Characteristics of cyclic undrained model SANISAND-MSu and their effects on response of monopiles for offshore wind structures

Optimised design is essential to reduce the cost of monopiles for offshore wind turbines. For this purpose, an in-depth understanding of the behaviour of monopile–soil interaction is required. As more wind farms are planned in seismically active areas, the undrained behaviour of sandy soils (and the possibility of soil liquefaction) and these soils’ effects on monopile cyclic response need critical evaluation. Considering the lack of well-established test programs, implicit three-dimensional (3D) finite-element (FE) methods stand out as a robust tool to identify and highlight the governing geo-mechanisms in monopile design. In this work, an implicit 3D FE implementation of SANISAND-MS for undrained soil behaviour, termed SANISAND-MSu, is deployed in OpenSees to serve these objectives. The role of pore-water pressure on monopile performance is comprehensively investigated by comparisons between drained and undrained soil behaviour. Local soil responses are studied in detail in relation to parameters in laboratory soil testing and application to monopile geotechnical design. The results of simulations are also used to evaluate numerical p–y curves as a function of the number of load cycles on the pile. The conclusions in this work contribute to ongoing research on monopile–soil interaction and support the development of lifetime analysis for monopile–soil systems.