Autonomous, multipurpose floating platform for environmental and oceanographic monitoring

Abstract

Highly stable floating platform for measuring surface and subsurface environmental variables. It consists of a main toroidal body, inside of which equipments are installed, mainly on its base, to maintain low and nearby the centers of gravity and of buoyancy, allowing the in situ inspection, maintenance and installation of equipments. One winch in its interior allows the translation of equipment and / or to take water samples, from surface to a user-defined depth, using a cable deployed through the center of the platform, for providing power and communication with the surface to said equipment.

Description

FIELD OF APPLICATION[0001]One floating platform with profiling system adequate for installing a wide range of sensors and measuring equipment in places very near (0.5 m) to surface, for capturing information and relaying it to a receiving system. Special emphasis is devoted to following items in its design: stability for the platform, sensors, and equipment; in situ maintenance, inspection and installation of equipment, and environmental protection for the various systems.DESCRIPTION OF PREVIOUS ART[0002]Presently, environmental measurements and monitoring are increasingly necessary for different geographical zones and places, mainly owing to the increasing implement of national- and international environmental standards to be observed by countries and companies in order to comply with production standards. This information is also necessary to the knowledge of scientific community and for the studies in this field.[0003]One such field where companies and scientists have focused the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a stable and highly stable floating platform that can serve as a base for in situ monitoring of environmental and oceanographic variables. The platform has a wide variety of equipment installed on it, including measuring equipment, communication equipment, and other critical equipment. The platform is designed to be inspected, maintained, and installed on a wide range of equipment. It is power-autonomous and can manage its own control system. The platform is also designed to withstand severe environmental conditions and can be used in various oceanographic environments. The platform is stable and can withstand waves and tides. It has a unique design that allows for efficient use of space and stability in horizontal and vertical planes. The platform is also designed to be easily inspected, maintained, and installed on a wide range of equipment."

Problems solved by technology

Some of the differences encountered in this system are the height of their gravity center considering the placing of the equipments and the materials of construction of them, which can make the system susceptible to tipping and instability.

Also, their bottom structure makes it difficult the profiling near surface in places with strong wave action, because the profiler can collide with the bottom structure.

Its dimensions and design do not allow the possibility of doing maintenance and inspections on the platform.

Some models provide little or no environmental protection to some components, such as the winch.

In this system differences are observed regarding the lateral location of the profiler, which is exposed to the environment and it has a great possibility of being stolen, and also it causes instability because the profiler is distanced from the gravity- and buoyancy center of the whole system.

Because of its dimensions, it is difficult the boarding of the buoy for doing in-place maintenance and inspections, and one has to hoist the buoy to a ship, or landing it.

The sensors cannot operate near the bottom structure, because they could be hit.

Images