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Description
The project concerns water engineering in offshore developments in marine and inland waters. The aim of the project is to market an original technology of driving medium- and large-diameter pipes. The new service will be implemented in previously problematic situations, that is when there is no fulcrum, which is typical of the aquatic environment and wetlands. The starting point for the development of this new technology were problems observed by KDM when carrying out pipe driving orders – over 25% of marine projects struggle with technical issues that lead to costly changes to designs. Our new solution guarantees 100% feasibility of driving pipes, as well as reducing project costs and increasing their predictability in this area. The new service will be used in the construction of water engineering facilities, hydraulic engineering structures, drilling platforms, offshore wind farms, shipyards, harbours, etc.
The project costs include the purchase of three devices which, if used jointly, will enable the provision of the new service: a large vibrating head, a small vibrating head, and a crawler drill, as well as a system for loosening and removing the excavated material. In addition, an advisory service will be purchased from a research unit to perform the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Carbon Footprint Analysis (CF). The Norwegian partner, Vinco Innovation AS, will prepare a strategy report for introducing the service to the Norwegian market which features numerous offshore projects.
The project brings about a reduction of water pollution by decreasing the amount of waste - in the form of steel pile covers - remaining in the water, by 608.60 tons per year. This will translate into a reduction of carbon emission by 1,125.91 tons due to the fact that steel will not be produced for the construction of the above covers. Fuel consumption will also be reduced in the transport of the new mobile machines as they are several times lighter.
Summary of project results
The main challange of the project was to offer a solution that addresses it`s basic technological problems related to pile foundations: the strength of the pipes to be driven, minimizing pipe thickness while maintaining implementation requirements and the issue of finding a torque support point. The biggest problem in the offshore industry is the fulcrum issue. As it is not possible to find the torque support point, only vertical forces are used when working on the water. In such a situation, vibrators or impact hammers are placed on the top of the pipe and driven into the ground by the force of vibrations or impacts. Then it is necessary to use a pipe of sufficiently high strength so that it does not get damaged or deformed during driving. Until now, the most known and used method of overcoming this problem, which provided a relatively high chance of performing the service on the water, was the use of thick-walled pipes. However, the increase in weight of the material causes an increase in energy requirements and the necessity to use even larger, more powerful equipment. Despite the use of such a procedure, the certainty of success when driving large pipes was not guaranteed. Firstly, because the encountered permanent obstacles made it impossible to perform the task, and secondly, because the soil was compacted to a degree that made it impossible to drive further. This course of events left the contractor and the investor two options: to abandon the investment or look for alternative solutions, to constantly redesign, not being sure that the newly proposed method would be successful. Finding the fulcrum for the rotating head torque has become a key issue. We have noticed that the driven element may be the only and sufficient point of support. The next problem encountered was finding a drilling solution that would guarantee that the stub drill would never go beyond the lower base of the pipe, which could jam the system and prevent work from continuing. Here we decided to use a solution commonly known as Kelly Bar Friction. Another problem we encountered was how the debris was extracted from the inside of the pipe. The extraction process is necessary because the accumulation of debris above the drill can lead to complete blockage. Here, the experience from dredging works came to our aid.
Our innovative technology for inserting pipes into inland and marine waters is a breakthrough step that has huge potential.
