State of the art
With the development of 10+ MW wind turbines and increasingly strict noise standards, traditional pile-driving methods (e.g., impact & vibratory hammers) for monopiles are under high pressure.
The conventional installation technique, involving an impact hammer, has two main downsides:
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Each hammer blow creates extreme noise disturbance levels that are harmful to marine life. Resulting in additional noise prevention measures (e.g., bubble screens or a wall around the monopile), which are expensive and time consuming to install.
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The impact of the hydraulic hammer on the top of the pile causes fatigue damage to the monopile, leading to overdesigned, heavier and costlier monopiles.
So, new installation methods for pile driving are highly required in the market.
Vibrojet®
GBM Works has developed a new installation method: the Vibrojet®. This technique negates all the downsides of the impact hammer by being silent, efficient and scalable. Beside these benefits, our new installation method also promises superior to vibratory driving by:
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Deeper and faster penetration
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A material cost reduction
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A future proof solution
How it works
The patented technology is a combination of vibratory driving and water injection near the bottom inside of the pile. By injecting water, the soil body temporarily fluidizes. This results in a reduction of inner shaft friction, which makes it easier to vibrate a monopile into the ground.
Services
Since the start of our development program for the Vibrojet® 5 years ago, GBM together with its partners have gained expertise in:
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Pile driving calculations and simulations with several installation methods.
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Problem solving, modelling, including the design of test facilities.
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Designing equipment for offshore installations .
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Funding and management of product development projects.
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Environmental requirements in the offshore installation market.