Centrifuge modelling of screw piles for offshore wind energy foundations

Craig Davidson, Therar Al-Baghdadi, Michael Brown, Jonathan Knappett, Andrew Brennan, Charles E. Augarde, Lei Wang, William M. Coombs, David Richards, Anthony Blake

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

15 Citations (Scopus)
272 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Screw piles (helical piles) can provide a viable, cost-effective and low-noise installation alternative to increasing the size of existing foundation solutions (e.g. monopiles) to meet the demand for the advancement of offshore wind energy into deeper water. Significant upscaling of widely used onshore screw pile geometries will be required to meet the loading conditions of a jacket supported offshore wind turbine. This increase in size will lead to greater installation force and torque. This paper presents preliminary results from centrifuge tests investigating the requirements to install screw piles designed for an offshore wind energy application using specially developed equipment. Results indicate that the equipment is suitable to investigate these screw pile requirements and that significant force is required for such upscaled screw piles, with 19 MN vertical force and 7 MNm torque for the standard design. Optimisation of the screw pile geometry, reduced these forces by 29 and 11% for the vertical and rotational forces respectively.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPhysical Modelling in Geotechnics
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 9th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG 2018), July 17-20, 2018, London, United Kingdom
EditorsAndrew McNamara, Sam Divall, Richard Goodey
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Chapter104
Pages695-700
Number of pages6
Edition1
ISBN (Print)9781138344198
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Oct 2018
Event9th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geoetchnics - City University, London, United Kingdom
Duration: 17 Jul 201820 Jul 2018

Conference

Conference9th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geoetchnics
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityLondon
Period17/07/1820/07/18

Keywords

  • Screw piles
  • offshore wind energy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Centrifuge modelling of screw piles for offshore wind energy foundations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this