Motion Compensated Pile Gripper
Future-proof design of a pile handling tool
A motion compensated pile griper (MCPG) enables floating monopile installation with high workability. The gripper compensates the remaining horizontal vessel motions of a vessel, assuring straight pile installations. To do so, a holistic design approach is required, where the vessel, crane, dynamic positioning (DP) system, and all mission equipment are interconnected on multiple aspects. At TWD, we combined our experience of pile handling tools with motion compensated systems to perform the overall development and detailed design of an MCPG.
A fully integrated hydrodynamic model was set up, including the vessel, crane, DP system, monopile, environment, soil characteristics, gripper, upend tool, and tugger system. We successfully validated the DP interaction with the MCPG, failure cases, MCPG control modes, redundancy, and the overall system’s performance at high sea states with tank tests.
Project highlights
- Floating monopile installation with high workability
- The MCPG makes it possible to install next-generation monopiles from existing floating vessels
- Shortens installation time
As the global wind energy sector expands, a shortage of vessels for handling bigger monopiles is foreseen. Simply scaling up isn’t enough. Download our Whitepaper to explore how TWD tackles supply chain bottlenecks with innovative installation methods, or get our Offshore Wind Track Record to see how we have helped industry leaders succeed in their installations.
