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Bolt & Beautiful for Wind & FPSO

As a result of a growing market demand for larger capacity offshore wind turbines installed in deeper waters, the turbine supporting structures are expected to increase in size. Typically, these offshore foundations consist of a monopile connected to a transition piece with a bolted ring flange connection. Bolts used in this application
are already as large as size M72, therefore an increased dimension of the flanges will primarily increase the amount of bolts. In order to monitor the health of this connection, regular inspection is needed, requiring costly vessel time and
maintenance procedures. Wind farms are continuously placed further offshore, increasing the vessel time to reach them, and the inspection time on location increases due to a continuously growing amount of bolts.

– Is there a way to reduce the necessary inspection visits and to simplify the inspection
and maintenance tasks involved?
– Can we suggest a competitive – yet reliable – scheme of inspections and predict an adequate time to renew (parts of) the support structure or the bolts in the connection?
– Are there any improvements to make on either the ring flange design or its manufacturing tolerances to reduce the probability of failure?

More information in the attached leaflet: DOTC_BoltBeautiful-Rev2i