The project entitled "Implementation of an innovative technology for driving medium- and large-diameter pipes in the areas of sea and inland water" achieved the intended goal, which consisted in the implementation of an innovative technology into the offer of KDM Dariusz Mazur. The main advantage of our solution is the possibility of plunging the material in very difficult soil conditions, without a support point, as well as the possibility of using pipes with much thinner walls in medium-difficult or soft soils. Activities leading to the implementation included the purchase and installation of machinery and equipment necessary to introduce the new service to the market (commercialization), as well as the purchase of intangible assets. For this purpose company carried out a number of activities such as conducting tender procedures and selecting suppliers, signing contracts and accepting machines, as well as testing and adapting them to the needs of the implemented technology. As a result of the above activities, fixed assets (machinery) and intangible assets were purchased, which consist of a report on the strategy of entering the Norwegian market, prepared by the Norwegian project partner Vinco Innovation AS. The result of the several months cooperation with the partner is a report that covers key issues for the project, such as mapping the Norwegian landscape, identifying opportunities and barriers related to market entry, as well as defining key players, associations and clusters. As part of the purchase of intangible assets, environmental analyzes using the life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint (CF) methods were commissioned, developed by the Polish company Protechnika, which has the status of a research and development company. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of costs and emissions for the service and compare it with known pipe driving technologies. As a result of the project implementation, the estimated reduction in annual CO2 emissions was also confirmed, as well as a reduction in the estimated annual amount of waste generated in the production process.
As a result of the project, our company takes an active part in the implementation of the general objectives of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism in terms of strengthening cooperation bilateral between Poland and Norway through the implementation of the project in partnership;
The result of the project is the implementation of an innovative technology for driving medium- and large-diameter pipes in the area of sea and inland waters. During the implementation of the project, fixed assets constituting technology and intangible assets were purchased, i.e. a report on the strategy for entering the Norwegian market, prepared by our Norwegian partner - Vinco Innovation AS company, which is a strategic partner in the field of innovation and business development. Providing expertise in innovation strategy, consulting, business modeling, and business development. The report covers key issues defining the opportunities and barriers related to entering the Norwegian market, and the cooperation with the Norwegian partner significantly contributed to arousing interest in our innovative technology from potential customers on the Scandinavian markets. As part of the purchase of intangible assets, we also commissioned the preparation of environmental analyses using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Carbon Footprint (CF) report method, which was developed by the Polish research and development company Protechnika. This document includes an analysis of the driving technology, carbon footprint calculations and the conduct of a life cycle assessment (LCA), taking into account all its stages. As a result of the project, the company introduced a new two-stage pipe driving service to its offer, which made it more competitive, strengthened its position and expanded its customer market, enabling revenue growth and further development of the company. The project also brought results on the socio-economic level, as a result of the project, two new people were hired. The implementation of the new technology in water areas brings benefits including, m.in, the reduction of CO2 emissions and waste left in the water, leads to a reduction in the cost and time of the service. Other benefits of the service include: elimination of the need to change investment plans, reduction of the cost of transport of equipment and no need to use working platforms. The beneficiaries of the project are Polish and foreign entities, i.e.: construction companies, design office smaritime offices, as well as investors and general contractors of construction works operating on the off-shore market, dealing with the construction of bridges, ports and quays, offshore wind farms and oil platforms.
Summary of bilateral results
Vinco Innovation AS, as a partner in the project, had a huge impact on the success of our plans to implement the new service on the Norwegian market. During the cooperation with the partner, we had the opportunity to get knowledge and deepen our knowledge about the Norwegian market. This allowed us to acquire knowledge of about the market opportunities, understand the barriers to be able to successfully implement the service. Their international experience and high business knowledge also proved to be extremely valuable. During several months of cooperation with the partner, cyclical video conferences were organized. The result of these activities is a detailed report on the strategy for entering the Norwegian market, prepared by Vinco Innovation AS. The scope of the report covers key issues for the project such as: strategically mapping the Norwegian industry landscape to identify untapped opportunities and innovations, conducting in-depth research on regulations, legislative frameworks and other barriers and opportunities to innovate in the sector, the report also defines key players, associations and clusters in the industry to create strategic partnerships and collaborations. Vinco, as a partner in the project, acted as a strengthening link between Norway and Poland, organizing meetings with Norwegian companies interested in our new technology. Thanks to this, both parties expanded their networks. Relations with Norwegian entities were also established, thanks to which both parties had the opportunity to exchange specialist knowledge, experience and know-how. All these activities contribute to increasing the scope of cooperation with the Donor State and strengthening bilateral relations. The participation of the project partner contributed to the increase of interest in our project, increased the prestige of the project, thus also contributing to the promotion of the project.