The effect of leakage on backward erosion piping: A modelling study in 2D and 3D

In the Netherlands, dikes are the most commonly used structures to retain water and provide safety against flooding. In order to ensure the safety of these dikes against a number of different failure mechanisms such as backwards erosion piping, wave overtopping and macro stability, a detailed safety assessment has been created. The focus of this...

Experimental research of pore water pressure fluctuation on the stability of submarine slopes: A case study of the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier

In this report, an experimental investigation of the influence of currents on submarine slope stability is presented for the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier case. Slope instabilities, including liquefaction failures, have been observed in the scour hole slopes near this barrier. The currents above the sloping bed are expected to initiate the...

Design of a Miniature Cone Penetrometer: Design and Calibration of a Miniature Cone Penetration Test Device for the Geo-Technical Centrifuge of Delft University of Technology

The aim of this project is to elaborate upon the design proposal of a miniature cone penetration test device. The usage of CPTs in the geotechnical centrifuges has proven to be a reliable experimental method. The usage of a CPT in a centrifuge can provide determinant results for many applications of geotechnical experimentation. The usage of...

Centrifuge modelling of pipelines shallowly embedded in liquefied submarine slopes

Marine pipelines are widely used for transporting hydrocarbon material. However, they can be damaged by marine geo-hazards such as seabed liquefaction, as they may sink, float or be dragged by the moving soil. One of the triggering mechanism of seabed liquefaction is the increase of seabed inclination as a result of the souring process or human...

Experience on the preparation of HPMC viscous fluid for physical modeling in the geocentrifuge

Investigating soil response before, during and following large scale, dynamic events like slope failure or impact hammering of monopiles, is challenging. Full scale research into these processes is often conducted in the field, as laboratories don’t offer the required space to conduct these experiments. Apart fromthe monumental costs related to...

Centrifuge modelling of liquefaction flow slides

As soil behaviour is stress-dependent, a centrifuge model with tilting sample box was developed to generate liquefaction flow slides at higher confining stresses. The design and experimental set-up were based on the large liquefaction tank (de Jager et al., 2017). Fluidisation was used as sample preparation technique to produce a saturated,...

Numerical & experimental investigation on the effect of scour formation and protection on the monopiles behavior

Offshore wind farms are rapidly developing in Western Europe as an alternative means of clean energy. The foundation of wind-turbines in the shallow water of the Northern Sea is almost exclusively (over 87%) performed by short rigid monopiles, as an efficient and relatively cheap solution. Scour formation, meaning the soil removal around the...

Analysis of the quantity of CPTs in relation to the inner slope stability

The introduction of the new 'Waterwet' led to the retesting of a lot of primary flood defences within the Netherlands, sequentially certifying a lot of levees as unsafe regarding inner slope stability. To test or design a levee an adequate amount of soil investigation is required to indicate the presence of different soil types, stratification...

Centrifuge modelling to study the effect of root spacing on load transfer mechanism in vegetated slope

Failure of slopes has been a frequently occurring hazard, which leads to loss of life and resources. To stabilize the slopes, vegetation has been used, where stump of plant roots act as passive piles by providing mechanical reinforcement. In this research, effect of spacing of trees on load transfer mechanism in a slope has been studied and...

Numerical Investigation on the Effect of Scour Formation & Scour Protection on the Stiffness & Lateral Capacity of Monopiles

Wind turbines are nowadays the main means for producing renewable energy in Northern and Western Europe, and therefore research is conducted to secure their efficiency. One of the critical aspects of the windfarms is the foundation type, as it can define the functionality and the cost of each turbine. Monopiles have prevailed as the most...

Physical modelling of pore pressure development during impact pile driving using geo centrifuge

During the last decade, the focus of offshore activities have shifted from oil and gas production to offshore wind farm creation to reach the clean energy targets set by different nations. Foundation requirements for offshore structures have shifted because of this. The monolithic nature of windmills allows the use of a single open-ended steel...

Dynamic Finite Element Analysis of Impact Pile Driving Centrifuge Tests

Many farms of wind turbines are being installed worldwide as a response to clean energy targets. These farms are usually installed in offshore environments since limitations of space can be encountered or due to public pressure against the visual disruption that farms can cause in urban areas. These offshore wind turbines are commonly founded on...

Compaction of silty sands through biogenic gas desaturation pretreatment

This thesis entitled “Compaction of Silty Sands through Biogenic Gas Desaturation Pretreatment” investigates a method to improve compactibility of an initially fully saturated soil body bringing it to a saturation corresponding to the optimum water content of the targeted soil layer. The process comprises<br/>two stages: a reaction phase to...

Pile installation in submerged sandy slopes: Assessing liquefaction-induced instability

Loose, sandy slopes situated or deposited under water may be susceptible to liquefaction-induced failure. In contrast to 'regular' localised slope failures, flow slides are diffuse, large-scale and potentially disastrous. Earthquake-induced ground vibrations currently dominate the liquefaction engineering scene. In reality, however, many...

Finite Element analysis of soft boundary effects on the behaviour of shallow foundations

The response of a shallow foundation has been investigated by numerical simulations in a series of 1g small scale tests using the Finite Element Method. In this numerical study, special attention has been given to the influence of soft boundaries as a measure to counteract boundary effects, since limitations of space were present in the...