| 摘要 |
<p>APPLICATION FOR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFSHORE STRUCTURE IN FRIGID ENVIRONMENT An artificial ice structure for use as, for example, a base for oilfield operations or a road, is constructed in an offshore frigid environment where the water is covered by a sheet of floating ice. A berm or dike enclosing a predetermined area is built on the ice sheet to contain flood water and a trench is cut through the ice sheet around the perimeter of the dike to separate the predetermined area from the parent ice sheet and thereby form an island. The island of predetermined area is flooded with water and the water is allowed to freeze and weight the island down until essentially the entire ice mass of the island is resting on the ground underlying the body of water. After the structure is grounded, flooding with water is continued until the island has sufficient mass, in combination with other defensive measures, to resist the forces imposed by movement of the surrounding fast ice. When designed to support a base for oilfield operations, a silo arrangement, which extends through the ice structure and into ground below the mudline, is utilized to install separable well control equipment below the ground level. Also, a large level operating surface of a desired elevation above the surrounding ice is formed. The silo arrangement is also applicable for use with islands formed wholly or partly of fill materials.</p> |
