Mobile offshore, self-elevating (jack-up) unit leg/hull rigidification system

摘要

A system for making a "jack-up" rig with its jacked-up legs and hull rigid and fixed together by the use of "rack chock" elements which are designed to absorb the maximum axial chord loading on the legs and transmit them directly into the hull. The "rack chock" elements are configured preferrably with a number of matching teeth for exact, in-line engagement with the legs' rack teeth, and are capable of being adjusted for vertical alignment and horizontal positioning to mate with the rack teeth position. By a series of screw jacks and/or secondary chocks, the "rack chock" elements provide rigid contact with both the legs and the hull structure and eliminate the requirement for the jack pinions to take the load (as is done in the prior art) in either jacked-up or ocean-tow dispositions.