MOBILE OCEAN BASING SYSTEMS: THE CONCRETE SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE PLATFORM

A study was made to investigate the feasibility of substituting concrete for steel as the primary construction material in a self-propelled semi-submersible platform. Of the configurations considered, eleven were determined to meet all of the study design criteria. It is concluded that the concept is feasible provided that: a deck not exceeding 375 lbs per square foot dead weight is used, an underneath deck clearance of 30 to 40 feet above the mean water surface is acceptable, and columns and hulls (up to 60 feet in outside diameter) having a wall thickness not exceeding 2 feet are acceptable from considerations of formability and strength. The construction, assembly, launch and testing of a 1/10 scale model twin hull semi-submersible platform is also described. The model was constructed to verify the findings of the self-propelled platform feasibility study, to demonstrate the feasibility of assembling available concrete products into a platform, to evaluate construction techniques and to study means of linking platform modules together to form large platforms. (Author)

• Corporate Authors:

  Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory

  Port Hueneme, CA  United States 
• Authors:
  • Davis, D A
• Publication Date: 1973-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 39 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Catamarans; Concrete; Concrete structures; Construction; Costs; Decks (Ships); Design; Feasibility analysis; Ferrocement; Hulls; Naval architecture; Offshore platforms; Optimization; Radar stations; Semisubmersibles; Stabilized platforms
• Uncontrolled Terms: Ship hulls
• Old TRIS Terms: Ferro concrete; Floating platforms
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Finance; Marine Transportation; Terminals and Facilities; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00051054
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NCEL-TN-1297 Final Rpt
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 12 1974 12:00AM