39;s ultimate destination. 
         [0003]    Several obstacles hinder the development of additional ports capable of handling tomorrow&#39;s jumbo cargo ships. One is the lack of available coastal land for ports. Not only is the amount of coastal land suitable for port development inherently limited, but coastal land in general is valuable and desirable for development for other purposes (e.g. residential). A second obstacle is the lack of sufficiently deep water near the coast and the massive expense that additional dredging and construction of retaining walls entails. For example, between 2000 and 2005, the Kill van Kull channel (New York/New Jersey) was deepened from 35 feet to 45 feet at a cost of $360 million, and the project currently underway to dredge the channel to the 50 foot depth required for 7000-8000 TEU capacity ships will add more than $900 million to the overall cost. 
         [0004]    There is a further fundamental obstacle to the development of new deep-water ports accessible to jumbo container ships, namely, the way in which ports are normally engineered. The basic design of seaports has remained essentially unchanged since the time of the Roman Empire: a breakwater is constructed to provide a harbor (i.e. area of calm water), and the port constructed within that harbor. While this design has been useful for literally two millennia, it suffers from three weaknesses that limit its usefulness to contemporary port design: (1) construction of the breakwater adds significantly to the cost of the. seaport (one-third of the total)—and the cost of the breakwater increases as the square of its depth; (2) the need for constant dredging on the landward side of the breakwater adds additional expense to the maintenance of the port; (3) the wide slope of the breakwater prevents mooring of ships in close proximity to it, wasting the deepest and hence most useful part of the harbor. 
         [0005]    In the face of these obstacles, it is of vital importance that new ways of thinking about seaport design be found. Such new approaches are still lacking, however. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,803,659 and 6,017,167, Chattey disclosed a method of using modular caissons for seaport construction or expansion. While this invention has the cost advantages brought about by the modularity and portability of the caissons used, the port itself remains tied to land, and hence does not remove the need for the expensive dredging operations described above in cases where the water is not sufficiently deep. 
         [0006]    Others have disclosed various means of constructing modular underwater breakwaters (e.g. the inventions disclosed in U.S. Pat Nos. 1,816,095; 3,844,125; 4,502,816; 4,978,247; and 5,393,169), but these breakwaters are generally designed for prevention of beach erosion rather than for use in a port. Even those modular units intended for use in construction of harbor breakwaters (e.g. those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,614,866; 4,347,017; and 5,620,280), while reducing costs of harbor construction; envision construction of a breakwater and the piers as separate entities. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,714 discloses a pier with a nominally integrated breakwater. As with the above-referenced patents, however, the breakwater and pier are in fact independent structures, in which the breakwater comprises a mound of sand, gravel, rocks, and/or rubble piled up against the seaward side of the pier, upon which a plurality of caisson-like structures are placed. Thus, this design also suffers from the problems that the breakwater cannot be constructed without extensive dredging operations and that the breakwater and the pier are not a single modular structure. 
         [0008]    Thus, there remains a need for a new paradigm for deep-water port design and construction. In order to solve the problems discussed above, what is needed is a deep-water port in which the breakwater is integrated into the port itself, eliminating the costs of a dedicated breakwater construction and maintenance; in which the port itself can be constructed in deep water without the need for additional dredging; and in which the port can be built as an independent structure not needing any direct connection to dry land, eliminating the need for free coastal land as a prerequisite for port construction or expansion. The present invention is designed to meet these long-felt needs. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention provides a solution to the problems described, above and an answer to the need for a new way of thinking about port design. It is one object of the present invention to provide an offshore deepwater port in which the pier deck and breakwater are integrated into a single structure, with the former forming an upper deck and the latter a constructive truss beneath, in which the port structure is built in deep water as an independent unit. It is a further object of this invention to provide such an integrated port constructed of a plurality of prefabricated perforated modular marine structure units capable of interconnection to create a firm super-structure. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a deep water port with a means for natural deep water mooring. A further object of this invention is to provide embodiments in which at least one of (a) a habitat for undersea flora and fauna; (b) an artificial reef; is incorporated into the integrated port structure. An additional object of this invention is to provide embodiments in which the integrated deepwater port is connected to structures on dry land via at least one of a bridge, a tunnel, or a pipeline. An additional object of this invention is to provide a method for construction of an integrated deepwater offshore port, in which an upper pier deck is constructed in conjunction with and under-deck breakwater. A further object of this invention is to provide a method for construction of an integrated deep-water port in which the structure comprises a plurality of interconnected prefabricated perforated modular marine structure units. 
