Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm

J-tube and scour protection

Pl Johannes Strm, Statoil OWO 16/6-2011

Classification: Internal 2011-06-10

Transition pieces with J-tubes pre-fitted

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J-tubes (as seen from below)

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A vital part of the foundation concept

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Purpose of the J-tube

A guide funnel used for cable tie-in Protect the cable entrance into the
monopile

Reach down to the seabed Bridge over potential scour holes Overall: Protect the cable

Example from another site (Egmond aan Zee)

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Distribution of soil units vs. Turbine locations

0 5
Depth to Top of Chalk from seabed < ~25m > ~25m

Depth below sea surface, LAT (m)

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55

Infill channels with soft clay >1.5m

Depth to Top of Chalk from seabed > 35m

Unit 6 - Chalk Unit 5 - Sand lense within Swarte Bank Unit 5 - Swarte bank Unit 4 - Egmond Ground Unit 3 - Boulders Bank Unit 2 - Botney Cut Unit 1 - Holocone Sands

Classification: Internal

E7 D8 G5 H4 H3 F6 E5 H2 H1 E4 I3 E3 C3 B2 F8 B8 I8 H8 F5 G3 H7 G4 C8 D5 K4 H5 K5 F4 K3 G8 F3 D4 I7 K2 B7 G7 A5 A8 C7 G2 A4 F2 E8 B6 E6 F7 B5 J8 A6 C5 A7 K6 D6 C6 B4 J5 J4 J3 J6 I4 I2 C4 K8 G6 K1 I5 K7 I1 G1 OS2 I6 J2 OS1 H6 J1 F1 E2 J7 D3 A3 E1 B3 D2 C2 A1 D1 A2

Wind turbine locations

(sorted after decreasing water depth pr category of soil profiles)

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Minimum bed shear stress to initiate scour

50yrs 1yr

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Scour development in clay

More research needed!

NB!

Tidal current induced stresses times Amplification factor (due to pile) = 16 Pa

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Location specific assessment of scour potential

Turbine locations
S1 I8 H8 G8 G7 D5 B5 J6 F3 B8 K1 C7 A5 J1 B6 A6 I4 G4 G1 E2 D6 D3 C6 C1 I1 F1 K6 J5 H7 H2 G5 F5 F2 E8 E6 E1 C2 B2 A8 A7 A4 K2 F8 C8 B3 A2 B1 J2 F4 A1 G2 G3 D7 E4 E3 D8 E7 H1 H3 I3 C5 D4 B4 K5 K4 K3 J4 J3 S2 J7 I6 H6 J8 I2 H5 K7 I7 H4 B7 G6 K8 C4 F6 E5 F7 D1 A3 C3 I5 D2

0.0 0.5 Anticipated depth of scour holes (m) 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
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30 locations

16 locations

37 locations 7 locations

Embedded sand within scour potential hard clay (su > 90 kPa) medium to firm clay (30 kPa < su < 90 kPa) soft clay (15 kPa < su < 30 kPa) top sand

How big is a hole.

The scour holes will develop fast in sand
(few tidal cycles) and significantly slower in clay (months and even years)

The extent of a scour hole has been

measured.

Assessment of the scour hole shows that

the reach of the external J-tube will be on the edge of the scour hole

High probability of the scour hole to be

even larger then at the measured location

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Bridging over a scour hole?

How precise are the models to predict extent of shallow erosion depth? How precise are the models to do the same in layered soils & towards erosion resistant boundaries? seabed Zmax ~1.5D

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External J-tube & cable interface

Cable damage after few days in bad weather if unsupported Scour protection on a cost / risk evaluation

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The devil is in the details

Fixed height of J-tube outlet hole
in the Monopile

PRE installed filter layer will eat

up tolerances from seabed to J-tube outlet hole over chrused rock material (damage to coating)

Power cable can not be pulled Power cable can not survive

impact from POST installed large armour rocks soil need to go somewhere

And during pile driving . The

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Soil plug potential governed by OD, Wt and Ls

Wall thickness (mm) 30 -5 0 Penetration below mudline (m) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 OD = 4.74m OD = 5.2m OD = 5.7m 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110

Ls

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the soil needs to go somewhere

0.4 20 22 24 Pile penetration (m) 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40
D=4750mm D=5200mm D=5700mm meassured

0.6

Soil plug heave inside pile (m) 0.8 1 1.2

1.4

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Alternative solutions
The preferred alternative is using bend
restrictor elements of steel.

The combination of Uraduct and bend Horizontal forces due to waves and The effect of marine growth is

restrictor elements unattractive from a fabrication and installation perspective current loading is governing compared to vertical forces due to gravity. significant on the horizontal loads due to waves and current. way from bellmouth interface until it is buried in trench or overlaid by rocks/mud mats

The cable has to be protected all the

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Lowering of seabed in service life is critical

Fatigue? Structural strength?

Exposed cable / dynamic loading conditions

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Pre-installed layer of crushed rock

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Rock volumes and footprint:

Standard rock density (2650 kg/m3)

Max. extent incl. 2m slope (m): Footprint A(m2): round design Footprint A(m2): elliptical design

16.8 887 660

18 1018 775

19.3 1170 909

High rock density (3150 kg/m3)

Max. extent incl. 2m slope (m): Footprint A(m2): round design Footprint A(m2): elliptical design

14.5 661 451

15.5 755 565

16.7 876 672

Target footpint

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PE pipe stabilized with gravel baskets and concrete block on seabed

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Model testing of PE pipe integrity

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Lesson learned

(and some future recommendations)

Scour is not easily predicted Need to be prepared for seabed lowering after cable pull-in Extendable J-tubes on the outside Unaffected by soil plug heave Do not need to cut a hole in the pile (in a high stress area) Flexible with respect to scour hole at time J-tube lowering Flexible with respect to PRE vs POST rock installation Larger Bellmouth PE pipe extension to be diver less fitted Avoid angle adjustment in Bellmouth PE pipe with stabilizing concrete block Protect the cable and allow for POST rock installation

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Thank you for your attention

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