African Fusion

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28 AFRICAN FUSION March 2016
Seamless cored wires for wind project
The Wikinger offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea.
Undertaken by a Spanish company, seamless flux-
cored wire from voestalpine Böhler Welding was used
in the construction of the support structures.
All available voestalpine Böhler Welding resources
were put into the Wikinger project: local technical
advisors; global application technicians; the entire
production department; specialised welders; and the
Spanish sales network.
Seamless flux-cored wires
for large offshore wind project
The Wikinger offshore wind farm
in the Baltic Sea, undertaken
by a Spanish company, is one of
the most extensive investments of this
decade. Seventy wind turbines have
been installed close to the island of
Rügen. Each wind turbine consists of a
four-layer sheath and four pillars used
to anchor the turbine to the seabed
at depths of between 37 to 43 m. The
construction also includes a connecting
piece attached above the casing.
The project is due for completion in
autumn 2016 and is scheduled to begin
generating power in 2017.
Inorder to support its goal of becom-
ing the technological leader in seamless
flux-cored wires, in 2013 voestalpine
acquired 90% of Fileur, an international
specialist in this segment. A new com-
petence centre was also established in
Cittadella, in north-eastern Italy. The
product’smajor strengths include: excel-
lent weldability and welding quality; a
wholepaletteof unalloyedand low-alloy
steels; and ease of feeding.
These seamless flux-cored wires
were used in the constructionof the sup-
port structures for theWikinger offshore
project, mainly because the seamless
design offers optimal protection against
moisture absorption, which significantly
reduces the risks of hydrogen cracking.
“The reasons for using these wires
are obvious: they are seamless, low
hydrogen wires for the best possible
protection against hydrogen and mois-
ture absorption during warehousing or
during use in workshops. The custom-
ers were extremely pleased with the
high quality, good performance, and
enhanced mechanical properties of
these consumables,” says José María
Miguel of voestalpine Böhler Welding in
Barcelona, Spain.
Close networking as a success
factor
voestalpine Böhler Welding Spanien
S.A. worked closely with the Spanish
customer during the entire project. A va-
riety of departments at other companies
within the voestalpine Böhler Welding
Group were also involved. In addition,
themanagement deployed all available
resources and put all its energy into the
project: local technical advisors; global
application technicians; the entire pro-
duction department; specialised weld-
ers; and the Spanish sales network all
supported this major order.
The Spanish company also offered
valuable technical advice, which was
particularly appreciated by the custom-
er. Consequently, this project represents
a major success for the entire voestal-
pine Böhler Welding Group in the use of
flux-coredwire in offshore construction.
All photos courtesy of voestalpine Böhler
Welding.
Seamless flux-cored wire from voestalpine Böhler Welding have been used in the construc-
tion of one of the most impressive offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea.