Experimental Investigation of a Novel Concept of Modular Multi-purpose Floating Structures

Modular Multi-purpose Floating Structures (MMFS) provide a possible solution to the growing need for space resulting not only from the rapidly growing global population but also from the expanding blue economy sector. The desired space is generated in a more sustainable way than land reclamations methods, by interconnecting together standardized floating modules, making this technology adaptable and suited to a broad range of possible open sea application. Herein, this study aims to investigate the dynamical response of a system composed by three floating hexagonal modular platforms connected via semi-rigid connectors and moored at the seabed with a taut mooring configuration. An experimental investigation has been carried out on a 1:50 prototype at the wave basin of the Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering (LIDR) of Università degli Studi di Bologna. The objective of the paper is the experimental validation of the proposed technological concept, through the assessment of the loads acting on the system and the evaluation of comfort indices for various representative sea states. The preliminary results show the trends of the loads acting on the connection system and the mooring system, which are essential for the correct design of the full-scale system. Additionally, the comfort and safety indices are met for all the analyzed sea states, demonstrating the validity of the proposed design.