Double-Use Off-Shore Meteorological Tower with Three-Leg Suction Pile Foundation-Paper

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The paper presents Korea’s first reusable offshore meteorological tower, designed, installed, and later relocated by ADVACT for Korea South-East Power. The 69-metre Vierendeel tower was assembled onshore with a three-leg suction-pile foundation and transported as one unit. Each pile was 7 metres in diameter and 28 metres long. The design accounted for the differing seabed, water-depth, wave, and current conditions at both sites, as well as typhoon-level loads and anticipated scour.<br /><br />The Vierendeel structure, which has no diagonal braces in its upper section, reduced wave interference and helped lower loads on the piles. An integrated suction system and dedicated pipes enabled installation and retrieval without extensive underwater work.<br /><br />At the first site, the tower was installed in 2021 and operated for 19 months. It was then retrieved intact in about 28 hours, transported, and reinstalled at a second site in 2022. Reinstallation took about 29 hours, and the tower has since continued collecting wind, wave, and current data. Monitoring showed that it remained stable and within allowable verticality limits during operation.<br /><br />The project demonstrates that a suction-pile-supported meteorological tower can be recovered and reused at a different offshore location, avoiding the need to build separate towers. The authors conclude that this approach is technically feasible and can save time and cost, provided the foundation is designed for the conditions at each intended site.

Keywords

reusable offshore meteorological tower

Korea South-East Power

ADVACT

Vierendeel tower

suction-pile foundation

offshore installation

tower relocation

typhoon loads

wind wave current data

foundation design