Together with the Danish company Per Aarsleff A/S, we have developed a concrete platform for the transition piece. Our innovation requires much less maintenance than steel platforms do. It is already in use at the Horns Rev 2 and London Array offshore wind farms.
Research & Development at DEPENBROCK
We develop for the future
Exceptional challenges require special solutions. That is why we develop special customised solutions for practical construction problems – solutions that enable us to achieve better results in less time. In doing so, we apply our specialized expertise in an extremely wide range of construction disciplines to enable even more sustainable, economical and efficient construction using newly developed materials and methods. Many of our advanced solutions are now patented.
DEPENBROCK developments
Here's what DEPENBROCK creativity looks like
We have developed and patented many advanced and pioneering special solutions, particularly in civil and hydraulic engineering. These enable us to offer you decisive advantages in terms of sustainability, cost-effectiveness and safety.
Concrete platform for transition pieces
Direct drilling method for sheet piling walls
With our innovative system, we install combined sheet piling walls much more efficiently. This is because we can drill the supporting elements with locks directly and dispense with extensive preparatory work. In low-noise and low-vibration sheet piling installation operations, this eliminates the need to pre-drill and pull the casing and to fill the gaps. In existing construction, it also makes our sheet piling much more resistant to deformation.
Underwater anchor
To make optimum use of sheet piling installations, submerged anchoring structures are a good option. Horizontal anchors are often used for this purpose – especially in Scandinavia and the Baltic states – and must be produced under water by divers. To facilitate this task and make the process safer, we have come up with a simpler solution: an underwater anchor that can be produced without divers. The associated patent application has already been filed.
Vibro piling
In collaboration with an international consortium of energy suppliers, we investigated the horizontal load-bearing capacity of driven and vibrated foundation piles in test projects in Cuxhaven, Germany, and Rödby, Denmark. In addition to using the world’s most powerful vibrator to install the foundation elements, we also designed a test loading device that can be loaded with up to 20 MN.
Noise abatement
A current focus topic is noise abatement during the installation of pile foundations and sheet piling walls. We have developed a special soundproof chimney for this purpose.
Increasing the load-bearing capacity of pilings
Complex foundations cannot be built without optimally developed pile systems. In a number of different projects, we have developed special designs for this purpose. Examples of this include our patented process with which we install buckling-resistant vibrated injection piles and high-load-bearing tubular pile foundations.
Using special solutions to achieve the goal
Protective structure for the New Elbe Tunnel
The protective structure for the New Elbe Tunnel in Hamburg is one of many examples of how we use special solutions to overcome challenges.
Project
The Elbe’s navigation channel has been deepened further and further. To prevent dragging anchors from damaging the Elbe tunnel, a protective structure had to be built for the Elbe tunnel. Construction work in this special and sensitive environment required extreme precision. To secure the Elbe Tunnel, 6-metre-long sheet piling walls were installed on both sides of the lowered tunnel elements. Between the sheet piling walls, which protrude approx. 1.50 m above the top edge of the tunnel, an 80-cm-thick protective layer of metal slag was installed and then bonded with colcrete mortar.
Technical lead: Bilfinger Construction GmbH, partner Heinrich Hirdes GmbH
Client: Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Challenge
Throughout the construction period, uninterrupted shipping traffic in the area of the New Elbe Tunnel had to be maintained at all times.
We could only work during the day and had to leave the construction site overnight. So every morning we had to use our jack-up platform to find the exact position where we had driven the last plank under water the day before. At a depth of 20 m, with 20 cm visibility and a current speed of 3 knots, we remained within the narrow 2-cm tolerance range when threading the sheet piles.
Our solution
By working from a jack-up platform, we were independent of waves, currents and tides. From the jack-up platform, we installed the sheet pilings underwater, guided by a pile driver.
To find the exact position of the last pile-driving point, DGPS (Differential Global Positioning) equipment with an inclinometer was installed on the leader. This variant of satellite navigation uses several satellites and a reference transmitter on land for exact positioning. We also used software that was specially developed for this construction site.
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