Clean energy from stream & currents with Dynamica slings

4 SecureLift Slings replacing 12 original slings

After more than 15 years of product development, the 74 m long tide turbine is now expected to operate in the waters off Orkney until 2035 - covering the annual electricity demand of around 2,000 UK homes with clean, predictable energy from fast-flowing waters.

Designers of the world’s most powerful tidal turbine, the O2, approached us with a request for 12 slings used in parallel. The system was designed with a device used for equalising the length difference between the 12 soft slings. The design only allowed very short sling length and required very precise length tolerances.

Since the operation involved personnel lifting the safety factor of 10:1 was a must and this additionally complicated the design and manufacturing process.

Looking at the challenges with the customer, we soon realised that we could solve this using less slings and hence more cost-beneficial. SecureLift Slings were chosen as the right solution for the task.

“I quickly realised that the O2 required only 4 SecureLift Slings to replace the original 12 sling concept. The length equalising system was taken out of the original design, as our SecureLift Slings were manufactured with a tolerance as low as 0.5 %. The bonus for Orbital Marine Power was, that the system was almost redundant and greatly simplified”

Rasmus Hovgaard, Project Manager & Technical Sales

The solution was tested in our Test Bed at our production facility and approved by the customer. The slings were Proof Loaded and the length was measured. The 4 slings were intended to be used in pairs, and hence the tolerance had to be very specific.

The Proof Load ensures a safe lifting operation and that the EWL of the sling is defined even before the first lift, meaning that there is no need for 'training' the sling.

The solution chosen by Orbital Marine Power and the trust in SecureLift Slings, was a proud moment for Dynamica Ropes.

The customer was pleased about the savings on slings and length equaliser.

“The O2 tidal turbine is a leader in low carbon innovation that is essential to creating a more sustainable future for the generations to come”

Kate Christensen, Sales Manager at Dynamica Ropes

Interested in learning more ? Read about the most powerful tidal turbine in the world right here.