Successful Hydraulic Pile Extraction Scale Tests
New decommissioning technology for offshore wind
The project Tests of HyPE-ST 2.1 focuses on hydraulic pile extraction in scale tests for testing the removal of piles from the soil at the end of their operational life. What does a hydraulic extraction process for decommissioning a monopile look like? In a sped-up video, you can witness the extraction of a pile 1.5 metres in diameter and 7.5 metres in length (5.5 metres embedded in the soil) as a result of the hydraulic force applied inside the pile. The time required for the extraction was less than 30 minutes!
This innovative technique for fully decommissioning monopiles from the seabed has also been successfully tested for two other piles, 8.5 metres and 9.5 metres in length, as part of the HyPE-ST 1.2 project. This well-controlled and nearly silent process requires no soil excavation or underwater cutting and opens the door to future recycling and reuse of steel.
The project is executed in the context of the GROW Programme, with support from industry partners Delft Offshore Turbine (DOT), Jan De Nul Group, IQIP®, RWE, Sif Group, TNO, and KCI the engineers from the HER+ funding scheme. Please have a look at the short movie to witness an extraction with HyPE-ST:
