Stiesdal TetraSpar Floating Offshore Wind Foundation Put to the Test

DTU Wind Energy, DHI and Stiesdal Offshore Technology A/S are currently testing Henrik Stiesdal’s TetraSpar floating foundation concept in the DHI offshore wave basin in Denmark.

The 1:60 scale model tests are carried out using DTU’s 10MW scale model pitch-controlled wind turbine, and two floater configurations are considered.

The floating wind turbine is subjected to wind and wave forcing for a number of operational and survival conditions.

The objectives of the model test campaign are to provide a proof-of-concept of the TetraSpar foundation as well as advance experimental testing and data analysis techniques in this area.

A live demonstration of the tests will be held on 20 June.

This is the fourth test campaign involving floating wind turbine foundations carried out in the DHI offshore wave basin with the team from DTU Wind Energy.

Henrik Stiesdal is a Danish inventor and former Chief Technology Officer at Siemens Wind Power who has worked with wind energy technologies since the later 1970s.