Proceedings of the ASME 2010 29th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering

OMAE2010
June 6-11, 2010, Shanghai, China

OMAE2010-2

FEASIBILITY AND DESIGN OF THE CLUBSTEAD: A CABLE-STAYED FLOATING

STRUCTURE FOR OFFSHORE DWELLINGS
Alexia Aubault Wendy Sitler-Roddier Dominique Roddier
Marine Innovation & Technology Marine Innovation & Technology Marine Innovation & Technology
Berkeley, CA Berkeley, CA Berkeley, CA

Patri Friedman Wayne Gramlich

The Seasteading Institute The Seasteading Institute
Palo Alto, CA Palo Alto, CA

floating living facility, the architectural design and

ABSTRACT the engineering studies are intertwined. Iterations are
necessary to determine the global characteristics of
The ClubStead is a novel type of offshore floating the ClubStead. The buildings and living spaces are
platform, which provides comfortable and safe arranged by an architect, within specific offshore-
ocean-going dwellings for communities of a few related constraints. The resulting payload is
hundred people. The prospect of large, unclaimed calculated and thus used in the design basis to
ocean spaces has encouraged people to consider perform the engineering analysis. The feasibility
developing sea-going settlements. A number of study focuses on survivability and passenger comfort
attempts have been made on former oil platforms or to assess the novel design. The survivability analysis
cruise ships. But these structures are not designed for is based on structural strength and motion predictions
permanent living at sea and fall short of meeting in a 100-year storm. Passenger comfort is evaluated
dwellers' expectations. Efforts to build large, in operational conditions.
spacious floating living facilities have struggled to
balance cost-effectiveness and structural integrity. KEYWORDS
Offshore Living Facility, Tensegrity, Column-
This paper describes an innovative, cost-efficient stabilized, Architecture, Passenger Comfort.
solution to maximize space on offshore structures. To
control the cost, the submerged volume of the floater
INTRODUCTION
is minimized. To maximize comfort, the available
living surface area is also maximized, while the
The design of floating structures is shaped by their
motions of the platform are limited. The proposed
function in the ocean space. The ocean has been
solution is based on the principles of tensegrity,
exploited mostly to meet economic necessities. Ships
which are commonly used on bridges. Cable stays are
are designed as means of transportation. Moored and
tensioned at the top of towers to support the weight
bottom-fixed offshore platforms have emerged as the
of both light and cantilevered top-sides. The floater is
foundations for energy exploitation offshore.
column-stabilized with four submerged columns.
Meanwhile, the need for viable solutions to establish
residence at sea is growing due to renewed interest in
A feasibility study was performed for the design of a experimenting with nation and community building
Clubstead based off the coast of California. The
and in exploring new frontiers. But to this day, few
platform is dynamically positioned and can house up
communities have successfully settled permanently
to 270 people. Due to its primary function, as a
offshore. The principality of Sealand established on a

