Spain-based euskalforging has manufactured and delivered seamless rolled rings for the BLUE 25M hammer from Fistuca which, once built, will be able to drive the largest offshore wind monopiles in the industry.
Under the terms of the contract, euskalforging ring rolled, heat treated, machined and delivered five large rolled rings ranging from 6.500mm of outer diameter up to 10.000mm of outer diameter and input weights from 24t up to 80t.
All the rings were DNV-GL inspected and approved.
The five rings were loaded onto a barge directly from the company’s Sestao plant.
The BLUE 25M hammer uses a gas mixture that is combusted to propel a column of water upwards. The column of water pushes the pole down as it shoots up and drives the monopile further into the sea floor as it falls back down.
BLUE Hammers deliver high energy levels which increase the set per blow and boost pile driving speed by up to 70 percent, according to Fistuca.
The pile-driving technology is said to produce much lower noise levels than conventional pile-driving and also minimize fatigue to the foundation.
Underwater noise levels are reduced by approximately 20 dB, and the pile driving fatigue is reduced by 85 to 98 percent, according to Fistuca.
These results are expected to lead to a direct reduction to the costs of installing wind turbines.
Photos: euskalforging