It has long been recognised that pile driving causes disturbance in the soil, at and in the vicinity of the pile-soil interface. This in turn affects the magnitude of interface friction on subsequent pile loading. Substantial international research has focused on investigating the effect of interface conditions on the capacity of driven axially-loaded piles, considering that the mechanism of the pile's response depends primarily on the interface conditions. Laterallyloaded piles have received less attention in this respect, as it is generally considered that the mechanism of their response relies more on the conditions in the soil rather than at the pilesoil interface. This paper uses numerical analysis to investigate the influence of interface conditions on the serviceability and ultimate limit states of laterally-loaded wind turbine monopile foundations in sand. The effect is quantified for a silica sand and shown to be marginal on the global load-displacement performance of piles and their deflected shapes in the ground. Further insight is provided on the effect of interface conditions on individual soilreaction components, which contribute to the overall pile response subjected to lateral loading.
Lidija Zdravkovi?, David M. G. Taborda and David M. Potts
Keywords: monopile, offshore wind, interface, sand
Publisher: DFI