1 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

former World War II British sea fort is the most platform is arranged to include touristic facilities,
notable example. Most other designs were derived with a casino and an offshore resort. In another
from cruise ships. But ships are not best suited for example, the community could be focused on
permanent offshore settlements due to relatively large providing medical services.
roll responses in beam waves. Large semi- Passenger comfort. This is an essential feature of
submersible platforms, used in the oil and gas the platform. Life at sea can be harsh due to
industry, are more stable but costly. Alternatively, special restrictions and constant motions. The
Watanabe et al. (2004) highlight the developments of ClubStead needs to be spacious enough to
pontoon type structures in their review of Very Large provide sufficient living areas for its dwellers.
Floating Structures. Considerable attention has been The probability of sea-sickness must also be
given to the design and construction of the minimized to optimize passenger comfort.
MegaFloat in Japan, described by Kikutake (1998) Passenger safety is critical for an ocean going
and Kobayashi et al. (1998). But these large vessel with passengers. To ensure the reliability
structures have small air-gap. They operate in of the structure in harsh ocean weather, the
shielded basins or need the protection of breakwaters. ClubStead is designed to survive a 100 year sea-
The present work introduces a new type of floating state on site. Additionally, fire fighting and
structure intended for long-term offshore dwellings in medical equipment and emergency evacuation
the open ocean. It is designed to provide a plans are included into the building plans.
comfortable and aesthetically pleasing environment Cost optimization of the project is a major
and to be able to handle open ocean weather. The condition to its feasibility. In the preliminary
ClubStead is a column-stabilized platform which phase, it consists in minimizing the displacement
relies on tensegrity to maximize its usable deck of the platform. It can also be enhanced by
space. planning for all phases of construction and
installation.
A preliminary design of a ClubStead platform is laid
out to illustrate the particular challenges of building A large floating structure must develop sufficient
offshore dwellings. Due to the importance of living hydro-elastic strength to support the loading of large
spaces aboard and of integrating business and low-frequency water waves. Attempts with pontoon-
residential functions together, an architectural plan type structures like the Mega-Float are limited to
must be drawn early in the design. It must take into coastal areas and remain difficult to scale to open
account the engineering constraints of offshore ocean operations. An alternative approach consists in
reliability. Conversely, the engineering analysis raising the deck high enough above the waterline to
incorporates the preliminary architectural plan in its protect it from direct wave interaction. This solution
design basis. A methodology is developed to ensure is applied on column stabilized platforms in the oil
the convergence of both the architectural and the and gas industry. But the span between columns
engineering design. The viability of the concept is cannot be expanded in a cost effective manner and
demonstrated herein with the design and analysis of a decks are typically shorter than 100 m.
ClubStead for 270 people. The platform is assumed The concept of the ClubStead draws on technological
dynamically positioned 100 miles off the coast of San developments in bridge engineering during the 20 th
Diego, California. The dynamically-positioning century. As span length increased, the cost efficiency
system provides more flexibility to avoid potentially of cantilevered bridges diminished and they were
harmful storms, while removing potential permitting slowly replaced by lighter alternatives involving
issues due to mooring interactions on the seabed. cable support. Cable stayed bridges benefited from
improvements in cable connection and material in the
A NOVEL DESIGN: FLOATING TENSEGRITY second part of the 20th century and are now spread
FOR OFFSHORE DWELLINGS worldwide. Increasing the length of the deck on a
floating structure may be compared to the
Before the initial concept was developed, the basic lengthening of the span on cantilevered bridges.
needs of the residents were identified. They fall into
four categories: On the ClubStead, semisubmersible technology is
Autonomy of the Clubstead: the platform should employed for adequate sea-keeping characteristics.
be economically sustainable. Hence, the structure To minimize the displacement while preserving
is designed to house business spaces. Business sufficient stability, a column stabilized design is
functions are embedded in the organization of chosen. A footing at the base of the column lowers
the structure. A few alternatives are considered in the center of gravity and increases the natural heave
the first phases of design. In one instance, the

2 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

period for maximum stability of the platform in - American Petroleum Institute (API):
waves. • API RP 2SK, Recommended Practice for
Design and Analysis of Stationkeeping Systems for
An extension of the deck beyond the column- Floating Structures, 2005
enclosed space is achieved. The innovation resides in • API RP 2A-WSD Recommended Practice
the addition of cable-stayed deck structures which do for Planning, Designing and Constructing Fixed
not need to be supported at both ends by a floating Offshore Platforms - Working Stress Design, 22nd ed
component. Support for the extended deck is - International Maritime Organization (IMO)
provided by stay cables. The cables transfer the dead International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
loads as compression to the top of the towers, above (SOLAS), 1974
the columns. The use of such technology at sea is
made possible by developments in anti corrosion The design of the ClubStead is carried out iteratively.
systems for high-stress steel cables and the rise of The design process is illustrated in Figure 2. After
carbon fiber cables as described by Meier (1992). formulation of the conceptual idea, a design basis is
written for a specific project. It provides the function,
Light surface occupancy and location of the platform. The
Cantilevered
metocean conditions can be derived from archived
building
environmental data measured at NOAA buoy 46047
which is located close to the chosen San Diego site.

