TY - CONF A1 - Zinas, Orestis A1 - Papaioannou, Iason A1 - Schneider, Ronald A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Baeßler, Matthias T1 - 3D spatial modelling of CPT data for probabilistic preliminary assessment of potential pile tip damage upon collision with boulders N2 - Tip damage of monopiles from boulder collisions during installation has emerged as a critical design issue, primarily due to the combination of the widespread use of large-diameter piles and the complexity of the ground conditions at the available sites. Recently, a framework relating potential pile tip damage to cone tip resistance from Cone Penetration Tests (CPTs) has been proposed in the literature. Gaussian processes are powerful stochastic models that enable probabilistic spatial interpolation of soil data at any location within a site. On this basis, this study utilizes sparse CPT data from a site in the North Sea, to first develop an efficient Gaussian process regression model, which is used to derive a three-dimensional (3D) probabilistic predictive map of the cone tip resistance. Assuming deterministic loading conditions and a factual collision with a boulder of pre-defined properties, the cone tip resistance predictive model is subsequently used for a probabilistic preliminary assessment of potential pile tip damage. Results of the analysis are realistic 3D probability maps of potential damage that aim to support engineering judgment and contribute towards cost-effective site investigation planning and offshore wind farm design. T2 - 5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG 2025) CY - Nantes, France DA - 09.06.2025 KW - CPT data KW - Gaussian process regression KW - Boulder impact KW - Preliminary pile tip damage assessment PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-634417 SN - 978-2-85782-758-0 DO - https://doi.org/10.53243/ISFOG2025-323 SP - 505 EP - 510 PB - International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering CY - London AN - OPUS4-63441 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kemmler, Samuel A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Rettinger, C. A1 - Köstler, H. T1 - A Fluid-Solid Coupled Micromechanical Simulation for the Analysis of Piping Erosion During the Seabed Installation of a Suction Bucket Foundation N2 - Suction buckets are a promising concept for the foundations of offshore wind turbines. During the installation process of a suction bucket, localized fluidization of the granular soil, so-called piping erosion, may lead to installation failure. A 3D fluid-solid coupled micromechanical simulation is presented to study the occurrence of piping. An Euler-Lagrangian coupling employs momentum exchange between the fluid phase and the geometrically resolved particles. We investigate the behavior of the soil for three cases with varying prescribed suction velocities. We observe piping in the case with the highest suction velocity by analyzing the deformation of the granular fabric and monitoring the differential pressure. The grains under the bucket wall-tip show the highest hydraulic gradients and forces at the onset of piping. This approach permits a detailed analysis of piping phenomena and brings novel insights on the triggering conditions for piping failure of suction-aided foundations. T2 - TC 105 International Symposium CY - Grenoble, France DA - 23.09.2024 KW - Micromechanical simulation KW - Piping erosion KW - Suction bucket foundation PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-629461 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1480/1/012024 SN - 1755-1307 VL - 1480 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - IOP Publishing AN - OPUS4-62946 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kemmler, Samuel A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Artinov, Antoni A1 - Luu, Li-Hua A1 - Farhat, Abbas A1 - Philippe, Pierre A1 - Rettinger, Christoph A1 - Köstler, Harald T1 - A fully-resolved micromechanical simulation of piping erosion during a suction bucket installation N2 - Granular fluidization phenomena such as piping erosion represent a challenge to the delicate installation process of offshore suction bucket foundations. A detailed analysis of the complex conditions in terms of soil composition, soil state, and foundation installation parameters that may lead to piping can be very demanding, if at all possible, solely by experimental means or using macroscopic continuum-based seabed models. The present paper presents a fully-resolved fluid-coupled micromechanical approach for a three-dimensional numerical simulation of the installation process of a suction bucket using the lattice Boltzmann method and discrete element method. The developed model is validated using well-established benchmarks and calibrated by means of experimental data from physical model tests on relevant scenarios focusing on the local fluidization of fixed embedded suction buckets as well as on the suction-driven installation of unrestrained buckets. The qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental data both endorse the proposed methodology and highlight the physical soundness of the obtained results. Thereby, the paper shows that three-dimensional analyses of relevant local scenarios at a real scale with little macromechanical model assumptions are feasible. KW - Micromechanical simulation KW - Fluid–solid coupling KW - Piping erosion KW - Suction bucket foundation KW - Offshore wind support structure KW - High-performance computing PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-633790 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2025.107375 SN - 0266-352X VL - 186 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-63379 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kullolli, Borana A1 - Stutz, H. H. A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Baeßler, Matthias A1 - Rackwitz, F. ED - Cardoso, A. S. ED - Borges, J. L. ED - Costa, P. A. ED - Gomes, A. T. ED - Marques, J. C. ED - Vieira, C. S. T1 - A generalized plasticity model adapted for shearing interface problems N2 - The response of many geotechnical systems, whose structural behavior depends on shearing effect, is closely related to soil structure interaction