Global offshore wind developments are currently experiencing rapid growth and the need for vast technology innovation. Larger and more efficient wind turbine generators (WTG) paired with field developments in ever-increasing water depths drive the size and weights of the foundation systems to new record levels. MENCK has responded to the challenges associated with larger foundations by introducing the world's largest hammer to date, the MENCK MHU 4400S - which has been working successfully in the market since early 2021.
With the increase in hammer size comes an increase in the energy force needed to install the larger foundation piles. This in turn has increased the risk of known challenges. Risk for pile run is an event that sees the foundation pile penetrating the seabed soils at uncontrolled variable speeds which can lead to loss of production time or even WTG sites, not to mention concerns for the health and safety of the operating personnel.
MENCK's in-house engineers have developed an extension to their hydraulic control and monitoring unit (MHC 21), providing greater flexibility and accuracy during pile driving and extending the workable hammer energy range.
Accurate set points for low energy settings, especially during the start-off phase of each pile, are critical to control and mitigate pile run risks. The MHC 21 allows the field operator to run the hammers at low energy settings of as low as three per cent of the nominal net energy of each piece of equipment. This new control feature can now be integrated with the established controls to operate the hammers on either single-blow or continuous blow settings; the latter allowing the hammer operation at levels as low as six blows per minute, providing great operational flexibility which increases the user's control over equipment and piling events such as pile runs. Seamless adjustments of net driving energy provide another extension for the equipment operator to ensure continuous operations at the lowest risk while observing the pile response under every single blow.
Nils Raab - sales manager, MENCK said: "The benefits of our expert crew having such flexibility in equipment settings has already been field-proven in the most challenging ground conditions seen in the renewables market to date. It has reduced the number of occurrences of pile run events and resulted in time-saving benefits for our customers, helping them to optimise their operations and reduce the overall footprint of their project."