         [0010]    It is also in the scope of the invention wherein the integrated port is as defined in any of the above, wherein the said breakwater lower portion is in a shape constituting a rectangular parallelepiped  12  defined by six planar faces with lower base vertices ABCD (see  FIG. 1 ) and upper base vertices EFGH; the parallelepiped is a geometrical cube with sides about 1 m to 10 Km long; non-adjacent corners of the cube, B, D, E, and G, are cut out, leaving surfaces S B , S D , S E , and S G ; S B , S D , S E , and S G  have the shape of part of the surface selected from a group consisting of a sphere centered at the nearest corner and any shape bulging toward the cube&#39;s center, an ellipsoid or a more complex shape; four tunnels T B , T D , T E , and T G  are formed and converge in the cube&#39;s center to form a tetrapod-like passage interconnecting the cut-out surfaces; said tunnels having a cross section selected from a group consisting of cylindrical cross-section and other shapes; six planar surfaces left from the faces of the original cube are base planes by which the perforated modular marine structure contacts other modules. 
         [0011]    It is still in the scope of the invention wherein the integrated port is as defined in any of the above, and comprises at least one constructed platform, having a pier deck upper portion  1  and an breakwater lower portion  2 , said breakwater lower portion is in a shape constituting a rectangular parallelepiped  12  defined by a plurality of N planar faces (N as defined hereinafter is an integer, and equals e.g., 4, 6, 9 etc), with lower N±first constant base vertices and N±second constant upper base vertices (first and second constants as defined hereinafter are an integer); wherein said port sits in deep water as a structure independent of dry land or any structure thereon. 
         [0012]    It is further in the scope of the invention a method of erecting a deepwater offshore integrated port is disclosed. The method comprises steps of constructing an under-deck breakwater and a pier deck in conjunction with said under-deck breakwater; and (b), providing said breakwater lower portion to in a shape constituting a rectangular parallelepiped  12  defined by a plurality of N planar faces with lower N±first constant base vertices and N±second constant upper base vertices. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  shows one embodiment of a modular marine structure unit  10  (prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,245 assigned to Kent and Alkon) used to construct the breakwater underdeck  2 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  shows how the transport of a prefabricated modular unit  10  (or of an assembly comprising a plurality of interconnected units) to the site of the port; 
           [0015]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show top views of the assembled port with a cutaway view showing the placement of a modular unit  10 , said modular unit being shown in one embodiment; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  shows a cutaway assembly diagram illustrating how modular structure units  10  are connected to form the breakwater under deck  2 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  shows a view of the fully-constructed port  100  showing the upper pier deck  1  and breakwater under deck  2 , illustrating how the fully-constructed port sits in the water; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  shows a cutaway view of the port  100  illustrating the construction of the breakwater deck  2  from modular units  10  and the positions of the upper deck  1  and of the under deck  2  relative to each other and to the water; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  shows a view of a harbor that includes an integrated deep water port  100 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]    It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that there are several embodiments of the invention that differ in details of construction, without affecting the essential nature thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the figures and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claims, with the proper scope determined only by the broadest interpretation of said claims. 
         [0021]    We define the following terms to describe the invention: 
         [0022]    Breakwater: a barrier designed to protect a harbor or shore from the impact of waves. 
         [0023]    Perforated modular marine structure unit: a structural module for underwater construction, which has cut-outs or passages such that when immersed in a body of water, the water may pass through it. 
         [0024]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , one embodiment of a perforated modular marine structure unit  10  is shown with a shape constituting a rectangular parallelepiped  12  defined by six planar faces with lower base vertices ABCD and upper base vertices EFGH. In the example shown, it is assumed without any limitations that the parallelepiped is a geometrical cube with sides about 10 m long. Four non-adjacent corners of the cube, in this case, B, D, E, and G, are cut out, leaving surfaces S B , S D  (not seen in the view illustrated in  FIG. 1 ), S E , and S G . In the particular embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , S B , S D , S E , and S G  have the shape of part of the surface of a sphere centered at the nearest corner, but they can have any shape bulging toward the cube&#39;s center (e.g. an ellipsoid or a more complex shape). Four tunnels T B , T D , T E , and T G  are formed and converge in the cube&#39;s center to form a tetrapod-like passage interconnecting the cut-out surfaces. The tunnels are shown as having a cylindrical cross-section, but they may be of other shapes. The six planar surfaces left from the faces of the original cube (e.g. surface  14 , remaining from side EFGH) are base planes by which the perforated modular marine structure contacts other modules. These surfaces must be large enough to ensure stable positioning of the module on a substantially horizontal foundation during the assembly process. 