Footings Main truss

Figure 1: Representation of the ClubStead concept -

columns and footings in red, deck structure in grey

The deck structure is a combination of three

structural components as illustrated in Figure 1:
- Between columns, a large truss provides
sufficient lateral stiffness to the platform and is also
used to support heavy buildings
- On the extended deck, buildings may be
supported. For these heavy deck structures, a light
cantilevered truss is seconded by cable stays, Figure 2: Iterative Design Process of ClubStead
- Light deck surface areas on the extended
deck and at the center of the platform are intended for A preliminary sizing is performed to meet basic
recreational use. They are cable stayed. requirements in hydrostatics and hydrodynamics.
Additional cables can be used below deck to counter This phase determines the global dimensions of the
the dynamic effects of wave induced motions on the platform, such as the column span and overall deck
suspended structures. The use of a horizontal cable dimensions. These values are carried on to the next
between columns was also considered to enhance stage, which iterates between the architectural design
lateral stiffness. and the structural sizing of the deck to determine the
best use of deck space. The structural designer
AN ITERATIVE DESIGN APPROACH provides the architect with the deck space distribution
by defining the areas available for buildings and
The ClubStead is designed according to the offshore those reserved for light spaces. The architect in turn
industry standards for passenger vessels and semi- lays out the buildings and provides the structural
submersible vessels. The following design codes are engineer with the dead loads on the deck. Both
used for the hull and safety design: structural and architectural designs are translated into
- American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Rules for global mass properties and wind properties to
Building and Classing Mobile Offshore Drilling perform the hydrodynamic analysis
Units, 2006

3 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

The hydrodynamic analysis focuses on the rigid body Table 1: Global Dimensions of ClubStead (in ft)
response of the platform. It ensures that the motions
are within acceptable limits in the given metocean COLUMNS
conditions. To compute the time domain response of Column diameter 41
the ClubStead, hydrodynamic program TimeFloat is Footing Diameter 76
used. It is a 6-degree-of-freedom fully coupled
Footing Height 20
hydrodynamic program which was developed to
analyze the motions of floaters subject to Draft 75
environmental loads, non linear viscous loads due to Air-gap 40
shedding, mooring forces and any other mechanical DECK
forces. The program was described by Cermelli et al. Span between columns 200
(2004) and (2008). It uses diffraction-radiation Length of horizontal extension
software WAMIT as a pre-processor to obtain beyond column 100
hydrodynamic coefficients and first order forces. Width of a building 50
These forces are converted in the time-domain by use
of a Jonswap wave spectrum. Viscous and current
forces are included in the equations with a Morison
formulation. Wind forces are based on wind
coefficients combined with an API wave spectrum.
The wind coefficients on the ClubStead are generated
for any directions based on a drag coefficient of 1.
The DP system is modeled with a linear force using
soft horizontal springs which are set up at the
potential location of the thrusters, 10ft under the
waterline to control the motions in surge, sway and
yaw. The location of the thrusters should be
confirmed in further design stages.

At the end of the hydrodynamic analysis, additional 100.00

iterations of the structural and architectural design
may be necessary to adjust the center of gravity or Figure 3: Dimensions of ClubStead (in ft)
the wind area.

Eventually, the design process converges toward a The payload represents more than 30% of the
solution and the fulfillment of basic requirements is displacement, in Table 2. This high ratio is made
verified. The operability of the design is judged by possible by the overall stability of the platform.
the degree of autonomy and the level of comfort In the final architectural layout, a total of 368,200 ft 2
aboard the platform. Its reliability is estimated based is available for passenger use on the ClubStead,
on the survivability criteria. If the global dimensions including 90,000 ft2 of open recreational surfaces. It
are such that the design is not satisfying at this stage, does not include the machinery and maintenance
they should be revised and the process should be areas. Based on an estimated 50 lb/ft2 for buildings
reiterated. When a solution appears, the consistence and 30 lb/ft2 for open areas, the total payload is 7,705
of the initial global dimensions with the mass st.
properties is checked and additional iterations are run An estimated 2619 st of primary deck steel is
if necessary. The present paper does not describe the necessary to support this payload.
details of design iterations on the ClubStead. It The wind projected surface area is 41,680 ft2 and the
focuses instead on the assessment of operatibility and center of pressure is located 79.6ft above the mean
survivability of the final design. waterline.