phenomenon. Experimentally it is found that the localisation of these effect happens at a narrow soil layer next to the structure. Numerically, this behavior can be modelled through inter-face elements and adequate constitutive models. In this work, a constitutive model in the framework of Gen-eralized Plasticity for sandy soils has been chosen to be adapted for the interface zone. From the direct shear experiments a sandy soil at loose and dense states under different normal pressures is considered. The adapted constitutive model is able to reproduce contraction and dilatation of the soil according to its relative density and it shows a good agreement with the experimental data. T2 - Conference CY - Porto, Portugal DA - 25.06.2018 KW - Numerical modelling KW - Soil-pile interaction KW - Interface KW - Shearing PY - 2018 SN - 978-1-138-33198-3 VL - 1 SP - 97 EP - 102 PB - NUMGE CY - Porto, Portugal AN - OPUS4-45721 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo T1 - A GPU-based micromechanical simulation model for submerged geotechnical problems N2 - Driven steel piles are commonly used as deep foundations for a wide range of engineering structures, particularly in the offshore branch. They are also an interesting example among the broad spectrum of geotechnical applications where the fluid-solid interaction at the pore-scale can play a major role for the macromechanical behaviour of the whole system. In the context of the geotechnical practice for offshore wind-farm structures, both the industrial design and the actual dimensions of the large piles used as foundations in the seabed are often driven by factors such as the soil resistance to driving (SRD), which are still not well understood and often estimated based on mere empirical correlations or overly simplified one-dimensional models. In particular, the role of the micromechanical effects during the installation process (e.g. local dilatancy or contractancy) and their consequences on the pore pressure levels at the pile-tip and on the effective resistance to driving, are generally either disregarded or at most assumed to be covered by the simplified engineering “black-box” solutions. Here, we propose a general framework to address such local aspects of a geotechnical application involving fluid-saturated soils while retaining the focus on the micro-scale phenomena. We advocate for an approach that combines the relative simplicity of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) for the solid mechanics with the capabilities of the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) for the fluid dynamics. In this sense, we aim to compile some useful techniques and practical recommendations for an efficient GPU-based implementation of a micromechanical LBM-DEM simulation tool. T2 - DEM8, the 8th International Conference on Discrete Element Methods CY - University Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands DA - 20.07.2019 KW - Offshore geotechnics KW - Micromechanical modelling KW - GPU parallel computation PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48588 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Karabeliov, Krassimire A1 - Baeßler, Matthias A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Rücker, Werner T1 - A method for system identification of a structure supported by nonlinear springs using evolutionary computing N2 - A mechanical structure supported by nonlinear springs subjected to an external load is considered. If all mechanical parameters of the system were known, the displacement of the system subjected to this load could be easily calculated. If not all of the parameters are known, but the load and the displacement are measured at one location, an inverse problem exists. In the presented problem the nonlinear springs are unknown and have to be determined. At first glance a problem needs to be solved, which is underdetermined due to the number of unknown variables. However, evolutionary computing can be applied to solve this inverse, nonlinear and multimodal problem. Sometimes a prior knowledge exists on certain system properties, which is difficult to implement into analytical or numerical solver. This knowledge can play a decisive role in identifying the system properties and it can be easily included as boundary condition when applying evolutionary algorithm. This article examines how and under what conditions the spring resistances can be identified. The procedure is exemplified at a mechanical system of a pile foundation. T2 - 2nd International conference on mathematical modeling in physical sciences 2013 CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 01.09.2013 PY - 2014 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-304531 UR - http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/490/1/012095/pdf/1742-6596_490_1_012095.pdf DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/490/1/012095 SN - 1742-6588 SN - 1742-6596 VL - 490 IS - 012095 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - IOP Publ. CY - Bristol, UK AN - OPUS4-30453 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Mira, P. A1 - Pastor, M. A1 - Merodo, J.A.F. A1 - Baeßler, Matthias A1 - Rücker, Werner T1 - A numerical model for the transient analysis of offshore foundations under cyclic loading N2 - A comprehensive numerical model for the analysis of offshore foundations under a general transient loading is presented here. The theoretical basis of the model lies on the Swansea formulation of Biot's equations of dynamic poroelasticity combined with a constitutive model that reproduces key aspects of cyclic soil behaviour in the frame of the theory of generalised plasticity. On the practical side, the adoption of appropriate finite element formulations may prevent the appearance of spurious numerical instabilities of the pore pressure field. In this respect, the use of a coupled enhanced-strain element is here proposed. On the other hand, the practicality of the presented model depends ultimately on its computational efficiency. Some practical recommendations concerning the solution strategies, the matrix storage/handling procedures and the parallel multi-processor computation are here provided. Finally, the performance of the model with a benchmark study case and its practical application to analyse the soil–structure interaction of an offshore monopile under a realistic transient storm loading are discussed. KW - Offshore foundations KW - Cyclic loading KW - Numerical model KW - Pore pressure accumulation KW - Liquefaction analysis PY - 2014 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2014.02.005 SN - 0266-352x VL - 59 SP - 75 EP - 86 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Barking AN - OPUS4-30490 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Benseghier, Z. A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Luu, L.