New research is underway to discover if a new welding methodology could cut the cost of wind turbine fabrication.
The study will explore if single-sided welding for offshore wind foundations could help ease construction bottlenecks.
The Fatigue Assessment of Single-Sided Welds in Tubular Joints for Offshore Wind Foundations (ASSISI) project is led by the Belgian Research Centre for Application of Steel (OCAS) in collaboration with Smulders as part of the Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) programme.
The research project will run until 2025 and examine the viability of single-sided welds in tubular joints.
Click here for latest windpower news
If the fabrication method is found to be effective, it could replace the preferred double-sided welding method used across the industry.
It could, says OCAS, also cut fabrication and manufacturing times for future windfarm sites.
Exclusive feature: Leveraging oil & gas and offshore wind synergies to drive net zero
Philippe Thibaux, Staff Manager Application and Solutions from OCAS said: “We are looking forward to determining the fatigue performance of single-sided welds in their full scale, whereby we aim to increase productivity and reduce cost of offshore wind foundations further, on both monopile attachments and jacket foundations.”
OCAS hopes a successful outcome will instil confidence and see single-sided welding become industry standard, potentially speeding up and cutting the costs of fabrication for offshore wind foundations.
Webcast on demand: Unlocking the potential of floating offshore wind
The three-year project will conduct 15 fatigue tests across different types of large-scale structures, in addition to several small-scale tests to determine detectable flaw size.
This will include numerical simulations and physical testing to replicate the impact on the weld over a structure’s 25-year lifespan.
Alicia Stammers from the Carbon Trust said the project “aims to improve industry confidence in single-sided welds, which will encourage time and cost savings within the manufacturing processes for offshore foundations”.
“As a result, the project will help to accelerate the buildout of offshore wind capacity which is needed to meet ambitious climate targets.”
The OWA ASSISI project is funded by a partnership between EDF Renouvelables, Parkwind, Scottish Power Renewables, Shell, SSE Renewables, TotalEnergies and Vattenfall.
