Advancing offshore site investigation with the ROBOCONE p-y module: experimental and numerical investigation
Advancing offshore site investigation with the ROBOCONE p-y module: experimental and numerical investigation
Enhancing the efficiency and quality of in-situ soil characterisation is essential to accelerate timelines for offshore projects. ROBOCONE is a novel site investigation tool that integrates a cylindrical p-y module capable of horizontal translation with a standard CPT cone. The measured load-displacement response of ROBOCONE can be used to infer soil parameters required for geotechnical design or directly scaled into p-y curves for lateral pile design. This study evaluates the performance of the ROBOCONE prototype through a series of calibration chamber tests in dry sand. To complement and interpret the experimental data, a finite element model employing an advanced bounding surface plasticity model is developed, capturing the stress-dependent shearing behaviour of sands. Good agreement is observed between the experimental and numerical results, demonstrating the validity of ROBOCONE as a next-generation in-situ testing tool. The findings support further optimisation of ROBOCONEs geometry and its integration into offshore foundation design framework.
J. Creasey; Kai Wen; Abigail H. Bateman; Ahmad El Hajjar; Andrea Diambra; David White; David Igoe; Sathwik Kasyap Sarvadevabhatla
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Special Session 5: Combination of numerical and physical modelling
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-109