Concrete Space Frame Applied to an Arctic M.O.D.U.

by Pierre Richard, Bouygues Group, Clamart, Fr, Bouygues Group, Clamart, France,
Claude Valenchon, Bouygues Group, Clamart, Fr, Bouygues Group, Clamart, France,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Civil Engineering in the Arctic Offshore

Abstract:

The BOUYGUES experience in the use of concrete space frame technology for civil works and the application of this technique, combined with high strength concrete and prefabrication, to concrete offshore structures for the Arctic is presented. The design is ZEE-STAR 120, a concrete Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (M. O. D. U. ), developed by BOUYGUES-OFFSHORE for year-round exploration drilling in the Beaufort Sea, in a wide range of water depths (42 to 120 feet). The combination of concrete space frame, high-strength concrete and prefabrication leads to significant savings in weight, also providing a highly efficient means of resisting the high ice forces and other loadings applied. The construction techniques, which consist mostly of assembling precast elements, very tight quality control, redundancy of the space frame system, and the double hull of the break-ice wall, provide a very safe structure. These innovative design and construction techniques give a more cost-effective means of exploration in offshore Arctic areas.

Subject Headings: Space frames | Concrete frames | Offshore structures | High-strength concrete | Offshore construction | Space structures | Offshore drilling | Arctic | Beaufort Sea

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