Clamp Pads
Fluorocarbon has had many years of experience in skidding heavy structures with our proven low friction-bearing technologies.
Fluorocarbon's Fluoroglide® skidway plates are specified by fabrication companies worldwide for yard and barge skid beams.
Hence it was a challenge to use our range of materials to make something 'stick' but we have developed custom high-performance polymer clamp pads specifically for securing large diameter monopiles for offshore wind turbines.
As a solution to the transport needs of the new generation of monopiles with increased weight and size, a clamp support pad, with a very high “coefficient of friction” has been manufactured utilising our FL491 material.
Break-out friction values are a critical component when calculating the stability of the monopiles at varying degrees of displacement which represent the pitch and roll from the range of wave heights. This information is required by the Marine Insurers enabling them to issue a sailing certificate with restrictions based on wind and wave heights.
The existing methods of measuring friction (break out and dynamic) in horizontal and inclined planes could not be related to the actual service conditions. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a procedure, with a bespoke test rig, to evaluate a range of Fluorinoid® materials.
