ADCP Buoys & Floats

Spherical ADCP Buoys & Flotation for Subsurface Oceanographic Moorings

Mooring Systems, Inc. manufactures spherical shaped subsurface buoyancy for ADCP buoy applications with integral stainless steel instrument mounting frames, or with single strength members for use as primary or back-up mooring flotation.

Spherical buoys with internally mounted instruments will greatly reduce current drag and improve mooring performance. ADCP transducers and other sensors can be better directed up to the surface when mounted inside the well of syntactic buoys. Using a fewer number of floats by increasing the diameter of the float will also greatly reduce horizontal drag. The cross sectional area affected by ocean currents is smaller when using fewer larger floats with equal buoyancy to that of many small floats.

Example:

35″ diameter float rated for 1000m and buoyancy of 450 lbs. is equal in buoyancy to (8) 17″ diameter floats. As you can see, (1) 35″ float will have far less drag than (8) 17″ floats.

Features:

• Syntactic Composite Buoyancy Material
• Standard & Custom Instrument Frame Designs
• Unobstructed Transducer Beams (Doppler Profilers)
• High Strength, 5,000 & 10,000 lbs. (2,273 kg & 4,545 kg)
• Integral Pressure Case Clamping Bands
• Type 316 Stainless Steel Frame Construction
• Corrosion Resistant with Isolation Bushings & Anodes
• Electro-Polished Stainless
• Single Strength Members in Stainless or Galvanized Steel

Spherical ADCP Buoy Specifications
Model	SB-30	SB-35	SB-47	SB-65
Diameter	30″ (76 cm)	35″ (90 cm)	47″ (120 cm)	65″ (165 cm)
Depth	300 m	300 m	300 m	300 m
Buoyancy	255 lbs. (117 kg)	436 lbs. (199 kg)	1148 lbs. (525 kg)	3200 lbs. (1450 kg)
Depth	1000 m	1000 m	1000 m	1000 m
Buoyancy	223 lbs. (102 kg)	381 lbs. (174 kg)	1004 lbs. (459 kg)	2800 lbs. (1270 kg)
Depth	1500 m	1500 m	1500 m	1500 m
Buoyancy	197 lbs. (90 kg)	338 lbs. (154 kg)	890 lbs. (407 kg)	2500 lbs. (1134 kg)
Depth	2000 m	2000 m	2000 m	2000 m
Buoyancy	166 lbs. (76 kg)	283 lbs. (129 kg)	740 lbs. (341 kg)	2100 lbs. (950 kg)

Spherical Float Specifications
Model	SF-30	SF-35	SF-47	SF-65
Depth	300 m	300 m	300 m	300 m
Buoyancy	327 lbs. (149 kg)	520 lbs. (238 kg)	1258 lbs. (575 kg)	3200 lbs. (1450 kg)
Depth	1000 m	1000 m	1000 m	1000 m
Buoyancy	286 lbs. (131 kg)	455 lbs. (208 kg)	1101 lbs. (503 kg)	2800 lbs. (1270 kg)
Depth	1500 m	1500 m	1500 m	1500 m
Buoyancy	253 lbs. (116 kg)	403 lbs. (184 kg)	975 lbs. (446 kg)	2500 lbs. (1134 kg)
Depth	2000 m	2000 m	2000 m	2000 m
Buoyancy	213 lbs. (97 kg)	338 lbs. (154 kg)	818 lbs. (374 kg)	2100 lbs. (950 kg)
Depth	3000 m	3000 m	3000 m	3000 m
Buoyancy	180 lbs. (82 kg)	286 lbs. (131 kg)	622 lbs. (284 kg)	1800 lbs. (815 kg)

Ellipsoid-shaped Low Drag Buoys & Flotation for Subsurface Oceanographic Moorings

Mooring Systems, Inc. manufactures an ellipsoid-shaped subsurface buoy that provides a lower drag coefficient than traditional shaped spherical buoys. The ellipsoid buoy improves mooring performance by reducing lay down caused by water currents. Ellipsoid shapes are more predictable and have lower risk than other non-spherical buoyancy modules.