         [0025]    In the particular embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the perforated modular marine structures are formed with reinforcing diagonal beams (RDBs)  30  extending along the six diagonals on the planar surfaces remaining from the faces of the original cube. The RDBs may comprise reinforcing elements, for example, steel rods  32 , and material embedding the reinforcing elements, e.g. concrete. Recesses  42  are formed on the cube&#39;s surface at the corners of the module. When two to eight modular marine structure units  10  are arranged about a common corner, these recesses form cavities that serve as a mold for casting concrete or injecting grout to create corner joints. Similar recesses  52  may be formed along the diagonals, as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  shows one example of the design of a perforated modular marine unit, but the construction of the underdeck  2  is not restricted to this specific design for the modular units  10 . 
         [0027]    With reference to  FIGS. 2-4 , various stages in the construction of the underdeck  2  and integrated port  100  are shown. 
         [0028]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , a detail of a section of the completed underdeck  2  is shown. The means, by which the individual perforated modular marine units are interconnected, described above, is shown graphically in the figure. 
         [0029]    With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , an integrated deepwater offshore port  100  is shown which comprises an upper pier deck  1  and an under-deck  2 . The upper pier deck is constructed of materials appropriate for use in salt water. It is designed for mooring of mega-ships, as a base for heavy cranes and other equipment used for on-loading and off-loading of cargo to and from the ships, and as a temporary location for cargo to be loaded onto the container ships or to be transferred to the container terminal. The embodiment shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  shows the upper deck as having a rectangular profile, but due to the modular nature of the port&#39;s construction, the exact dimensions and shape of the upper deck will necessarily vary from embodiment to embodiment according to the specific needs of the port itself. Similarly, the exact dimensions and shape of the under-deck will be chosen in order to provide support for the upper deck, and will thus vary depending on the needs of the specific port being constructed. 
         [0030]    The under-deck  2  is constructed from a plurality of perforated modular marine structure units  10 . The perforated modular marine structure units are prefabricated and designed such that they are capable of interconnection, and are constructed from material that is compatible with long-term immersion in salt water. One embodiment of said perforated modular marine structure unit is presented in  FIG. 1 . This embodiment illustrates the essential qualities of the unit, in particular, its modularity (i.e. construction of the under-deck  2  is done by interconnecting a plurality of identical elements as illustrated in  FIG. 5 ), its interconnectability, and its ability to allow water to pass through it. In this particular embodiment, water flows through cut out portions of the structure. In other embodiments, the unit may contain passages or be itself constructed from smaller sub-units in order to allow passage of water. The embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  is provided to illustrate the construction of the integrated dock, and is not intended to limit its construction to use of the specific embodiment shown in the figure. 
         [0031]    The under-deck sits directly on the natural sea floor and is constructed from prefabricated modular marine units  10  which are constructed on-shore, and the upper deck sits atop the mega-structure. The elements are interconnected (cf.  FIG. 5 ) in dry dock. After the modular marine units are interconnected, a platform of at least one level is built. It is possible to build further structures atop the platform, with the platform itself serving as a foundation for the structures. After the work is completed in dry dock, the dry dock is filled with water to float the platform and everything on top of it. The platform is then towed (afloat) to its ultimate location in deep water, at which point water is allowed to enter the cavities within the modular marine units, causing them to sink to the sea floor, thus creating the breakwater port. Alternatively, the elements may be interconnected in wet dock and the port then towed to its ultimate location. 
         [0032]    Because the under-deck is constructed from perforated units, it acts naturally as an efficient breakwater, providing still water on its landward side, and thus enabling the upper deck to act as a pier or wharf for cargo ships without the need for construction of a separate dedicated breakwater. The perforated units additionally can serve as a habitat for underwater flora and fauna, and hence, the under-deck as constructed can also serve as the basis of a man-made reef.