The VLT can pick up a stored pile (up to 1,600 tons), up-end it to a vertical position, lift it to the correct position and drive it down (correcting verticality while driving if necessary).
CAPE Holland recently achieved a milestone with its Vibro Lifting Tool (VLT) on the Maasvlakte 2 in Rotterdam. A large 6.5-m diameter monopile was successfully upended and driven to target penetration. Free hanging from the Matador 3 of Bonn and Mees the VLT only needed a net driving time of 15 min to get the 330 tons weighing monopile to a 24-m depth. Without any other tool, gripper or installation frame the pile ended up at 0.05° verticality which was well within the set tolerance.
For this project, CAPE Holland used a TANDEM configuration of the CV-320 VLT-U with a total of 640 kgm. The VLT proved an ideal tool to drive the test pile of Fistuca to sufficient depth to place the 700 ton weighing Blue Piling Hammer on top ready for an inshore testing program.
The 6.5-m diameter monopile was successfully upended and driven to target penetration.
The VLT can pick up a stored pile (up to 1,600 tons), up-end it to a vertical position, lift it to the correct position and drive it down (correcting verticality while driving if necessary) in one single handling operation without the need of a gripper or seabed installation frame. Due to the modular design the equipment can be deployed for the installation of a large range of piles, from small anchor piles to very large XXL Monopiles and anything in between.
Dutch vibro-piling specialist CAPE Holland has successfully developed the application of vibro-hammers for offshore applications along with multiple linked vibro-hammers in the offshore wind industry and others.
Over the years, CAPE has created and built multiple Vibro Lifting Tools (VLT), the latest development for reducing the cost of installation and noise emissions, which is a Lloyd’s Register certified lifting appliance, which can be configured with an upending option. This can shorten installation time by reducing the number of handling operations.
Filed Under: Offshore wind