GLOBAL SIZING In operations, the metacentric height (GM) is 13.8ft.

The heave natural period of the ClubStead is 17
The global dimensions of the ClubStead at the end of seconds.
the iterative design process are summarized in Table
1. The dimensions on the deck are illustrated in
Figure 3.

4 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

 Table 2: Weight summary of the ClubStead (in short accommodate up to 270 people at a time. Although
ton) this first conceptual design was charged with spaces
rendered for the hospitality program, the design of
Structure: the platform and the conceptual form of the
Hull steel 4386 architecture can be used for a variety of business and
Primary Deck steel 2619 residential functions. The flexibility is inherent to the
form of the architecture.
Appurtenances 10
Total structure 7016 The use of the available surface area of the platform
Payload: must be optimized and the architecture must provide
Machinery 414 a sense of openness and space comparable to that of
Living Areas + Open areas 7705 an onshore resort. It should feel more spacious than a
typical cruise ship.
Total 8118
Live loads (residents, diesel): The architectural program takes into account a
Total 575 number of constraints. The layout of the architecture
is driven by engineering considerations: the allocated
Ballast: area of the platform is limited to a 400’-0” x 400’-0”
Total 5200 square deck surface; the maximum structural support
for the architecture is provided on a 40ft wide strip
Total weight: 20908 between columns located 200’-0” apart from each
other in plan.
Mass properties for the hydrodynamic analysis are
summarized in Table 3.

Table 3: Global mass properties of ClubStead after

iterations on the structural and architectural design

Description unit
Total Weight 20,908 st
Center of gravity above
the mean waterline 19.5 ft
Radius of Gyration Rx 87.5 ft
Radius of Gyration Ry 87.5 ft
Radius of Gyration Rz 112.4 ft Figure 4: Top View of ClubStead Architectural Plan

PASSENGER COMFORT IN OPERATIONS The buildings are organized around the four main
structural columns. The cruciform plan of the
The comfort level aboard the ClubStead must be architecture at each column is supported by the
maximized during operational conditions. Passenger primary 40’-0” box trusses described in the structural
comfort is attained through architectural features and analysis. A pyramidal form at each column was
motion control. The architectural layout of the living adopted to provide maximum spatial openness. It also
spaces on the deck must be attractive and spacious. keeps the center of gravity low, by minimizing the
The following section describes how the architectural weight at the upper levels of the buildings. A low
program of the ClubStead accommodates the center of gravity is critical to the stability of the
necessities of an offshore design in a spacious platform.
environment. Additionally, passenger discomfort due
to wave-induced motions of the platform should be Three of the four columns are dedicated to the
minimized. This is verified by calculating the program of the hotel for hotel rooms, staff quarters,
response of the platform in operational sea states. function spaces, restaurants and bars and spa and
fitness areas. The fourth column is a mechanical
Architecture tower that houses the equipment and spaces needed
for operations of the building and for life at sea. A
The initial program for the platform was an offshore club casino, or a large community space, is located
resort with a luxury hotel and club casino intended to

