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<\/p>\nBUMAX\u00ae 88 fasteners were used on the 1 MW HydroQuest tidal turbine installed off the coast of Brittany in Northwest France that began operation in April 2019. After over two years of operation at the Paimpol-Br\u00e9hat site at 30 m depth, the turbine fasteners showed no traces of corrosion or galling. Tests of the mechanical properties (both strength and ductility) of the bolts conducted by BUMAX after the pilot project showed that they had maintained their properties.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo issues were found related to bolting during this project, and our team didn\u2019t have any issues with galling during disassembly,\u201d says Rapha\u00ebl Coquet, Project Director at Hydroquest. \u201cThese lessons give us positive learnings for the long-term deployments, and we are confident to manufacture our future turbines with BUMAX bolts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The BUMAX\u00ae 88 grade was selected for its high molybdenum content and high Pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) that indicates a high resistance to localized pitting corrosion. This particular grade of 316L stainless steel has an excellent track record when used\u00a0for BUMAX fasteners\u00a0in demanding marine applications, to provide durable and maintenance-free fastener solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with BUMAX followed a constructive process where they helped us to find the right bolt for our particular application,\u201d explains Coquet. \u201cThe meetings we had with their team helped to develop our design.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tidal turbine prototype was designed by HydroQuest, which is a French turbine technology developer of vertical axis turbines. The Paimpol Br\u00e9hat site is owned and operated by the energy company EDF.<\/p>\n
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The project partners wanted a maintenance-free fastener solution for tidal turbines to minimize operation costs over a lifespan of 20 years. Besides durability, the fasteners also had to be easy to install.<\/p>\n
The corrosion resistance, high pitting resistance and high strength provided by BUMAX\u00ae 88 bolts are essential for maintenance-free fasteners in corrosive saltwater marine environments. By avoiding the need to maintain or replace the bolts during the operation of the turbine, costs and potentially dangerous procedures can be avoided.<\/p>\n
Following the pilot project at Paimpol Br\u00e9hat, HydroQuest is integrating the learnings from the pilot to design the next generation of tidal turbine, which will also use BUMAX\u00ae 88 bolts. Seven of these 2.5 MW tidal turbines will be deployed at the FLOWATT project at the Raz Blanchard site off the coast of Normandy with a design lifespan of 20 years.<\/p>\n
The commissioning of FLOWATT is planned for 2025 with the construction of the tidal turbines starting in 2023.<\/p>\n
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Excellent corrosion resistance and durability BUMAX\u00ae 88 fasteners were used on the 1 MW HydroQuest tidal turbine installed off the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-case","market_segment-general-engineering","market_segment-marine"],"yoast_head":"\n