Assessing single helix screw pile geometry on offshore installation and axial capacity

TY - JOUR

T1 - Assessing single helix screw pile geometry on offshore installation and axial capacity

AU - Sharif, Yaseen

AU - Brown, Michael

AU - Ciantia, Matteo

AU - Cerfontaine, Benjamin

AU - Davidson, Craig

AU - Knappett, Jonathan

AU - Ball, Jonathan David

N1 - This research is a part of an EPSRC NPIF funded studentship with Roger Bullivant Limited. The 4th author was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 753156. The authors would also like to acknowledge the further support of EPSRC (Grant no. EP/N006054/1: Supergen Wind Hub: Grand Challenges Project: Screw piles for wind energy foundations).

PY - 2021/10/4

Y1 - 2021/10/4

N2 - Due to their low-noise installation and relatively large axial capacity, screw piles have been proposed as an alternative foundation solution in dense sand for offshore renewable energy applications in deeper water. For this to occur, significant upscaling of onshore dimensions is required. Furthermore, the effects of certain geometric features on installation requirements are still not well understood. In this work, using the three-dimensional discrete-element method, the effects of base geometry, shaft diameter and helix pitch were investigated by simulating the full installation process prior to conducting axial compression and tension tests. The results of the investigation showed it is possible to optimise the geometry of the screw pile to reduce installation requirements, in terms of both vertical installation force (up to 61%) and installation torque (up to 39%), without reducing the axial capacity of the pile significantly.

AB - Due to their low-noise installation and relatively large axial capacity, screw piles have been proposed as an alternative foundation solution in dense sand for offshore renewable energy applications in deeper water. For this to occur, significant upscaling of onshore dimensions is required. Furthermore, the effects of certain geometric features on installation requirements are still not well understood. In this work, using the three-dimensional discrete-element method, the effects of base geometry, shaft diameter and helix pitch were investigated by simulating the full installation process prior to conducting axial compression and tension tests. The results of the investigation showed it is possible to optimise the geometry of the screw pile to reduce installation requirements, in terms of both vertical installation force (up to 61%) and installation torque (up to 39%), without reducing the axial capacity of the pile significantly.

KW - geotechnical engineering

KW - computational mechanics

KW - piles & piling

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85119473011

U2 - 10.1680/jgeen.21.00104

DO - 10.1680/jgeen.21.00104

M3 - Article

SN - 1353-2618

VL - 174

SP - 512

EP - 529

JO - Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Geotechnical Engineering

JF - Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Geotechnical Engineering

IS - 5

ER -