| Wind power
Test site at Blackpool Pit, a former China clay mining site in Cornwall. The geology is similar to that of the Celtic Sea and features mudstone at a range of rock quality designations at different depths. Photo: Reflex Marine/MintMech
Field testing
Reflex Marine first commissioned MintMech ahead of initial scale testing at a site in Cornwall. MintMech helped optimise the designs of the key components, such as the anchor’s tapered cones and other specialised parts, and fabricated a test rig.
“The initial proof of concept was iterative and quite labour intensive,” said Alun Jones. “We needed as much data as possible, so for the second phase we decided to move testing to a controlled environment inside our facility at Yatton. We needed a new test rig, so we approached MintMech again.”
“The Yatton rig was larger and more complex than the first,” said Thornton. “It featured a structural support frame equipped with a pneumatic cylinder, load cell and strain gauges, plus a rotating steel pipe that simulated the borehole.”
The successful trials helped Reflex Marine win more funding, with an award from the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) that enabled the third stage of the project, testing at an old China clay mining site in Cornwall. MintMech designed
and fabricated all testing rigs used to load the anchors during land trials. Loads increased from 10 tonnes initially to over 350 tonnes. “Working at Blackpool Pit let us analyse JAVELIN’s performance in geology similar to the Celtic Sea,” said Anstice. “The site also featured mudstone at a range of rock quality designations at different depths, it was the perfect test site.”
A 1:3 scale JAVELIN in a 10 cm borehole with 6 m of densified aggregate above it withstood 100 tonnes of load, while a 1:1.5 scale anchor with 12m of aggregate held fast at 361 tonnes. In both cases, the steel strand attached to the anchor failed before JAVELIN’s grip did. The equipment to sustain a 1000 tonne land test has been commissioned, with MintMech providing the design, engineering and manufacturing inputs for the tensioning and load dissemination systems. The final step in the prototype development process will be to proceed to offshore trials.
“There are many innovative anchor technologies currently in development, but this is one of the most extensively field-tested solutions,” said Thornton. “At a talk MintMech
and Reflex Marine recently gave, we seemed to be the only people with photographs of what we were doing. Designs, theories and 3D renders are one thing, but fabricating anchors, getting them into the ground and testing them is another.”
“Laurie and the team have very specific expertise over and above what we have internally,” concluded Jones. “From supporting with the original designs, facilitating the on-site testing and now devising potential installation methodologies, MintMech has enabled us to keep the project moving forward.”
Addressing practical and economic realities
Floating offshore wind represents a significant opportunity for UK renewable energy, but its success depends on overcoming critical engineering challenges. By combining Reflex Marine’s vision with MintMech’s engineering expertise, the two companies have advanced the development of a solution that addresses not only technical hurdles but also the practical and economic realities of scaling up floating offshore wind installations.
For more information on JAVELIN, visit
www.javelinmarine.com
www.modernpowersystems.com | June 2025 | 37
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