JIP Wind Jack, joint industry programme

Client:	joint industry programme

assignment/short description

This JIP deals with jack-ups used for installation and maintenance of offshore Windparks. The objectives are to understand limiting operational aspects for jacking operations and to provide guidelines to determine and enlarge the operational envelope. The JIP is an initiative of Deltares and Marin.

JIP Wind Jack aims to improve understanding and thereby extending the operational limits during touch-down and lift-off of jack-up vessels. This proves to be a critical element in the jack-up operation. The JIP is primarily aimed at operators in the “renewable energy” scene due to their frequent deployment of jack-up’s at different places, but may be of interest to parties in the more traditional energy industry as well. The elements that form part of our proposal are introduced below.

With the growing interest in the production of offshore wind energy more and more wind turbine installation vessels are being designed, built and operated. During planning and execution of a wind farm installation project knowledge of the uptime of the wind turbine installation vessel is of essential importance. One of the critical elements in the installation process of wind turbines by means of wind turbine installation vessels is the interaction between the jack-up leg and the seabed at the moment of touch-down.

Together with MARIN, Deltares is joining efforts to improve the understanding of the interaction between jack-up legs on wind turbine installation vessels and the seabed during the moment of touch-down and lift-off. Within the Wind Jack Joint Industry Project the interaction between jack-up legs and the seabed will be studied by means of physical hydrodynamic and geotechnical model tests. The model tests results will be used to calibrate a numerical model, being the main deliverable of the Wind Jack JIP.

The numerical model can be used in an engineering environment to determine load levels and limiting environmental conditions for the jacking operation. Parallel to the modeling activities, interdisciplinary workshops will be organized in which design and operational aspects related to the interaction between the legs and the seabed will be discussed and studied amongst experts. The Wind Jack JIP aims at bringing together the following participants: vessel designers, vessel owners, operational contractors, windpark developers, classification societies and (renewable) energy companies.

Status: to be started end 2011
Application of results: offshore windpark industry, jack-up owners, designers, shipyards
Knowledge area: hydrodynamics, structure – seabed interaction, scour

Project plan: on request
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