go to top scroll for more

Projects


Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/W00013X/1
Title ICE-PICK: Installation effects on cyclic axial and lateral performance of displacement piles in chalk
Status Started
Energy Categories Renewable Energy Sources(Wind Energy) 100%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Civil Engineering) 70%;
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences) 30%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Dr M O Ciantia

Civil Engineering
University of Dundee
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 11 February 2022
End Date 10 February 2025
Duration 36 months
Total Grant Value £310,664
Industrial Sectors Energy
Region Scotland
Programme NC : Engineering
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Dr M O Ciantia , Civil Engineering, University of Dundee (100.000%)
  Industrial Collaborator Project Contact , EDF Energy (0.000%)
Project Contact , University of Oxford (0.000%)
Project Contact , Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands (0.000%)
Project Contact , Lloyd's Register (0.000%)
Project Contact , Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (0.000%)
Project Contact , Cathie Associates Limited (0.000%)
Project Contact , Ørsted (0.000%)
Project Contact , Roger Bullivant Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , Heerema Marine Contractors (0.000%)
Project Contact , Universitat Politocnica De Catalunya (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract Never in human history has there been such an urgent need for a step-change in energy production. With the goal of achieving a carbon neutral state by 2050, the UK is the first major economy to pass net zero emissions laws and lead the world by example. In answer to this impellent necessity, offshore renewables -particularly wind- are expanding at a rapid pace. Many of UK's offshore wind turbines (OWT) developments will need to be fixed or anchored in chalk, a highly variable soft rock that covers much of Northern Europe and is widespread under the North and Baltic Seas. In most cases that will be achieved by pushing or driving large steel piles into this soft rock under the seabed. That installation process is difficult because of the unprecedented scale of some of these foundations (monopiles), because the conditions of the chalk at the interface modified by installation are poorly known, the mechanical behaviour of chalk is complex and because working offshore leaves little room for error. Apart from its inherent difficulty, the installation process essentially modifies the chalk around the foundation. As a result of those changes, there are still some important gaps in our ability to predict properties that are basic for safe and efficient operation, such as the initial and the evolved axial capacity and lateral stiffness of monopiles through their in-service lifetime characterised by complex wind and wave cyclic load history.The research proposed will improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of piles driven in soft rocks to support the further development of renewable energy structures offshore through rigorous numerical and experimental modelling. The key aims are to improve pile drivability assessment for open-ended piles supporting OWT and to quantify the effects of installation on long-term in-service performance of OWT foundations. The main deliverable will be to develop practical tools to incorporate these effects within engineering analysis and design suitable for both onshore and offshore applications.
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 02/03/22