32
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
SEPTEMBER 2014
FOUNDATIONS
project in Hampshire, UK.
Tensar
International’s
TriAx
soil
reinforcement system has been brought in to
overcome challenging ground conditions at
England’s largest wind farm site. It provided
a multi-directional geogrid product for the
construction of 24km of access road for the
Keadby wind farm site, in North Lincolnshire.
Bilfinger’s steel test
Bilfinger has been awarded a €20 million contract to test steel foundations for the Wikinger
offshore wind farm project in the Baltic Sea on behalf of Spanish energy supplier Iberdrola.
Work will begin this autumn when Bilfinger will drive steel piles up to 38m long into
the seabed at the future location of the wind turbines. Tension and pressure tests will be
conducted underwater following a static period of several weeks. The findings will assist in
the development of a technically- and economically-optimised foundations solution for the
wind turbine.
In addition, Bilfinger will test noise protection systems for the client, which will help reduce to
a minimum the noise pollution that marine fauna is exposed to during the construction phase.
Work on the Wikinger offshore wind farm will begin in 2016, and will see a total of 70 wind
turbines installed in water depths of up to 42m north east of the German island of Rügen.
Joachim Enenkel, member of the executive
board at Bilfinger SE, said, “The project is
an important step forward for our offshore
business – one that will further expand
our leading technological position in the
construction of foundations for wind turbines
on the open seas.”
In recent years, the group has delivered
the foundations for a large proportion of the
wind farms built in the North Sea and Baltic
Sea. The foundation work for Dan Tysk in the
German North Sea was completed in 2013,
and in 2012 the company also concluded
work in the UK for London Array in the
Thames Estuary.
Bilfinger completed an
offshore foundations
project at London
Array last year
a double rotary, which allows casing and the
drill string to be advanced independently.
PILE DRIVING RIGS
Meanwhile, Finnish piling specialist Junttan
has added three new units to its X-Series pile
driving rig family. The new models, carrying
the nickname J-reX, are the PMx26, PMx27 and
PMx28. They have maximum leader capacities
of 20, 23 and 25 tonnes and maximum pile
lengths of 24m, 25m and 28m.
Junttan has redeveloped the whole basic
structure and component layout of its
X-Series for the PMx26-28 machines, including
overhauling the hydraulic system, to make the
machines more economical. The pile drivers
also claim to have reduced emissions.
UK piling contractor Suttle Projects has
increased its drilling capabilities with the
purchase of a new Klemm KR709-2.
Suttle Projects had been using a second-
hand Klemm KR708-2, which it had purchased
to enable it to expand into augured piling
as an alternative to driven piling. However,
increased demand for its services – partly
due to its rail infrastructure work for the UK’s
Network Rail – meant that a solid investment
was required. The new Klemm KR709-2 will
enable Suttle to drill to greater depths in a
single stroke, speeding up the piling process.
The Klemm KR709-2 is suitable for medium
weight drilling requirements and is capable
of 450mm to 600mm holes. Suttle has already
had the new unit out at work, using the drill
rig during pre-auguring for sheet piling in a
Two Liebherr LB 44-510 rotary drilling
rigs are creating the foundations for
the international particle accelerator in
Germany
SR-75 is a 70-tonne class rig mounted on a
variable gauge undercarriage with telescopic
side frames complete with predisposition for a
casing oscillator.
The electrical system has been simplified and
located into a single panel and all the electrical
connections are provided with harness cable
and LED signal. Its simplified structure is said
to allow a fast transformation between CCS
(continuous circulation drilling system) and
WCS (winch crowd system) versions.
The SR-75 offers a 293kNmmax rotary torque
value and a pull-up force of up to 281kN for
CCS and 408kN for WCS.
Third in the new Soilmec line-up, the SM-17
multipurpose drilling rig is suitable for micro
drilling and anchoring. The SM-17 is fitted with
Junttan’s
new ‘J’-reX’
pile driving
machines offer
a new hydraulic
system and
increased fuel
efficiencies
