The influence of scour on the lateral response of monopile foundations for offshore wind turbines is investigated in this paper. Application of lateral load-displacement (p-y) curves to predict the lateral pile behaviour is subject to uncertainty as many of the presently used design approaches have been derived for long, slender piles. These piles, with typical length/diameter ratios (L/D) of greater than 10 behave differently compared to rigid monopiles, with L/D typically less than 6. In this paper, centrifuge tests are conducted on a monopile model under various scour scenarios and p-y curves are derived from strain gauges embedded along the model pile wall. Global scour and two different shapes for local scour holes are studied. Using the piecewise polynomial method for extraction of p-y curves from sparsely distributed strain measurements, it is recommended to use a 4th order polynomial for the moment profile to extract soil reaction and a 7th order polynomial for the moment profile to calculate pile deflection. Results indicate that the pile behaviour is significantly influenced by the nature (size, shape) of the scour holes affecting the pile–soil system and suggest that the p-y curves should be appropriately modified to account for this behaviour.

Offshore pile driving is a high-risk activity as delays can be financially punitive. Experience of pile driving for offshore jacket structures where pile diameters are typically < 2 m has led to the development of empirical pile driveability models with proven predictive capability. The application of these methods to larger diameter piles is uncertain. A major component of driveability models involves estimating the static resistance to driving, SRD, a parameter analogous to pile axial capacity. Recent research on axial capacity design has led to improved models that use Cone Penetration Test, CPT data to estimate pile capacity and include for the effects of friction fatigue and soil plugging. The applicability of these methods to estimating pile driveability for larger diameter piles is of interest. In this paper, recent CPT based axial capacity approaches, modified for mobilised base resistance and ageing, are applied to estimating driveability of 4.2 m diameter piles. A database of pile installation records from North sea installations are used to benchmark the methods. Accounting for factors such as pile ageing and the relatively low displacement mobilised during individual hammer blows improves the quality of prediction of pile driveability for the conditions evaluated in this study.

Bridges can be subjected to damaging environmental actions due to flooding and seismic hazards. Flood actions that result in scour are a leading cause of bridge failure, while seismic actions that induce lateral forces may lead to high ductility demand that exceeds pier capacity. When combined, seismic actions and scour can lead to effects that depend on the governing scour condition affecting a bridge. Loss of stiffness under scour can reduce the ductility capacity of a bridge but can also lead to an increase in flexibility that may reduce seismic inertial forces. Conversely, increased flexibility can lead to deck collapse due to support loss, so there exists some uncertainty about the combined effect of both phenomena. A necessary step towards the performance assessment of bridges under flooding and seismic actions is to calibrate numerical models that can reproduce structural responses under different actions. A further step is verifying the achievement of performance goals defined by codes. Structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques allow the computation of performance parameters that are useful for calibrating numerical models and performing direct checks of performance goal compliance. In this paper, various strategies employed to monitor bridge health against scour and seismic actions are discussed, with a particular focus on vibration-based damage identification methods.

Accurate characterisation of soil behaviour in Dynamic-Soil-Structure Interaction (DSSI) applications remains a significant challenge. Knowledge of the operational soil-structure interaction stiffness is important for applications ranging from earthquake engineering to offshore structures subjected to wind and wave loading. A number of methods have been derived to couple soil and structural properties using beam-Winkler models. One of the key drawbacks of these approaches is the disparity in predicted stiffness depending on the formulation chosen. Moreover, the contribution of soil mass in the dynamic motion of foundations is often neglected. In this paper, a method is presented that uses a Frequency Response Function (FRF) measured from a laterally-impacted pile to estimate operational stiffness and mass profiles acting along the pile. The method involves creating a beam-Winkler numerical model of the soil-pile system, applying a starting estimate of the soil stiffness and mass profiles and calculating weighting factors to be applied to these starting estimates to obtain a match between the measured FRF from the test pile and the calculated FRF from the numerical model. This paper presents the formulation of the iterative updating approach, and demonstrates its functionality using simulated experimental data of typical piles. Simulated data is used as it enables testing a wide range of circumstances including possible issues relating to the influence of the shape of the operational soil stiffness profile, soil density, effects of sensor noise and errors in damping estimation. The method may be useful in finite-element (FE) model updating applications where reference numerical models for soil-structure interaction are required.

