Improving the quality control of Cofra Roller Compaction: A study on the relation between the impact acceleration and the soil compaction

Ground improvement in the form of soil compaction plays a important part in reclamation projects. The development of the Cofra Roller Compaction (CRC), a non-circular impact roller, has proven to be valuable in these projects. However, the heterogeneity of the subsoil causes locally a non-uniform degree of compaction. Traditional compaction...

A Winkler Model for the Seismic Analysis of Monopile Foundations: An Exploratory Study on the Modelling of Soil-Structure Interaction during Earthquakes

The growing interest in the development of offshore wind farms in seismic active areas demands a better insight into the requirements earthquakes impose on the design of wind turbine foundations. The complexity of the soil-structure interaction (SSI) during an earthquake results in large uncertainties in the design process of a monopile...

The evaluation and improvement of the hydrodynamic behaviour of mechanically coupled barges: A novel decommissioning method for oil and gas platforms in the North Sea

Allseas' Pioneering Spirit is the largest heavy lift vessel in the world. It uses its u-shaped bow to sail around an offshore platform and lift topsides up to 48.000t in a single lift. Despite being the largest vessel in the world, platforms exist that are simply too heavy, or too large to fit in between the bows of the vessel. Besides, smaller...

Numerical assessment of preloading strategies for jack-up vessels in cohesive soils

As the demand for renewable energy is constantly rising, more offshore wind farms are being built at sea to meet European targets towards sustainable energy transition. Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus was purposely-built to transport and install foundations of offshore wind turbines. To ensure that the vessel remains competitive...

Enhanced Bounding Surface Modeling of Sand Behaviour under Multiple Loading Cycles

Cyclic behaviour of soil has stimulated researchers for several decades to develop constitutive models that will be able make accurate predictions of soil behaviour and at the same time they will be simple to use. Constitutive models are considered to be more valid compared to empirical models, because they comprise by equations that have actual...

Developing the Vibro-drill: A feasibility study into an improved installation method for offshore foundation piles

To meet the demand for renewable energy sources, large numbers of offshore windfarms are planned to be constructed in the near future. The majority of the foundations for these offshore wind turbines are large-diameter monopiles. The driving of monopiles into the seabed is conventionally done using a hydraulic hammer, this process is commonly...

Finite Element 3D Modelling of Soil Dissipation in Suction Installed Wind Turbine

A realistic description of soil-foundation interaction in offshore wind turbines (OWT) under environmental loading requires deep understanding, and modelling capabilities for, saturated soil behaviour in presence of cyclic loads and pore pressure effects. <br/>This research investigates the dynamic energy dissipation occurring in the soil under...

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...