5 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

near the mechanical tower and separated by sound solar panels will ensure the energy supply for utility
and safety isolation walls. and propulsion of the dynamically-positioned system.
Additionally, the platform is equipped with safety
equipments according to recommendations from the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
(SOLAS) organized by the IMO (International
Maritime organization) in 1974 [1]. The architectural
program makes room for a control room and safety
center, a fire-fighting room and multiple fire stations,
and a medical center. For easy access and evacuation,
a boat landing and two helipads are included in the
plan. Sufficient life-saving equipment is provided in
accessible areas.
Figure 5: General Perspective View of ClubStead Arc-
hitectural Design Exhaust Control Room
Machine
The hotel buildings have seven floors of interior Tower
Helipads
spaces. The first floor houses a hotel lobby and back
of house service spaces, retail spaces, restaurants, the
spa and fitness amenities and public circulation. The
second floor houses the staff quarters, function and
meeting spaces along with additional spa and fitness Life
Boats Boat Landing
level spaces. There are four levels of rooms above on both
level two. The use of space is optimized by sides of
integrating rooftops into functional areas. The platfor
Figure 7: Control, maintenance and safety amenities
seventh level, or rooftop level, houses restaurant m
aboard the ClubStead
terraces and rooftop lounges. Vertical circulation of
The form of the architecture at the end bays of the
elevator and stairs for each tower are located inside
hotel towers are shaped with sail-like transparent
the columns. There are also enclosed walkways at
surfaces that echo the shape of the arch beams
levels 2, 3 and 4 to provide cross-tower access.
supporting the stay-cables. These surfaces provide
large window bays for the penthouse room and
maximize the views of the sea.

Figure 6: View onto a rooftop lounge on ClubStead

At the deck level, light-weight surface areas at the

platform perimeter and center are suspended off the Figure 8: View of the cable stays and structural compo-
nents outside the buildings
columns with cable stays; they provide recreational
space for gardens, tennis courts, exterior dining areas, Engineering features such as the cable stays and
lookout points, etc. trusses are integrated to the landscape. In this aspect,
Safety and maintenance spaces are reserved to meet the ClubStead draws on works by architects such as
the requirements of life at sea. A column is assigned Santiago Calatrava. Bent arcs are attached to the
to machinery. For the community to be autonomous, tower and support the cable. This configuration was
fresh water may be made aboard from sea water. A chosen not only for its aesthetic advantage but also
recycling center and a water and sewage treatment out of practicality, to avoid intersections between the
center provide maximum autonomy over waste buildings and cables.
management. A combination of diesel engines and

6 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

Relative Motions in Operations Table 4: Probability of Exceedence of Vertical Accelera-
tion RMS
Research by O’Hanlon and McCauley (1974) has
shown that the fraction of people who become sick Probability of Occurrence
onboard a vessel is a function of acceleration, (%) of Vertical
excitation frequency and duration of exposure. The Acceleration RMS > than
International Standard ISO 2631 states that, at typical Position 0.1 m/s2 0.25m/s2
wave peak frequencies, a majority of the passengers
is seasick after being exposed to a vertical Center of deck 43 1.3
acceleration RMS of 0.25m/s2 for 8 consecutive Extremity of Deck 2 65 1.5
hours. Extremity of Deck 3 72 5.4
The 8-hour exposure curve is used to assess the level Top of Tower 4 48 1.3
of comfort aboard the ClubStead. The RMS of heave,
roll and pitch induced vertical acceleration is 50

Probability of Occurence (%)

45
computed over 1-hour TimeFloat simulations for all 40
sea-states in the wave scatter diagram. The 35
30 Location #1
environmental conditions are derived from 10 years 25
20
of NOAA data. The waves at 0 degree heading are 15
Location #2
combined with the most probable 1-hour mean wind 10 Location #3
5
velocity at the given significant wave height. The 0 Location #4
vertical acceleration is computed at the locations
Location #5
represented in Figure 9.

#4 #5 Figure 10: Probability of occurrence of level of vertical

Figure 1: Probability of Occurrence of Vertical Acceleration RMS Values
acceleration aboard the ClubStead

The NORDFORSK project (1987) published criteria

per type of vessel and activities. It states a line cruiser
should offer maximum comfort among ships with an
acceleration RMS below 0.02g (0.2m/s-2). This level
#3 #2 of comfort is attained between 90 and 97% of the
time on the ClubStead.
#1 0.4 Heave RMS (m/s-2)
Wave Direction 0.35

