Filtern
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (4) (entfernen)
Schlagworte
- Offshore pile foundation (4) (entfernen)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
The authors are currently investigating the possibility to apply compaction grouting for offshore pile foundations (Jacket piles as well as monopiles) as a possible retrofitting technique for an optimised foundation concept. In this research project, we are developing a design approach aiming to predict the ideal amount and properties of a grout for a specific soil situation and desired improvement of pile bearing capacity after Installation and during service time. Both numerical and experimental tests have been carried out to investigate the injection process during which a highly viscous grout is injected into the soil under high pressure to displace and compact the surrounding soil without fracturing it. The implicit Material Point Method (MPM) based on a mixed formulation is the numerical technique chosen to deal with the expected large deformations and the arbitrary shape of the developing grout bulb. The usage of MPM prevents both the need of remeshing and the numerical instability induced by extensive mesh distortion. For validation with experimental results, we have constructed a testing chamber with one transparent sidewall. This chamber enables us to observe the injection process directly at the transparent vertical window and to measure the in-plane soil displacements and strains by means of the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique.
The results already reveal the interrelation of soil and grout properties for a successful usage of this common ground improvement technique.
Numerical analysis can be useful for the investigation of important aspects of offshore foundation
prototypes that otherwise could hardly be studied experimentally, like the evolution of pore-water pressure around
the monopile foundation of an offshore wind turbine under extreme loading. A combination of mixed pressuredisplacement
formulations along with a constitutive model for sands based on the Generalized Plasticity Theory
can replicate accurately the soil behaviour in saturated conditions. However, additional issues must be taken into
account in order to perform numerical simulations of offshore piles. Some implications of the Babuska-Brezzi
restriction, as well as considerations about the pile-soil interface and suitable solution strategies are discussed
here. Due to the high cost of the transient analysis, the parallel computation offers a promising perspective, but
can be complex and needs to be implemented carefully in order to avoid a performance deterioration. A brief
overview on current trends and functional software is given here.