GICON (R) has developed a new generation of its tension leg platform (TLP) substructure for wind turbines. The design is focused on the special needs of series production and is scalable in size. This paper describes the modular design of a 10mw TLP. The individual components are manufactured in existing supply chains for wind turbine and monopile manufactures in an industrialized manner. The entire TLP is assembled with a fatigue resistant and reliable plug-and play connector or with standard wind turbine flanges. With this approach, GICON (R) aims to achieve a significant cost reduction in the field of floating offshore wind turbines.

The objective of the envVisio method is to create generic tools and a flexible data backbone for the preparation, storage, linking and provision of complex and multi-thematic municipal geodata. Although geographic base data of the federal states in Germany are represented and processed in standardized and established data models and systems, there is also a large number of additional geodata such as environmental data and mobility data that are not managed in a uniform manner. Specifically, the envVisio method is about the further development of the model approaches for geospatial and environmental data provision. It is a new type of modeling method that has already been tested in individual state environmental authorities for interdisciplinary cooperation between the specialist departments. The development of technical solutions is intended to reduce the effort required to provide municipal geospatial data and to promote higher usability of public data. The aim of this article is to present the methods and the use cases to be implemented.

Offshore Oil and Gas platforms mostly utilize gas or diesel generators to produce reliable energy. As a step towards low carbon economy, Offshore Wind Energy is studied to reduce dependency on this fired turbomachinery. Since Malaysian Offshore Oil and Gas platforms are mostly situated in water depths deeper than 50 m, floating offshore wind turbine is considered. Floating offshore wind technology has roots on well-known platform designs from the Oil and Gas industry. However, specific solutions adaptations are required since floating platforms are expensive whilst floating offshore wind solution is cost driven. Furthermore, there is a need for high dynamic stability. Therefore, the fully coupled analysis (aero-hydro-servo-elastic simulations) will be briefly presented. This study will focus on GICON's tension leg platform and ELEON's single-sided supported direct drive wind turbine. The concept of hybrid microgrid is introduced as part of the bigger picture of energy transition towards low carbon technologies.

Floating substructures for wind turbines are commonly credited for enabling the offshore wind industry, so far focused on fixed substructures, to expand into deeper waters. As per Arent et al. (Improved offshore wind resource assessment in global climate stabilization scenarios, [4]), 77% of global offshore wind potential is located in water depths deeper than 60 m. However, floating substructures do not yet meet the market expectations with regard to LCOE. By integrating new materials as well as modularity into the design, the costs of the tension leg platform (TLP) development presented in this pater have been significantly reduced. Pre-stressed Ultra-High-Performance-Concrete (UHPC) pipes will be used for this sub-structure. The buoyancy bodies will be fabricated using concrete shell elements known from tunnel engineering. The use of casted iron for the nodes and the Transition Piece (TP) leads to further advantages regarding design and costs. All components are designed for transportability (e.g. via railway) in order to ensure a high level of flexibility within the supply chain. The structural design has been calculated to support turbines of up to 6 MW rated power and more. In October 2017, a scaled model (1:50) of the new substructure design for use with a 6 MW turbine was successfully exposed to wind and wave loads at the Ocean Engineering Tank of the École Centrale de Nantes (ECN). In June 2018, a second measurement campaign was started, and in September 2018 a third campaign will be run to verify the transport & installation process. Th presentation and paper will focus on the TLP design as well as on the model fabrication and scaling. Furthermore, measurement results from the ECN test will be presented. Therefore, the presentation will introduce the measurement setup as well as the measurement types to verify the simulation model. Finally, the verification of the simulation model with the measurements will be highlighted.

Offshore Wind Turbines (OWT) indeep-water sites of 50 meters and more require floating substructures. This paper will present a test facility for piles to be used for anchoring floating offshore substructures, in particular a Tension Leg Platform (TLP) substructure. Especially the measurement equipment, the loading cell, the controller technology and the automation will be highlighted. Another focus will be on the scaling laws for the pile and the soil. The paper will also provide an insight into the first experimental studies and their results. Beginning with the bracing types of the ropes between the piles and the OWT TLP substructure, there are two experimental set-ups. Firstly, piles loaded along longitudinal axis and secondly piles loaded with inclined forces transverse to the longitudinal axis. These scenarios are based on the specific loading from the buoyancy force, wave and wind loading. In this model test, the focus is on quasi-static pull-out tests with pulsating stress and cyclic tests with harmonic excitation.

Utilizing natural wind resources for renewable energy generation offers a contributory solution to the global climate change challenge with the goal of lowering emissions. Floating offshore wind turbines provide access to the optimum wind conditions located at deep-water sites. A GICON (R) Tension Leg Platform (TLP) for a 2.3 MW system has been developed and is planned to be installed in the German Baltic Sea by 2017. The aim of this paper is to build on the success of this previous design and to investigate the feasibility of a TLP for a 6 MW system. The original TLP system has been scaled up to support a 6 MW wind turbine, along with a number of design modifications and improvements to the geometry. The paper and presentation covers stage one of this research project and will present the first steps of the development. The optimized substructure, respectively the process of optimization by using lightweight components, will be presented. In addition, the anchoring via a gravity anchor will be another focus.

This paper will give a short overview of the path of development of the so called GICON (R) - Tension Leg Platform (TLP) for offshore wind turbines. The main part of the paper will provide a summary as well as insights from three different model basin tests. Furthermore, the comparison of a truss like structure (first concept) with a shell type structure (third concept) deduced from the measured results and also by comparison of the natural frequencies will be presented. Both structures were tested in wave tanks in a scale of 1:25. The results also include a focus on the overall dynamic behavior of the structure. In addition to the two 1:25 models, a 1:37 model was also tested at MARIN, utilizing the MARIN stock wind turbine. This model is also included in the comparison. Therefore the different scales are considered but the comparison is presented exclusively for wave loads as only the 1:37 model was tested under wind and wave conditions.

The paper will present the preliminary design of the so called GICON® - Tension Leg Platform (TLP) as an innovative foundation concept for floating offshore wind turbines. Preliminary results from model basin tests are also shared. This includes the currently ongoing research of comparing calculated and experimental data obtained through extensive wind and wave tank experiments with a scale model of an offshore wind turbine at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) in June 2013. These tests have provided insights regarding the dynamic characteristics of the GICON®-TLP by analyzing the system’s response to different load cases. The experiments included wind and wave loads, which represent three different sea states, each with three different directions of inflow. The chosen load cases correspond to the proposed location in the German Baltic Sea where the full scale prototype will be erected.