Model Test Verification of a Cell Truss Spar Using Hybrid Model Testing Technique

Hybrid model testing technique is a prospective method for experiments on deepwater platforms. Full-depth mooring/riser system should be truncated according to model scale and available work depth of the basin, and model test results need to be calibrated and extrapolated by numerical software. A model test of Cell Truss SPAR based on the method is presented in this paper. Vertical and horizontal truncation factors are defined respectively to illustrate the difficulties in designing the equivalent truncated mooring system. A special mechanism which can eliminate the effect of horizontal truncation is used in the truncated mooring line. The model test results are reconstructed and extrapolated to full depth. It is found that the numerical and experimental results agree well.