AFLOAT ASSEMBLY OF FLOATING STRUCTURE Russian patent published in 1997 - IPC

FIELD: shipbuilding; erection of floating structures, mainly sea drilling platforms assembled from separately launched sections. SUBSTANCE: separate parts of structure are manufactured in building berth, edges of parts to be connected together are fitted and machined beforehand, after which they are launched in succession and are levelled in even keel position; then edges of above-water sections are welded together and structure is heeled to make under-water section emerge for welding them together. Pontoons are brought under end sections of structure before launching them in succession. After launching, these pontoons are flooded with water and sections are heeled through pumping out the respective pontoons to create buoyancy fully unloading the upper part of respective welded joint of above-water sections of floating structure. Unloading of this upper part is checked against sensors showing stressed state of metal of welded joints. EFFECT: enhanced reliability. 3 dwg