Configurations are offered with single strength members as general mooring flotation, or with integral stainless steel instrument frames. During mooring recovery operations, ellipsoid-shaped buoys provide excellent vertical position of beacons unlike spherical buoys with unbalanced instrument payloads that roll in ocean waves.

Features:

• Syntactic Foam for Deep Water
• Internal Plastic Floats for Shallow Water
• Standard and Custom Instrument Frame Designs
• Unobstructed Beams (Doppler Profilers)
• High Strength, 5k & 10k lbs. (2,300 kg & 4,500 kg)
• Type 316 Stainless Steel Frame Construction
• Electro-Polished, Isolation Bushings
• Galvanized or SS Single Strength Members

Ellipsoid-Shaped Buoy Specifications
Model	EB-33-P5	EB-33	EB-46	EB-58
Material	(5) Internal Plastic Floats	Syntactic Foam	Syntactic Foam	Syntactic Foam
300m	80 lbs. (36 kg)	200 lbs. (90 kg)	630 lbs. (285 kg)	1155 lbs. (534 kg)
1000m	–	160 lbs. (72 kg)	550 lbs. (250 kg)	1000 lbs. (453 kg)
1500m	–	150 lbs. (68 kg)	480 lbs. (217 kg)	925 lbs. (420 kg)
2000m	–	120 lbs. (54 kg)	400 lbs. (181 kg)	800 lbs. (362 kg)
3000m	–	100 lbs. (45 kg)	300 lbs. (150 kg)	600 lbs. (273 kg)

Ellipsoid-Shaped Float Specifications
Model	EF-33-P6	EF-33	EF-46	Ef-58
Material	(6) Internal Plastic Floats	Syntactic Foam	Syntactic Foam	Syntactic Foam
300m	110 lb. (50 kg)	240 lbs. (108 kg)	700 lbs. (317 kg)	1200 lbs. (544 kg)
1000m	–	195 lbs. (88 kg)	600 lbs. (272 kg)	1100 lbs. (498 kg)
1500m	–	170 lbs. (77 kg)	530 lbs. (240 kg)	970 lbs. (441 kg)
2000m	–	150 lbs. (68 kg)	450 lbs. (204 kg)	790 lbs. (358 kg)
3000m	–	125 lbs. (56 kg)	380 lbs. (172 kg)	640 lbs. (291 kg)

Float Specifications
Float Diameter	11″ (280 mm)	14″ (360 mm)
Buoyancy	19 lbs. (8.8 kg)	39 lbs. (17.6 kg)
Depth Rating	400 m	800 m
Weight (Air)	5 lbs. (2.4 kg)	15.7 lbs. (7.1 kg)

Steel Subsurface Floats for Mooring Buoyancy

Mooring Systems, Inc. manufactures steel flotation spheres for use in shallow water oceanographic mooring applications. Steel spheres have been in use for over 30 years and continue to provide benefits to oceanographers and marine engineers for long term deployment of instrumentation and sample collection apparatus.

Improve Mooring Performance : Steel floats are larger in volume than alternative plastic and glass floats, providing greater buoyancy per float. This advantage translates to better mooring performance as fewer floats for the same given buoyancy will result in lower drag.

Features:

• Internal Steel Strength Member
• Two Mooring Attachment Points
• Lifting Point with Large Ring for Easy Pick-Up
• Zinc Anodes for Corrosion Protection
• Sandblasted Prior to Applying Coating
• Coated with Zinc Rich Primer
• Top Coated with Marine Epoxy Paint

 

Steel Flotation Sphere Specifications
Model	SSF-30	SSF-37
Size	30″ (76 cm)	37″ (94 cm)
Buoyancy	370 lbs. (168 kg)	700 lbs. (317 kg)
Depth Rating	1,250 ft. (380 m)	1,250 ft. (380 m)
Weight (Air)	165 lbs. (75 kg)	302 lbs. (137 kg)