Numerical Analysis of Jacked and Impact-Driven Pile Installation Procedures in Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations

Abstract

The increasing global demand for renewable energy has resulted in a high interest in wind power, with offshore wind farms offering better performance than onshore installations. Coastal nations are thus, actively developing offshore wind turbines, where monopiles are the predominant foundation type. Despite their widespread use, the effects of monopile installation methods on the overall foundation behaviour are not sufficiently yet understood. This study investigates how different pile installation procedures—jacked and impact-driven—affect the lateral capacity of monopile foundations under both monotonic and dynamic lateral loads, by comparing them with wished-in-place monopiles, the usual assumption in design, for which no soil disturbance due to installation is considered. Three finite element 3D models were employed to simulate these cases, i.e., wished-in-place monopile, jacked, and impact-driven pile, incorporating soil zoning in the latter cases to replicate the effects of the installation methods. Comparisons between all these models, when subject to lateral monotonic and cyclic loads, are presented and discussed in terms of displacements in the soil and horizontal normal stresses. Results reveal that these installation methods significantly influence soil reactions, impacting the lateral performance of monopiles under both monotonic and dynamic conditions. The impact-driven pile demonstrated the most significant influence on the monopile behaviour. These findings highlight the need for engineers to account for installation effects in the design of monopile foundations to enhance performance and reliability, as well as the optimisation of their design.