New test for the BLUE Piling Method, an innovative offshore piling technology [video]

BLUE Piling Technology was developed by Fistuca BV Company, Van Oord and TNO in order to reduce noise and cost, while driving hollow piles into the seafloor. This new method uses water, which is abundant on the site, to generate the pressure needed to drive the pilings downward instead of impact hammers, reducing the underwater noise.

A gas mixture is inserted in a combustion chamber at the sealed bottom of the pile, while the rest of the pile's column is full of water. When the gas mixture is ignited the water above prevents the gas from expanding, increasing its pressure, driving the pile down and forcing the water column to move upwards. The water then falls adding an extra pressure to the pile. The generated force is high enough to drive the pile to the preferred depth, at a more stable rate compared to the traditional method. Thus, less fatigue is caused in the pile resulting to cost reduction.  The technique, which is suitable for large pile diameters, is currently being tested at scale at Van Oord shipyard. Some more tests are scheduled for 2014 and a possible entry to the market is considered for 2015.

See the ‘BLUE Piling Technology; Development update August 2013’ in the embedded video under "Media" below this article.

Source: Subsea World News