Offshore

Balltec Ltd, a designer and manufacturer of high integrity mechanical connectors for use in particularly harsh environments, has fitted RotaBolt® measurement fasteners for the first time on a new offshore chain tensioner system.

The RotaBolts have been used on the main structural top yoke beam of the tensioner, which has a load capacity of 1,000 tonnes. Andrew Crowe, senior design engineer at Balltec commented: “Simplified installation using RotaBolts was a real bonus for the engineering department. It not only guaranteed the security of the joint, it has also enabled us to reduce vital checking time. What would have literally taken hours before can now be done in a couple of minutes.”

The bolted steel assembly weighs 20 tonnes and incorporates a self-contained power unit. It is described as being like an ROV, containing an autonomous electronic control module. The use of RotaBolts has significantly simplified the installation process and gives added assurance that the correct design load is being achieved across the critical bolted joint on the beam.

“RotaBolt® measurement technology is increasingly being used across a wide variety of applications to ensure structural integrity and dramatically reduce maintenance costs,” said Rod Corbett, managing director at RotaBolt®. “Wherever bolted joints are subject to pressure containment, fatigue, vibration or structural slippage, operators are now choosing the measured approach of RotaBolt® to achieve and maintain the correct tension across the joint."