Presentations

Abstract

Airtight Platforms (ATP) play a crucial role in maintaining the operational efficiency and safety of offshore wind installations in marine environments. This paper presents a novel sealing concept designed for ATP in Monopile (MP)/Transition Piece (TP) foundation, addressing the challenges of airtightness under offshore conditions. Alternative sealing concepts have been investigated and discussions with suppliers have been conducted, identified the potential solution, full-scale mockup test of the MP can section and ATP was performed. The test was designed to evaluate and verify fabrication, installation and airtightness of the proposed solution. The seal consists of a continuous ring-shaped, with an annulus in the center and is used to seal off the gap between the ATP and the inside wall of the MP. The seal is bolted on to underside of the ATP and to a series of flaps are attached to hinges. he airtightness connection between seal and platform underside is obtained by bolting the steel segments and the ATP together, compressing the seal against the underside of the ATP. The flaps control the position of the seal during installation. in a vertical position, the seal folds underneath the ATP, allowing the ATP to be lowered into the MP through the MP/TP flange during the TP installation procedure. Once the TP has been lowered onto the MP, the seal is released, flaps moved into horizontal position. The airtight connection of the seal is formed by the outer lip pushing against the MP wall. The mockup test confirmed that this innovative sealing design eliminates the need to weld a landing ring onto the MP primary steel to achieve an airtight design; moreover, the study reveals that this innovative sealing approach not only enhances the reliability and longevity of ATPs but also reduces the frequency of maintenance and associated operational costs.