Research on Vessel Platform Technology for Geotechnical Investigation of Guangdong Offshore Wind Power

Abstract

[Introduction] With the accelerated evolution of the national energy structure, offshore wind power will enter a period of rapid and stable development. At present, the development of offshore wind power near the shore of many provinces in China is nearly completed, and the offshore wind power is gradually developed to the offshore deep water area and will expand to a large scale. Offshore wind power in deep water areas has higher technical requirements for marine geotechnical investigation, and marine geotechnical investigation vessels and equipment need to be professional. But the number of large scale professional marine geotechnical investigation platforms in China is limited and they mainly serve the national marine resource exploration and scientific research work. They are rarely used for offshore wind power geotechnical investigation and the investigation costs are high. The traditional investigation mode of modified marine engineering (cargo) vessels with conventional drilling equipment is no longer suitable for offshore deep water area, nor for marine investigation operations in the short window period. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on the technology of marine geotechnical investigation platform. [Method] Through the research on the domestic marine geotechnical investigation vessel platform and exploration equipment, a comprehensive comparative analysis was carried out on their applicable water depth, ability to resist wind and wave, operation efficiency and investigation quality. According to the geotechnical investigation characteristics of offshore wind power and the sea condition of its development and utilization, the construction ideas and schemes of offshore geotechnical investigation platform for offshore wind power in deep water areas were proposed. [Result] The investigation practice of several offshore wind power projects has proved that the construction scheme of marine geotechnical investigation platform proposed in this paper can be applied to offshore deep water area operation, and can make full use of the 24-48 hour window period of marine investigation. [Conclusion] The scheme proposed in this paper is reasonable, which can effectively improve investigation efficiency, ensure the investigation progress and reduce investigation costs.

Keywords

• offshore wind power in deep water areas
• marine geotechnical investigation
• vessels and equipment
• comprehensive comparative analysis
• construction scheme