SMD has announced that they are set to contribute to an offshore wind research project lead by The University of Dundee. The project, funded by a GBP 1 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will look at the use of screw piles for offshore installations.
These are foundations which are screwed into the ground and currently widely used onshore, for example, to support motorway signs and gantries. Screw piles are scalable for future development from current onshore systems which have relatively low noise installation and are efficient in terms of both tensile and compressive capacity. The project will also include contributions from the Universities of Durham and Southampton and also private sector partners Cathie Associates Ltd, Screwfast Foundations Ltd, and SeaRoc Group.