The trend for development in the offshore wind sector is towards larger turbines in deeper water. This results in higher wind and wave loads on these dynamically sensitive structures. Monopiles are the preferred foundation solution for offshore wind structures and have a typical expected design life of 20 years. These foundations have strict serviceability tolerances (e.g. mudline rotation of less than 0.25° during operation). Accurate determination of the system frequency is critical in order to ensure satisfactory performance over the design life, yet determination of the system stiffness and in particular the operational soil stiffness remains a significant challenge. Offshore site investigations typically focus on the determination of the soil conditions using Cone Penetration Test (CPT) data. This test gives large volumes of high quality data on the soil conditions at the test location, which can be correlated to soil strength and stiffness parameters and used directly in pile capacity models. However, a combination of factors including; parameter transformation, natural variability, the relatively small volume of the overall sea bed tested and operational effects such as the potential for scour development during turbine operation lead to large uncertainties in the soil stiffness values used in design. In this paper, the effects of scour erosion around unprotected foundations on the design system frequencies of an offshore wind turbine is investigated numerically. To account for the uncertainty in soil-structure interaction stiffness for a given offshore site, a stochastic ground model is developed using the data resulting from CPTs as inputs. Results indicate that the greater the depth of scour, the less certain a frequency-based SHM technique would be in accurately assessing scour magnitude based solely on first natural frequency measurements. However, using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the chance of detecting the presence of scour from the output frequencies is improved significantly and even modest scour depths of 0.25 pile diameters can be detected.

Detecting scour by analysing bridge vibrations is receiving an increasing amount of attention in the literature. Others have considered changes in natural frequency to indicate the presence of scour damage; however, little work has been reported on identifying the location of a scour hole based on vibration measurements. In this paper, a numerical study is carried out using a bespoke vehicle–bridge–soil dynamic interaction model to examine how the first six vibration modes (Eigen frequencies) of a typical integral bridge are affected by scour at different locations. It is found that depending on the location of the scour hole, some modes are much more affected than others in terms of frequency changes. In fact, a clear pattern emerges as to which modes are affected by which scour location. Using this knowledge, the location of a scour hole can potentially be detected on a real bridge. However, recognising that it is not possible to undertake an eigenvalue analysis on an actual bridge, an analysis is performed by collecting acceleration signals from various points on the structure. The bridge is loaded by a realistic vehicle model, incorporating vehicle–bridge interaction effects, which leads to the generation of discrete acceleration signals at various ‘sensor’ locations on the bridge. In this paper, it is found that it is possible to detect the location of a scour hole using a relatively small number of ‘sensors’. However, to achieve this, careful signal processing is necessary and advice on a number of pertinent issues is provided.

The high profile failure of the Malahide viaduct in Dublin in late 2009 was attributed to erosion of the supporting soils around the bridge piers, commonly referred to as foundation scour. This is a widespread geotechnical-structural problem, where foundation scour has been identified as the number one cause of bridge failure in the United States. Monitoring scour is of paramount importance to ensure the continued safe operation of the ageing bridge asset network. Most monitoring regimes rely on expensive underwater instrumentation that is often subject to damage during times of flooding, when scour risk is at its highest. Scour causes a rapid reduction in foundation stiffness and can lead to complete failure of one or more sub-structural components of a bridge. In this paper, a novel scour monitoring approach based on dynamic measurement techniques is described. The investigation is based on using accelerometers mounted on the structure of interest to detect losses in foundation stiffness due to scour, which manifest itself as a change in vibration characteristics. Experimental and numerical analyses were performed to validate the potential of this new monitoring framework. A significant advantage of this monitoring method over traditional approaches is that the structure itself is used to monitor the damage. Therefore, if failure is likely, it is assumed that the dynamic characteristics will indicate such and remediation works may be implemented.

Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction (DSSI) is an area of much ongoing research and has wide and varied applications from seismic response analysis to offshore wind foundation response. DSSI covers a wide range of load regimes from small-strain vibrations to large-strain cyclic loading. One of the most common ways to model DSSI uses the Winkler model, which considers the soil as a series of mutually independent springs. The difficulty with modelling DSSI arises with the inelastic and nonlinear load-displacement response of soil with increasing strain, therefore modelling of large-strain DSSI relies on the specification of many interrelated parameters. The relative magnitude of these parameters can have a significant effect on the modelled response. In this paper, the specification of an initial stiffness coefficient to model the elastic (small-strain) response of a soil-pile system is investigated. The coefficient of subgrade reaction method can be used to generate spring stiffness moduli for Winkler type models. A number of subgrade reaction theories have been proposed and their application to the problem of static loading has been widely studied. However, relatively little research concerning the application of these models for small-strain dynamic loading has been undertaken. This paper describes a sensitivity study in which a number of subgrade reaction models were used to estimate the frequency response at small-strain levels for a range of pile geometries and ground conditions. A field investigation was undertaken on two piles with different slenderness ratios to estimate the frequency response and damping ratios. The experimental results were compared to predictions of damped natural frequency obtained from numerical models using the force input and measured damping ratio from each experiment. The ability of each subgrade reaction formulation to model the response at small-strain levels is evaluated.

Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction (DSSI) is an area of much ongoing research and has wide and varied applications from seismic response analysis to offshore wind foundation response. DSSI covers a wide range of load regimes from small-strain vibrations to large-strain cyclic loading. One of the most common ways to model DSSI uses the Winkler model, which considers the soil as a series of mutually independent springs. The difficulty with modelling DSSI arises with the inelastic and nonlinear load-displacement response of soil with increasing strain, therefore modelling of large-strain DSSI relies on the specification of many interrelated parameters. The relative magnitude of these parameters can have a significant effect on the modelled response. In this paper, the specification of an initial stiffness coefficient to model the elastic (small-strain) response of a soil-pile system is investigated. The coefficient of subgrade reaction method can be used to generate spring stiffness moduli for Winkler type models. A number of subgrade reaction theories have been proposed and their application to the problem of static loading has been widely studied. However, relatively little research concerning the application of these models for small-strain dynamic loading has been undertaken. This paper describes a sensitivity study in which a number of subgrade reaction models were used to estimate the frequency response at small-strain levels for a range of pile geometries and ground conditions. A field investigation was undertaken on two piles with different slenderness ratios to estimate the frequency response and damping ratios. The experimental results were compared to predictions of damped natural frequency obtained from numerical models using the force input and measured damping ratio from each experiment. The ability of each subgrade reaction formulation to model the response at small-strain levels is evaluated.

Probabilistic slope stability analysis typically requires an optimisation technique to locate the most probable slip surface. However, for many slopes particularly those containing many different soil layers or benches several distinct critical slip surfaces may exist. Furthermore, in large slopes these critical slip surfaces may be located at significant distances from each other. In such circumstances, finding and rehabilitating the most probable failure surface is of little merit, as rehabilitating that surface does not improve the safety of the slope as a whole. Unfortunately, existing slip surface search techniques were developed to converge on one global minimum. Therefore, to implement such methods to evaluate the stability of a slope with multiple failure mechanisms requires the user to define probable slip locations prior to calculation. This requires extensive engineering experience and places undue responsibility on the engineer in question. This paper proposes the use of a locally informed particle swarm optimisation method which is able to simultaneously converge to multiple critical slip surfaces. This optimisation model when combined with a reliability analysis is able to define all areas of concern within a slope. A case study of a railway slope is presented which highlights the benefits of the model over single objective optimisation models. The approach is of particular benefit when evaluating the stability of large existing slopes with complicated stratigraphy as these slopes are likely to contain multiple viable slip surfaces.

Probabilistic slope stability analysis typically requires an optimisation technique to locate the most probable slip surface. However, for many slopes particularly those containing many different soil layers or benches several distinct critical slip surfaces may exist. Furthermore, in large slopes these critical slip surfaces may be located at significant distances from each other. In such circumstances, finding and rehabilitating the most probable failure surface is of little merit, as rehabilitating that surface does not improve the safety of the slope as a whole. Unfortunately, existing slip surface search techniques were developed to converge on one global minimum. Therefore, to implement such methods to evaluate the stability of a slope with multiple failure mechanisms requires the user to define probable slip locations prior to calculation. This requires extensive engineering experience and places undue responsibility on the engineer in question. This paper proposes the use of a locally informed particle swarm optimisation method which is able to simultaneously converge to multiple critical slip surfaces. This optimisation model when combined with a reliability analysis is able to define all areas of concern within a slope. A case study of a railway slope is presented which highlights the benefits of the model over single objective optimisation models. The approach is of particular benefit when evaluating the stability of large existing slopes with complicated stratigraphy as these slopes are likely to contain multiple viable slip surfaces.

Rapid expansion of the offshore wind industry has stimulated a renewed interest in the behaviour of offshore piles. There is widespread acceptance in practice that pile design methods developed for the offshore oil and gas industry may not be appropriate for designing wind turbine foundations. To date, the majority of offshore wind turbines are supported by large diameter monopiles. These foundations are sensitive to scour which can reduce their ultimate capacity and alter their dynamic response. In this paper, the use of a vibration-based method to monitor scour is investigated. The effect of scour on the natural frequency of a model monopile was measured in a scale model test. A spring-beam finite element numerical model was developed to examine the foundation response. The model, which used springs tuned to the small-strain stiffness of the sand, was shown to be capable of capturing the change in frequency observed in the scale test. This numerical procedure was extended to investigate the response of a full-scale wind turbine over a range of soil densities, which might be experienced at offshore development sites. Results suggest that wind turbines founded in loose sand would exhibit the largest relative reductions in natural frequency resulting from scour.

The high profile failure of the Malahide Viaduct in Dublin, Ireland, which is a part of the EU TEN-T network of critical transport links, was caused by foundation scour. Scour is a common soil-structure interaction problem. In light of current changes in climate, increasing frequency of flooding, coupled with the increasing magnitude of these flood events, will lead to a higher risk of bridge failure. Monitoring scour is of paramount importance to ensure the continued safe operation of the aging bridge asset network. Most monitoring regimes are based on expensive underwater instrumentation that can often be subjected to damage during times of flooding, when scour risk is at its highest. This paper presents a critical review of existing scour monitoring equipments and methodologies with a particular focus on those using the dynamic response of the structure to indicate the existence and severity of the scour phenomenon affecting the structure. A sensitivity study on a recently developed monitoring method is also undertaken.