ABSTRACT
In this paper the concept of the research programme on the articulated tower "Test-CONAT" is presented and discussed. The tests are running in the vicinity of the research platform "Nordsee" and are sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology.
The aim of this experiment is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the CONAT concept (Concrete Articulated Tower) which is the result of extensive research and development work within a German joint venture.
Characteristic features of this concept are the bottleshaped concrete tower and the ball joint which creates the articulated connection. The type of ball joint developed allows access from the tower into the foundation and enables maintenance work to be performed under atmospheric conditions.
The paper starts with a short discussion of the main problems arising in the design of oscillating platforms for several ranges of water depth. Together with this, the results of systematic investigations into various CONAT versions are presented and evaluated. Furthermore, the basic steps of the design of the "Test-CONAT" are discussed. The main components of the system, i.e. the tower, the ball joint and the foundation are described. The transportation and installation procedures for both fundament and tower are also reported. Finally, the scheduled programme of tests is briefly outlined.
