Fixed offshore wind solutions

Balmoral FIBREFLEX^® cable protection system

Our technical and engineering teams developed a unique fibre-reinforced cable protection solution that is designed to provide maximum performance for life of field installations: Balmoral FIBREFLEX.

The patented system mechanically locks to the end connectors removing a reliance on PU bonding, which is notoriously unpredictable, while providing market-leading strain and stiffness levels that are unachievable using traditional PU manufacturing methods. These innovations also contribute to greatly increased fatigue life.

Balmoral FIBREFLEX provides an increase in axial tension capacity by a factor of two while controlling axial elongation. The system increases bend stiffness by a factor of 1.5 allowing improved control and reduction in the cable’s maximum bend radius within a slimline profile.

Proven long-term creep performance is a substantial improvement on traditional CPS while bending and axial stiffness is optimised without having to qualify alternative PU materials.

We believe Balmoral FIBREFLEX represents a significant step forward for CPS offering cost-effective performance enhancement across installation, management and maintenance.

Benefits unique to Balmoral FIBREFLEX

• Patented fibre-reinforced technology
• Ultimate life of field performance
• Mechanical locking design
• Industry-leading fatigue life, strain and stiffness performance
• Improved axial tension and elongation
• Increased long-term creep performance
• Optimised bending control
• Slimline profile

Balmoral’s integrated cable protection stability system offers up to 75% reduction in subsea cable movement helping prevent irreversible damage.

The stability solution, which complements Balmoral FIBREFLEX^®, our patented cable protection system, offers enhanced tensile and creep performance by using weighted modules to improve cable curvature response while maintaining system geometry over life.

The proprietary system has been proved to offer up to a 75% movement reduction in subsea environments with a corresponding trebling of cable life subject to seabed topology and metocean data.

Even in the most extreme environments a 50% reduction in subsea movement is achieved that more than doubles cable lifetime performance.

The integrated stability system delivers these important improvements without the requirement for expensive secondary activities such as placement of concrete mattresses or rock dumping which can involve the chartering of further vessels.

This innovative development considers the commercial aspect of not just field development but the longevity of the product, improving overall field reliability and therefore directly affecting the Level Cost of Energy (LCOE).

On monopile configurations, bend stiffeners are used to maintain the cable direction to the hang-off point at the turbine and prevent overbending during pull-in operations.

Balmoral’s patented foundation interface device (FID) anchors the CPS and prevents the system slipping from the aperture. Duplex steel bend restrictors, then connect to the patented standard dynamic units (SDU’s).

This technology is designed for dynamic situations and works exceptionally well throughout the design life giving excellent thermal performance.

Efficient handling has been designed to aid installation from the vessel.

• Overbending protection
• Excellent thermal protection
• Ease of installation

In jacket configurations, the Balmoral bellmouth interfaces with the J-tube/I-tube steelwork. The universal bellmouth can accommodate any of the Balmoral CPS size ranges while the remaining parts of the system are configured similar to monopile solutions, FID, duplex bend restrictors and standard dynamic units.

• Incorporates Balmoral FIBREFLEX^® CPS technology
• Direct interface with J-tube steelwork
• Universal bellmouth design

Balmoral standard dynamic units (SDU) can be configured as an alternative to a J-tube/I-tube solution. The system is light and easily installable on existing structures and provides a corrosion resistant alternative to steel.

• Incorporates Balmoral FIBREFLEX^® CPS technology
• Lightweight
• Ease of installation
• No separate interface requirements

• Vessel equipment design, monopile pull-in and shore pulls
• Composite covers
• Composites solutions for wave energy generators
• Composites solutions for tidal energy generators
• Hydrodynamic analysis
• FEED engineering