Seismic response of monopiles in liquefiable soils

Offshore wind (OW) plays an important role in the transition to low carbon energy supply. The UK is aiming to provide a third of all electricity using OW energy by 2030 (30 GW by 2030). Whilst the European OW market is becoming mature, European OW developers are now using their technical expertise to develop OW farms in seismically active zones such as East Asia.

The challenge in this expansion is the need to design robust foundations to withstand larger earthquake loads and remain stable in liquefiable soils.

To date, monopiles are by far the most popular foundation option due to their relatively simple construction and installation. These monopiles support the massive OW turbines on combination with the earthquake-induced cyclic loads and possibly liquefaction-induced ground deformations. The current guidelines and methods for assessing cyclic loading of large diameter monopiles are lacking. There is great potential to lower OW foundation costs by investing in robust cyclic assessment methodologies.

The project will aim to address this research gap by proposing guidelines for the design of Offshore wind foundations subjected to earthquake-induced cyclic loading. The work will involve experimental testing and numerical modelling.