Vattenfall has worked with LIC Engineering and DHI on a new approach to scour protection installation that reduced the cost of the work by 30% at the Danish Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm.
The work involved installing a single layer of scour instead of a traditional two-layer solution.
The wide-graded rock material encompasses both the filter and armour effect, and can be installed at the site in one step, the partners said.
“Considering the installation of the stone material and the monopiles, the total installation procedure has been reduced from three to two steps, resulting in significant cost savings,” they added.
DHI vice president of offshore wind Thor Ugelvig Petersen said: “Offshore wind foundations have increased tremendously in size over the past years for various reasons.
“With that, we’ve seen a need for optimised scour protections to maintain a cost-effective solution, structural integrity, performance and effective handling of seabed-structure interaction for these larger foundations.
“This was the perfect opportunity to apply new R&D to a real-world project and we’re excited to use this approach in upcoming offshore wind developments worldwide.”