RENEWABLE ENERGY
Innovative Ebflow
technique is 25 x faster and uses 90% less energy
process. Te comprehensive performance testing programme proved that Ebflow produces welds with fatigue strength that is at least as good, if not better, than observed in equivalent arc welded joints.
Te resulting can was incorporated into a monopile transition piece in January 2023 and is now scheduled to be installed offshore as part of a foundation in Dogger Bank Wind Farm in late 2023.
WWIND TURBINE A
n innovative collaboration between Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), SSE Renewables, Sif Group and TWI, has resulted in
the first ever electron beam welded section to be incorporated in an offshore wind turbine monopile foundation (transition piece). Te resulting monopile is set for installation in the second phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is located more than 130km off the Northeast coast of England. Monopiles are currently fabricated using conventional techniques such as submerged arc welding (SAW), but the consortium has demonstrated that electron beam (EB) welding is significantly quicker, cheaper, cleaner, more energy efficient and produces high quality welds with excellent fatigue properties.
Te type of electron beam welding technology used – called Ebflow – is an innovative development within the electron beam welding industry. Instead of welding inside a costly and size-limiting vacuum chamber, Ebflow uses a local
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www.engineerlive.com ELDING SUCCESS
First electron beam welding of wind turbine monopile achieves dramatic results
vacuum system that creates and maintains a vacuum around only the seam that is being welded. Tis technique unleashes the potential to use EB welding on large structures, such as the biggest monopiles, while reducing costs and enhancing productivity. Te technology – developed by CVE – has been shown to weld monopiles at least 25 times faster than current methods, whilst using 90% less energy, costing 88% less, and producing 97% less CO2
emissions than SAW
methods. Te project required installation of
an Ebflow system at Sif ’s Maasvlakte 2 facility in Rotterdam to perform several longitudinal welds on 2750 mm length seams on 8m diameter rolled cans with a wall thickness of between 67-85mm. Qualification of the welding machine, weld procedures and operators were witnessed by third party inspectors and the regulatory body, DNV, which subsequently issued a technology qualification for EB welding and non-destructive testing (NDT) of the longitudinal seams produced with the
FIRST-IN-CLASS PROJECT Olly Cass, SSE Renewables Project Director for Dogger Bank Wind Farm said: “Tis is a ‘first-in-class’ project, establishing this UK innovation as a world-leading technology. With monopile type foundations accounting for over 90% of foundations used in UK projects, Ebflow RPEB could realise significant cost savings on future projects. “Tese substantial savings will not only benefit the UK offshore engineering industry but could be passed on to UK energy consumers. “We’re proud to be pioneering
this innovative technique on Dogger Bank Wind Farm by demonstrating its capabilities on a critical offshore component and this would not have been possible without the great collaborative work with Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), Sif Group, and TWI. We’re excited about what could be achieved by scaling up this method to pick up the pace as we work towards net zero targets.” Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint
venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Vårgrønn and is being built in three 1.2GW phases.
Turbine installation at Dogger Bank Wind Farm
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