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.
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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.
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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
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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.