.gif?width=220&height=200&mediaprotectionhash=b13da841472e6e7ed500ee35df2a350aaf53d75246118b33ea2095cc7e9a3fc4&ext=.gif)
Vallourec Presents New Marine Tube System for Offshore Wind Turbines
04/03/2012 - Vallourec has developed its patented PREON® marine tubes system to anchor offshore wind turbines to the seabed. The solution allows offshore wind turbine foundations to be installed with less effort, noise, and at a lower depth compared to existing solutions, the company claims.
Vallourec has developed its patented PREON® marine tubes system to anchor offshore wind turbines to the seabed. Developed by Vallourec’s R&D teams, the solution will mean that offshore wind turbine foundations can be installed with less effort, noise, and at a lower depth, compared to the two existing solutions, the company claims.
The area needed to install the PREON marine system is considerably smaller than that of the “gravity system” based on concrete foundations, which take up as much space as a football pitch, according to Vallourec. The system is drilled approximately 20 meters into the seabed, compared with the 60 meters for systems with anchoring piles. And when the PREON marine system is installed, noise pollution is around 75 decibels compared with 200 decibels required to drive the anchoring piles into the seabed.
Vallourec says its new tube system distributes the weight of offshore turbines differently than conventional systems. The loadbearing frame made from seamless steel structural hollow sections (MSH) presents a hexagonal base to the seabed. In each corner up to three steel threaded injection piles are drilled into the seabed to a depth of only 20 meters and anchored there. With this hexagonal system, the surface of the foundations resting on the sea floor is much less important than that of traditional concrete systems. The structure also is entirely reversible.
The MSH-type seamless structural steel hollows can be erected 50% more rapidly than conventional structures, the company claims.
Vallourec is a world leader in premium tubular solutions primarily serving the energy markets, as well as other industrial applications. In 2011, the company’s sales amounted to €5.3 billion. With more than 22,000 employees, integrated manufacturing facilities, advanced R&D, and presence in more than 20 countries, Vallourec offers global solutions to meet the growing energy challenges of the 21st century.