-H. A1 - Bonelli, S. A1 - Philippe, P. T1 - A parallel GPU-based computational framework for the micromechanical analysis of geotechnical and erosion problems N2 - This article deals with the relevance and practical feasibility of micromechanical simulations for their application to general geomechanical problems involving fluid-saturated granular assemblies, whether frictional or cohesive. A set of conceptual and numerical tools is here presented, advocating for a parallel computation using graphical processing units (GPUs) to treat large numbers of degrees of freedom with conventional Desktop computers. The fluid phase is here simulated with a particle-resolved approach in the frame of the Lattice Botzmann Method (LBM) while the granular solid phase is modelled as a collection of discrete particles from a Molecular Dynamics DEM perspective. The range of possible material behaviours for the solid granular phase is intended here to cover a broad spectrum from purely frictional to viscous cohesive materials with either brittle or transient debonding features. Specific details of the implementation and some validation cases are put forward. Finally, some exemplary applications in the fields of soil erosion and geotechnical profile installation are provided along with a discussion on the parallel performance of the presented models. The results show that a micromechanical approach can be feasible and useful in practice, providing meaningful insights into complex engineering problems like the erosion kinetics of a soil under an impinging jet or the penetration resistance of a deep foundation in a layered soil profile. KW - Offshore geomechanics KW - Erosion KW - Micromechanical modelling KW - LBM-DEM KW - GPU Parallel computing PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-502309 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2019.103404 VL - 120 SP - Paper 103404, 1 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-50230 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo T1 - An efficient GPU implementation of a micromechanical computational tool for erosion problems N2 - We present here a set of conceptual and numerical tools for a micromechanical simulation of general erosion problems involving fluid-saturated granular assemblies, whether frictional or cohesive. We propose a parallel computation using graphical processing units (GPUs) to treat large numbers of degrees of freedom with conventional desktop computers. The fluid phase is here simulated with a particle-resolved approach in the frame of the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) while the granular solid phase is modelled as a collection of discrete particles from a Molecular Dynamics DEM perspective. The range of possible material behaviors for the solid granular phase is intended here to cover a broad spectrum from purely frictional to viscous cohesive materials with either brittle or transient debonding features. Specific details of the implementation and some validation cases will be put forward. To conclude we provide some exemplary applications in the field of soil erosion along with details on the parallel performance of the models. The results show that a micromechanical approach can be feasible and useful in practice, providing meaningful insights into complex phenomena like the erosion threshold and kinetics of weakly cemented soils. T2 - EWG-IE 2020 Workshop on "Innovative numerical methods for internal erosion processes" CY - Online meeting DA - 17.12.2020 KW - Erosion KW - Earthen hydraulic constructions KW - Micromechanical modelling KW - LBM-DEM coupling KW - GPU parallel computation PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51866 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kullolli, Borana A1 - Baeßler, Matthias A1 - Cuéllar, Pablo A1 - Rica, S. A1 - Rackwitz, F. T1 - An enhanced interface model for friction fatigue problems of axially loaded piles N2 - The shaft bearing capacity often plays a dominant role for the overall structural behaviour of axially loaded piles in offshore deep foundations. Under cyclic loading, a narrow zone of soil at the pile-soil interface is subject to cyclic shearing solicitations. Thereby, the soil may densify and lead to a decrease of confining stress around the pile due to microphenomena such as particle crushing, migration and rearrangement. This reduction of radial stress has a direct impact on the shaft capacity, potentially leading in extreme cases to pile failure. An adequate interface model is needed in order to model this behaviour numerically. Different authors have proposed models that take typical Interface phenomena in account such as densification, grain breakage, normal pressure effect and roughness. However, as the models become more complex, a great number of material parameters need to be defined and calibrated. This paper proposes the adoption and transformation of an existing soil bulk model (Pastor- Zienkiewicz) into an interface model. To calibrate the new interface model, the results of an experimental campaign with the ring shear device under cyclic loading conditions are here presented. The constitutive model shows a good capability to reproduce typical features of sand behaviour such as cyclic compaction and dilatancy, which in saturated partially-drained conditions may lead to liquefaction and cyclic mobility phenomena. T2 - Conference: OMAE CY - Glasgow, Scotland, UK DA - 09.06.2019 KW - Soil-structure interaction KW - Interface PY - 2019 VL - 2019 SP - Article Number: UNSP V001T10A013 PB - ASME CY - Glasgow, Scotland AN - OPUS4-48444 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -