We provide solutions for complex joints in offshore structures. With our technology we aim to meet the increasing demands of our clients. We have defined the following spearheads for our technology.
Short assembly time
Acceleration of jackets production by prefabrication of nodes by factor 2 to 3 is possible due to omission of complex thick welds of the tube junctions in the complex multi-membered joint reduces the majority (up to 80%) of welding time in the construction yard. Wrapped composite joints can potentially acquire higher dimensional tolerances than welds due to omission of distortions by welding heat input.
Sustainable
The steel in a jacket structure can be accounted for 70 to 80% of the total carbon footprint. The wrapped composite joints will reduce the amount of primary steel up to 60%, this reduces the carbon footprint of jackets with 30 to 50%. The amount of primary steel can be reduced because the thickness of steel tubes is no longer driven by fatigue limitation of the complex welds and thickness transitions. By appointing the “fight for fatigue” to the composite wrap and bonded interface, there is no need for thick local cans and overdesigned global thicknesses of the tubes. The entire steel tubes can be designed with respect to static loads which are much less utilised in OWT structures resulting in substantial reductions of wall thicknesses.
Cost effective
A cost reduction of 25%-50% per jacket, excluding the pin piles and the transition piece, is achieved through: reduced primary steel and omission of cost of all complex welds and including cost reduction associated to benefits of the pre-fabricated wrapped composite joint during construction of a jacket. The thickness of the steel members also reduces into the applicability region of mass produced pre-coated steel pipes.
The TC-joint also opens doors for embedded monitoring, hybrid structures and increased freedom in design without limitations of welds. We would be more than delighted to explain these benefits to you in further detail.