Over the last number of months, GDG has provided a range of engineering services to support the Gridlink France-England Interconnector cable. Working in close collaboration with McMahon Design and Management (MDM), on behalf of GridLink, GDG have provided design support on the installation of a 1,400 MW at ±525 kV bipole HVDC electricity interconnector between Kingsnorth in Kent, UK and Dunkerque in Nord Region, France.
Specifically, GDG was requested to assess the ground conditions and provide engineering support to mitigate the ground risk at both landfall locations. GDG provided client representatives to support the site investigation activities in both countries and used the resulting data to develop a ground model and undertake a geotechnical interpretive report to help inform the Horizontal Directional Drilling at both coastal locations. MDM requested GDG to prepare a HDD feasibility assessment for two crossings of the shoreline at the River Medway at the Kingsnorth Landfall and the Dunkirk Landfall in France, as well as several HDD feasibility assessments for the French onshore side of the project, including the crossing of several watergangs. The results will be used to assist with the Invitation to Tender (ITT) process for the GridLink Interconnector project.
The project made full use of the knowledge and expertise of GDG in cable installation engineering, HDD design, geotechnical engineering and geology in assessing the feasibility of the proposed HDD design. GDG examined the suitability of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method in general before assessing the risk of hydrofracture, the expected HDPE pullback forces, as well as a suitability check of the proposed HDPE pipe wall thickness assessed against the installation stresses.
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