Foundations for offshore wind turbines

Engineering and soil-structure considerations of monopile foundations

The offshore wind sector is booming worldwide, with a steady trend towards installations in deeper waters and harsher environments. This course addresses one of the main challenges posed by such a trend: the optimisation of foundation systems.

The course covers geotechnical knowledge relevant to the design of wind turbine foundations, with focus on large-diameter monopiles. Core contents include soil behaviour and characterisation, monopile installation and performance during operations (lateral capacity, stiffness, cyclic response, scour protection).

Geotechnical concepts and design approaches are linked to the engineering of wind turbine structures, with an open window on the latest Delft R&D developments. The course includes practical sessions and makes room for a stimulating interaction between lecturers and attendees.

Optimise foundation systems: from design to implementation

Course attendees will have a chance to learn about:

different foundation types for offshore wind turbines;
soil characterisation procedures;
engineering methods for monopile installation and design;
monopile-environment interaction, including issues related to seabed scour and cyclic loading conditions;
offshore operations for wind farm construction, with emphasis on technical challenges in real-world projects;
recent advances in offshore geotechnical research.

Intended for

This course is meant for a wide range of professionals involved in the design, construction and management of offshore wind farms. Participants with a background in engineering – not limited to geotechnical – will make the most of this course in which fundamental understanding and practical application are equally prioritised.

This course is taught entirely in English

“Nice course, with good balance of topics and great practical exercises for intuitive feel.”

Antonios Emmanouil (Deltares)

“I'm satisfied. I've received many starting points and learned a lot. I enjoyed the lessons and the practical sessions.”

Participant working for an Italian university

“Really interesting topic about the soil description and geotechnics. Good to have different profiles of teachers and participants.”

Timothée Pire (Parkwind)

“It was a well organized online course. Most of the sessions were presented very well and were interesting.”

Participant working for a company in the wind industry

“This was the first approach to the Wind industry for me. I have briefly learned a lot and I had a very good insight about this field thanks to this course.”

Participant working for an engineering firm

Informatie

Taal
Dit programma wordt in het Engels gegeven.
Programma
Day 1
- General introduction
  - Course introduction
    Welcome by PAOTM & DOB Academy. Safety instructions. Course content and organisation.
  - Offshore wind industry
    History and present of offshore wind developments.
  - Structures and foundations for OWT's
    Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs), types of support structures and foundations; environmental loading and structural design drivers (capacity, natural frequency, fatigue).
- Soil behaviour - Part 1
  - Testing and characterisation of soils - part 1
    In-situ and laboratory testing of soils; determination of relevant soil parameters.
  - Testing and characterisation of soils - part 2
    Scaled lab modelling
- Soil behaviour - Part 2
  - Lab session (DOB Lab)
  - Fundamentals of soil behaviour
    Mechanical behaviour of soils; response to cyclic loading.
- Installation and Design of OWT Monopiles
  - Installation and field testing of OWT foundations
    Installation methods (impact/vibratory driving) and drivability analysis; capacity-based design (failure mechanisms, p-y curves, CPT-based analysis).
  - Latest advances in monopile design
    Testing and analysis of monopiles under lateral loading; PISA design method for monopiles in sandy and clayey soils
Day 2
- Monopile-Environment Interaction - part 1
  - Scour and scour protection around offshore foundations
  - Monopile-soil interaction under cyclic loading - part 1
    General features and field observations (impact on OWT dynamics and cyclic tilting); geotechnical analysis of cyclic monopile-soil interaction (p-y, macroelement, 3D FE).
  - Monopile-soil interaction under cyclic loading - part 2
    Lessons learned from advanced numerical modelling and open questions
  - Lab session (DOB Lab)
- Geotechnical aspects of Wind Farm Construction
  - Installation engineering
    Pile design and installation considerations, challenging soil conditions and risks during installation (weak rock, pile buckling, soil heave, pile run / dropfall), pile testing, pile drilling, template design.
  - Offshore operations
    Suction caisson installation, jack-up operations
- Recent advances
  - Delft offshore wind R&D
    Advanced applications of physical and numerical modelling in recent Delft JIPs.
  - Anchoring systems for floating offshore wind turbines
    Description: Types of anchors, installation and design, macro-element models, recent developments.
  - Group discussion (AII)
Reviews

Deze cursus wordt beoordeeld met een 8,8

“Nice course, with good balance of topics and great practical exercises for intuitive feel.”
Antonios Emmanouil (Deltares)

“I'm satisfied. I've received many starting points and learned a lot. I enjoyed the lessons and the practical sessions.”
Participant working for an Italian university

“Really interesting topic about the soil description and geotechnics. Good to have different profiles of teachers and participants.”
Timothée Pire (Parkwind)

“It was a well organized online course. Most of the sessions were presented very well and were interesting.”
Participant working for a company in the wind industry

“This was the first approach to the Wind industry for me. I have briefly learned a lot and I had a very good insight about this field thanks to this course.”
Participant working for an engineering firm