Offshore staff
HAMBURG, Germany — DNV has started the Concrete FLOW joint industry project (JIP), which aims to optimize requirements for concrete floating or semisubmersible structures serving as foundations for floating offshore wind farms.
Fourteen companies are involved. The results should be incorporated into future DNV service documents.
Kim Sandgaard-Mørk, executive vice president for Renewables Certification at DNV, said, “We have engaged with 30 companies to discuss this initiative.”
Issues that need to be addressed include leak-proof structures and balancing controlled cracking of concrete structures to maintain floatability and ensure long-term durability.
But DNV sees concrete floaters as a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to steel floaters, particularly for larger turbines.
The JIP will seek to customize standard requirements for industrial production to enable serial production, thereby reducing costs and streamline the manufacturing process.
The project also covers geotechnics and floating technologies.
“While the DNV-ST-0119 standard includes design provisions for concrete floaters, some requirements draw from oil and gas experience and others from bottom-fixed wind farms; they need refinement and optimization to be used specifically for floating offshore wind developments,” said Stefan Baars, Renewables Certification head of section for Concrete Structures & Geotechnics at DNV. “The project will select hot topics to investigate as work packages, so as to update and refine the concrete design provisions in DNV-ST-0119.”
Activities could take place over a period of up to two years.
12.01.2023
