Tri-Floater

Floating wind turbine foundation

The GustoMSC Tri-Floater, characterized by a three column,
slender, robust and brace-less hull is a semi-submersible floating
foundation for all types of offshore wind turbines. GustoMSC has
a track record of more than 40 semi-submersibles. The development of the Tri-Floater started in 2002.
Presently offshore wind turbines are either installed on large
diameter mono-piles in up to 30 m water depth and for deeper
waters, up to 65 m, tripod and jacket foundations are being set on
the seabed and pin piled. With increasing water depth, the cost of
both the bottom fixed foundation and the cost of the installation
spread will increase rapidly. The GustoMSC Tri-Floater can
compete with bottom fixed foundations in water depths of 50 m
and deeper.

CONCEPT
The GustoMSC Tri-Floater is a conventional offshore steel
structure. GustoMSC has a long experience in designing this kind
of structures and has in-house tools available to verify the steel
structure and the mooring system for the loads and motions
induced by wind, waves and current. The design fulfils the
DNV-OS-J103 Design of Floating Wind Turbine Structures. The
GustoMSC Tri-Floater design is such that the natural periods are
outside the range of wave periods, resulting in very mild motions
and accelerations. The slender structure has no braces, which
allows for easy fabrication. There are no fatigue-prone construction details below the operational water line. No active ballast
system for roll/pitch compensation is required, which makes the
concept robust and cost-effective. In water depths of approximately 100 m or deeper, the Tri-Floater can be moored with a
conventional 3 lines catenary mooring system. In relatively
shallow water (50 - 100 m) a clump weight mooring system
(GustoMSC patented) might be attractive.
DESIGN
In March 2013, an innovative model test campaign was successfully performed at Marin with the GustoMSC Tri-Floater equipped
with a 5 MW wind turbine. With the in-house experience in the
offshore industry, GustoMSC is able to design the Tri-Floater
specifically for each wind farm. Therefore the Tri-Floater is
optimized for each location/site and for each wind turbine make.
An example for a fictive wind turbine and location is presented
below:

Productsheet R2
GustoMSC 03.006
Page 1 of 2

Survival significant wave height

Max. operational sign. wave height
Water depth

9.4 m
6.5 m
100 m

The Netherlands
Karel Doormanweg 25, 3115 JD, Schiedam
Telephone +31 (0)10 2883 000
P.O. Box 687, 3100 AR Schiedam
Telefax +31 (0)10 2883 001

www.GustoMSC.com

Wind turbine (sample only)

Hub height above SWL

NREL 5 MW
90 m

Length overall
Beam overall
Operational draft
Transit draft

76 m
87 m
13.2 m
9m

Steel structure
Outfitting
Wind turbine
Water ballast
Static mooring load
Total displacement

1800 t
150 t
560 t
970 t
150 t
3630 t

Extreme static + dynamic roll/pitch

Accelerations nacelle (operational)

less than 10 deg

less than 3 m/s2

INSTALLATION
The wind turbine can be installed on the GustoMSC Tri-Floater in
sheltered conditions like a port, a harbor or a sheltered area. The
Tri-Floater can be de-ballasted to a transit draft, such that it can
be towed to location and hooked-up to a pre-laid mooring system
by means of standard tugs. The Tri-Floater is designed for low
maintenance, nevertheless it is possible to bring the Tri-Floater
inshore for larger IRM (inspection, repair, maintenance) of the
wind turbine, if required.
SIMULATIONS
The concept has been verified by in-house coupled simulations
with AQWA (Ansys) and Phatas (by ECN). These simulations include
the 1st and 2nd order hydrodynamics, mooring system, rotor
aerodynamics, rotor and tower structural dynamics and drivetrain and control systems. Because of the interaction between the
wind loads on the turbine, the turbine control system and the
floater motions, this type of analysis is essential for the design of
floating wind turbine foundations.
The integrated approach towards the design of the floater, the
mooring system and the turbine control system keeps the
structure as small and light as possible. The optimized ECN
control system for the wind turbine, maximizes power output,
while minimizing the low frequency Tri-Floater motions.

MODEL TESTS
An innovative model test campaign was performed at Marin with
the GustoMSC Tri-Floater equipped with a 5 MW wind turbine. The
motions of a floating wind turbine are driven by the combined

Productsheet R2
GustoMSC 03.006
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Testing in irregular waves and gusted wind

influence of wind and waves. New techniques were applied to

include both loads in a correct manner. This resulted in the
GustoMSC Tri-Floater being the first floating wind turbine model
to be tested with a rotating turbine under the correctly scaled
influence of wind and waves. Because of the relevance of the
control system, the model was equipped with active blade pitch
control. This enabled GustoMSC to assess the performance of the
operational Tri-Floater in the important above-rated wind and
wave conditions in a model test, something which had not been
done before for floating wind turbines.
The model tests prove that the GustoMSC Tri-Floater design
performs outstanding under the combined influence of wind and
waves. During all tests, the total inclination of the Tri-Floater was
less than 10 degrees and the nacelle horizontal accelerations
were below 3 m/s2. The calculations and simulations indicate a
good match with the model tests results.
The model testing campaign confirmed that the GustoMSC
Tri-Floater is a competitive and efficient design for offshore
floating wind turbines.
The GustoMSC Tri-Floater design is a GustoMSC development
which was initially developed in 2002 during a study with ECN,
TNO, Delft University of Technology, Marin and Lagerwey the Wind
Master. Recently, the concept has been further developed in
cooperation with ECN and Marin.
Data presented in this product sheet is for information only and subject to change
without notice.