Wind Energy – Scour Protection
Ridgeway Rockbags successfully supplied the first Kwoya Filter Units from Japanese manufacturer Kyowa for offshore wind turbine monopile sea scour protection in Europe.
This patent protected application used a combination of the 4 & 8 tonne type Rockbags filled with specific aggregate in a circular formation around the monopole, engineers where able to achieve tough design criteria set for sea and wave conditions.
Filter Units Rockbags offer virtually no maintenance scour performance by having a flexible structure, are easy , safe and fast to install, made from 100% recylced materal and offer a natural eco habitat for sealife when installed.
Ridgeway Rockbags worked closely with the developer EDF Energy Renewables and the consulting engineer Ramboll, who were responsible for the scour protection design. To confirm stability of combined 4 & 8 ton filter unit Rockbags method Ramboll used advanced wave modelling techniques to simulate the worst conditions at the site.
The reason for these calculations was to discover flow speeds and suction conditions at the base of the monopiles so that a final design layout could be confirmed. Once the calculations had been obtained the design engineers and the Teesside project management give the green light to utilise the innovative solution for scour protection on 11 of the 27 turbines.
