TWD and DEME Developed Pile Gripper for HLV Innovation

February 2, 2020 | Renewables | Energy Facts Staff Writer | 3min

Temporary Works Design (TWD) assisted DEME Offshore with the design of a unique pile gripper for their Heavy Lift Vessel (HLV) ‘Innovation’.

The monopile gripper, deployed on the SeaMade Offshore Wind Farm for the first time, enables DEME’s HLV, Innovation, to install monopile foundations all year round, safely at record speed. TWD engineers have succeeded in developing a unique pile gripper, which excels in versatility and piling accuracy.

The revolutionary ‘pendulum design’ has the gripper ring suspended in tension rods, resulting in such a logical and optimal load path that the systems’ stiffness could be maximized while keeping the overall gripper weight down. The unique combination of gripper stiffness with the slenderness of the construction, enables DEME to maximize the useful payload on their jack-up.

TWD’S FUNCTIONAL DESIGN METHOD
TWD and DEME Offshore worked closely together to develop this tailored gripper design. TWD used their highly effective functional design method to incorporate all required functionalities into a logical solution. Combining the in-house expertise of structural-, mechanical- and hydraulic design, allows TWD to integrate the input of different disciplines into an optimally functioning pile installation tool.