KSB S.A.S., a French company belonging to the KSB Group, received three major orders to equip several wind turbine installation vessels (WTIV) with the Multitec series high-pressure pumps. For the construction of fixed wind farms, the use of offshore jack-up platforms is state of the art today. The lifting platform is fixed to the seabed before the actual work to have sufficient stability and minimise the swell’s influence. Spudcans are the base cones at the foot of the lowerable lifting legs of such an assembly vessel. These cones provide a secure footing on the seabed while the wind turbines are erected. The KSB pumps will be used as so-called spudcan jetting pumps. After completion of the work, when the lifting legs are retracted again, the cones have to be pulled out of the soft seabed. This involves extremely high forces.
To lower these and to break the suction when the legs are pulled out, the surfaces of the spudcans are equipped with flushing nozzles. Multitec high-pressure pumps supply these with the necessary seawater and the required flushing pressure.
The drive power of the pumps, which are made of high-quality duplex steel, is between 250 and 410 kW. The flow rates are between 120 and 300 cubic metres per hour. The discharge pressures are between 30 and 50 bar, depending on the pump size.