Figure 9: Locations to Compute Vertical Acceleration 0.3

0.25
8 hour exposure
Probabilities of exceedence are calculated based on ISO limit
the probability of occurrence of the sea-state: 0.2 T = 12.5s
Hs = 1m = 3.3ft
Hs = 2m = 6.6ft
P( RMS a) pi RMS i a (1) 0.15 Hs = 3m = 9.8ft
Hs = 4m = 13.1ft
seastate i Hs = 5m = 16.4ft
0.1 Hs = 6m = 19.7ft
where pi is the probability of occurrence of sea-state i
and RMS>a is equal to 1 when the RMS of 0.05

acceleration at the given sea-state is greater than a 0

4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
and 0 otherwise. Results are provided at chosen Period (sec)
locations for a=0.1 m/s-2 and a=0.25m/s-2 in Table 4. Figure 11: RMS of vertical acceleration - center of deck
The distribution of acceleration RMS is plotted in (position 1)
Figure 10.

7 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

 ISO 8 hour limit Heave RMS (m/s2) - Green water remains clear of the deck, with
0.4
T = 12.5 sec a minimum clearance of 5ft.
Hs = 1m = 3.3ft
0.35
Hs = 2m = 6.6ft - Maximum pitch and roll angle do not exceed
Hs = 3m = 9.8ft
Hs = 4m = 13.1ft 10 degrees.
0.3 Hs = 5m = 16.4ft These conditions are based on typically
Hs = 6m = 19.7ft
0.25
recommended practice for offshore structures.
Structural and hydrodynamic analyses are carried out
0.2
to ensure that the dimensions and characteristics of
0.15
the ClubStead are sufficient to fulfill the criteria.

0.1 Structural integrity

0.05
The preliminary structural analysis aims at estimating
0
the amount of steel to build the ClubStead. This is
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Period (sec) necessary to obtain the mass properties for the

hydrodynamic analysis. It is also used to derive a
Figure 12: RMS of vertical acceleration - extremity of
deck (position 3) preliminary cost estimate of the platform.

Long period waves, with peak periods larger than 10 The main structural components of the ClubStead
seconds, are frequent at the San Diego site. Passenger are:
comfort could be further improved by increasing the - The four columns and footings, which will
heave natural period. It is illustrated in Figure 11 and be compartmented and stiffened according to
Figure 12 which represent the vertical acceleration offshore industry standards, such as the ABS MODU
RMS as a function of peak period Tp for significant rules. These are common elements on semi-
wave heights Hs between 1 and 6m. Discomfort submersible hulls. In this preliminary analysis, the
increases with Hs but the wave period has the most steel density is assumed equal to 8lb/ft3, which was
significant effect. The discomfort level peaks at the determined sufficient for a semi-submersible of
heave period of resonance of the platform, around 17 similar draft by Aubault et al (2009).
seconds. Notably, the discomfort level increases also - The deck primary structure consists of the
on the extremities of the platform for Tp=12.5sec. main truss which supports the wave loads and the
This is consistent with the increase in pitch and roll dead loads of the buildings between columns; the
RAO at this period. secondary truss which supports the cantilevered areas
with buildings; and the simple beams to help
RELIABILITY IN SURVIVAL CONDITIONS maintain the cable stayed light-weight surfaces. The
sizing of these beams and trusses is carried out using
According to API recommendations, the ClubStead is a finite element analysis. It is described herein.
designed to survive the loadings and motions in a 1- - The towers and cable supporting arcs, on top
year, 10-year and 100-year return storm at the of the columns, are designed to withstand the
intended site. A Weibull fit on the historical data compression and bending moment from the cable
provides the most probable extreme sea-states tension. These internal forces are computed with the
described in Table 5. same finite element model.

