Ryder Geotechnical, a Tekmar Group company, has supported Jan De Nul Group with the delivery of a spudcan boulder interaction study for the 600 MW Danish Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm (DKF) located in the Danish Baltic Sea.
The study quantified the risk of surface and buried boulders to the Vole au vent jack-up installation vessel, thereby, enabling the boulder removal requirements to be determined, removing unnecessary conservatism, reducing offshore exposure hours and reducing seabed disturbance.
The key to the success of the project was the development and implementation of the boulder removal criteria specific to the site conditions and spudcan make-up, criteria developed by Ryder. This enabled the boulder removal requirements to be reduced where the ground conditions were less onerous and the risk of spudcan damage could be managed, the company explained.