King Post Load Test – GSP Saturn

Turnkey supplier required for short notice load tests.

During the port visit of the GSP Saturn drilling rig, two of its king posts needed a load test. These are located atop the starboard and port jack houses. GSP awarded Conbit this project on short notice, considering the limited preparation time.

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Watch how we prepare and execute

The load test needed to be performed on two sides of the drilling rig

Short-notice project

A load test requires a turnkey supplier with the crew, equipment, and engineering under one roof with such limited time. GSP requested Conbit because its crew has sufficient experience of load tests worldwide in various situations.

The load test was performed in the port of Ijmuiden. Conbit’s projects were based on structural engineering, special lifting equipment, and rope-access skills. For this one, Conbit designed the load test configuration, supplied and installed the necessary equipment, and executed the test.

The project objective

The goal of the load test procedure is to assess the kingposts using a resulting load on the pad eye of 25 mT with an angle of 59o from the vertical axis. A successful test is when there is no cracking, permanent deformations, loosened connection, or any other defect to the structure or any component detected during the subsequent thorough examination of the whole king post and its support structure.

The load test

Conbit used its lightweight aluminum lifting structure with water-filled load bags. Its modular lifting equipment provided a safe, flexible, and above all, cost-effective alternative approach to challenging offshore lifting projects.

The load bags were gradually filled with water to produce a pad eye load of 25 mT at an angle of 59° degrees to the vertical axis. A calibrated load cell was used to measure the actual load on the king post.

The load test of the port and starboard king posts was successful. The pad eye was loaded to 25 mT for 15 minutes. During the subsequent thorough visual examination of the whole king posts and their support structures, no cracking, permanent deformation, loosened connection, or any other defect was detected.

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