Table 5: Extreme Sea States off San Diego, CA The truss and beams consist of tubular members. The
Return Period 1 year 10 year 100 year design of the deck primary structure is based on API
Hs m 7.0 7.7 8.3 Recommended Practice 2A - Working Stress Design.
The feasibility study focuses on the strength analysis
Tp s 14.3 14.3 14.3
to provide an estimate of primary steel weight. A
Wind Speed m/s 16.0 17.5 18.9 fatigue analysis on the truss connections should be
Current Speed m/s 0.48 0.53 0.57 performed in further stages. The overall structural
integrity of a member is assessed by computing
The survivability criteria of the ClubStead are combined axial and bending stress ratios. All
defined as follows: computed ratios must be less than 1.0 to comply with
- The structural integrity of the platform is not API RP2A-WSD.
affected by extreme wave and wind
loadings. A finite-element model is built in finite element
program SAP2000 version 12. The primary structure

8 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

of the ClubStead is analyzed within the framework of
beam theory. A static analysis is run to determine the
internal forces in the deck primary structure, starting
with small tubular sizes on the trusses and beams.
Cables are included as tendon elements with a given
pretension to model the effect of stay cables on
suspended surfaces. The detailed analysis of the cable
subject to dynamic excitations is out of the scope of
this study. A damping system may be necessary to Figure 14: Squeezing and Prying modes of extreme
counter the dynamic effects of wind and wave loads. wave loads
This will be addressed in later design stages.
- Wind loads, propulsion loads and secondary
forces are neglected in this preliminary analysis.
Wind vibration on the deck should be the object of a
detailed analysis.

The static analysis is iterated until an appropriate

design is found. At first, only the main trusses are
included to ensure they are designed to support the
wave loads alone. Main trusses are 40ftx40ftx150ft
truss boxes. They have three bays with large
horizontal pipes to resist the wave loads. Diagonal
beams provide additional support. Eventually the
cantilevered trusses and light-weight areas are added
with their supporting cables. Several iterations are
necessary to determine the most appropriate
Figure 13: Finite Element model of the ClubStead in configuration of the trusses and cable layout. The
SAP 2000 v12 final finite element model is represented in Figure 13.

Applied loads on the platform include: Other configurations were considered to provide
- Dead loads: lateral support to the main truss. For instance, a small
The weight of the buildings on the primary deck pontoon or bracing between the keels would reduce
structure is applied by assigning distributed loads on lateral loads at the deck level.
surface areas. The self-weight of the steel frame ele-
ments is added automatically. Extreme Motions in Storms
- Wave loads:
The wave force acting on the submerged frame ele- The rigid body motions of the platform are computed
ment is calculated using a Morison formulation, for 3-hour simulations of the 1 year, 10-year and 100-
based on a linear Airy wave potential. The most ex- year storms, with time-domain hydrodynamic
treme wave loads are associated with the squeezing program TimeFloat.
and prying modes at 0 and 45 degree heading waves,
as illustrated in Figure 14. The characteristics of the
1 2
design waves are summarized in Table 6. Wave
heights were chosen to provide conservative results.
The wave periods are calculated based on deep water 4
theory. Buoyant forces are also included.
45°
Table 6: Characteristics of Airy Waves used to size the heading 0°
wave W
heading
ClubStead primary structure
waveA
Wave Wave Wave Wave V
Wave length Direction Period Height E
5 3
# (ft) (deg) (sec) (ft) 6
1 565.7 45.0 10.5 40
2 282.8 45.0 7.4 35 Figure 15: Wave gage position on ClubStead to compute
35 green water level
3 400.0 0.0 8.8

