Physical modelling to demonstrate the feasibility of screw piles for offshore jacket-supported wind energy structures

Screw piles potentially offer quieter installation and enhanced axial tensile capacity over straight-shafted driven piles. As such, they have been suggested as a possible foundation solution for offshore jacket-supported wind turbines in deeper water. To investigate the feasibility of their use this setting, centrifuge testing six model screw different designs was conducted to measure requirements ultimate very dense medium-dense sand. The were designed sustain loads generated by an extreme design scenario using published torque prediction formulae. Single- double-helix designs, including optimised design, intended minimise requirements, with reduced geometry installed tested in-flight. Piles sand, example, had significant up 18·4 MNm (torque) 28·8 MN (vertical force), which accurately predicted correlations cone resistance data (cone penetration test). Existing methods did not perform well these large-scale piles, overestimating compressive capacities. Revised analytical estimates are proposed here based on test results.