EXPERIENCE WITH LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF THE MODEL BALLASTING OF AN OFF-SHORE ICE-RESISTANT PLATFORM WITH FINELY DISPERSE MATERIALS

摘要

It is planned to exploit the oil and gas deposits in shallow sections of the continental shelf of the arctic seas using ice-resistant off-shore platforms (IROSP), which are represented structurally as a caisson type of floating water-development works that are towed by tugboat to the point of installation on the bottom of the water body after their fabrication (usually metal). During service on the arctic shelf, the platform is subjected to forces due to hydrostatic weighing, wind, and ice pressure, and, in principle, the total lateral load after formation of floating ice fields, may. according to specialists, exceed 200 MN in the Pechora Sea (when the planform dimensions of the pedestal portion of the platform at sea level are 110 x 110 m). To ensure the platform's static stability under these conditions (especially with no drainage installation), it must be weighted by filling ballast tanks with specially designed ballast materials.