9 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

To verify that the deck remains clear of the wave The minimum clearance between the deck and the
crest throughout extreme weather conditions, time wave crest is 5.83ft. The maximum pitch and roll
series of relative positions of the deck and wave crest angle is 5.45 degrees.
are calculated at several critical locations. The
position of six such “wave gages” is represented in This analysis proves the reliability of the ClubStead
Figure 15 with a red dot. in extreme conditions. Empirical data is necessary to
ascertain parameters used in the numerical model.
The statistics of motions are computed over each Numerical modeling of 1st order wave motions is
three-hour simulation. Results are provided in Table 7 highly accurate, but drag coefficients and air-gap are
and Table 8 for the 100 year return storm in two wave best determined with model testing.
directions.
CONCLUSION
Table 7: Statistics of motions (in ft and deg) and of wave
gage position above crest (in ft) in a 0 degree heading The conceptual idea of the Clubstead is founded on
100 year return storm semisubmersible hull technology combined with
cable stays to extend the deck surface area. This
100 year - 0 deg Mean RMS Max Min floating structure offers a maximized deck space on
Wave height 0.11 6.79 27.34 -28.96 an ocean-going platform. The use of cable stays
Motions surge 48.36 5.73 76.18 32.36 minimizes the payload, hence the displacement and
sway 0.42 0.05 0.69 0.30 results in a cost effective solution. Static and dynamic
heave -0.01 6.42 19.56 -19.86 stabilities are provided by a column stabilized plan
with large footings. A design was presented above for
roll -0.03 0.05 0.13 -0.20 a tentative community of 270 people living in the
pitch 1.76 0.97 5.45 -3.10 Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. It illustrates
yaw -0.56 0.10 -0.26 -0.98 the complex process entailed in the design of a cable-
Wave 1 53.19 8.47 85.31 22.79 stayed floating platform for permanent offshore
Gages 2 52.97 8.44 85.56 23.07 residences. The importance of involving an architect
3 40.97 7.55 64.86 13.70 early in the design process is highlighted. Interactions
between the architectural and engineering teams are
4 40.75 7.57 65.30 12.65 essential. They ensure the living facilities are both
5 33.79 7.56 58.17 5.83 comfortable and reliable. They also help identify cost
6 33.93 7.55 57.90 6.49 saving opportunities associated with the relative
position of structural components and architectural
Table 8: Statistics of motions (in ft and deg) and of wave
features. The structural skeleton of the deck on a
gage position above crest (in ft) in a 45 degree heading floating city has the double function of supporting
100 year return storm dead weight, like an onshore structure, and providing
lateral stiffness to resist environmental loadings. This
100 year - 45 deg Mean RMS Max Min must be taken into account in the architectural layout.
Wave height 0.16 6.79 27.21 -28.71 An iterative process ensures that the platform is
optimized within its design basis. The ideal
Motions surge 37.24 3.98 58.56 25.87
ClubStead provides maximized comfort and
sway 35.83 3.94 56.13 24.47 autonomy onboard for an acceptable level of safety in
heave 0.00 6.40 19.38 -20.08 the most cost efficient manner.
roll -1.18 0.68 2.30 -3.70 Further work is needed to determine how to properly
pitch 1.30 0.67 3.90 -2.17 adapt stay cable technology to floating platforms. The
yaw 2.40 0.12 3.20 1.92 effect of wind and wave dynamics on the cable
loadings must be assessed. Connectors may need
Wave 1 55.66 8.66 86.55 27.25
some additional damping systems. This will be best
Gages 2 47.28 8.96 79.40 16.54 determined with further static and dynamic structural
3 46.48 8.85 76.14 17.05 analysis of the system. An extensive fatigue analysis
4 38.40 8.15 66.84 9.35 of the cables and truss connections should be
5 32.92 7.59 58.25 6.08 performed in later stages. In the swell dominated
environment of the Pacific coast, fatigue is likely to
6 37.96 8.50 66.17 10.87 be a significant factor in the structural design.
Additionally, corrosion control of the structure and
cables should be planned for, using cathodic

10 Copyright © 2010 by ASME

protection and non-corroding materials for instance. Sinusoidal Motion”, Aerospace Medicine,
To validate the air-gap calculations in a 100 year 45(4):366-369.
storm, the platform should be tested experimentally.
Model tests remain an important step to qualify [10]. International Organization for
offshore structures and validate numerical results. Standardization, Specification 2631-1:1997,
Mechanical vibration and shock – Evaluation of
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS human exposure to whole-body vibration – Part
1: General requirements
This work was enabled by the financial support of
The Seasteading Institute. [11]. NORDFORSK 1987 The Nordic Coopera-
tive Project for Seakeeping Performance of
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11 Copyright © 2010 by ASME