Measurement of installation torque using an instrumented screw pile
Measurement of installation torque using an instrumented screw pile
The development of large screw piles for use as anchors and foundations of offshore wind infrastructure is ongoing. Further research is required into the parameters required to optimise the performance of such screw piles during installation and axial loading. The use of instrumentation in centrifuge modelling of screw piles is uncommon and typically restricted to measurements of the axial load via strain gauges installed at discrete intervals on the model pile. The installation torque of these large screw piles is significant, and it is necessary to fully understand the contribution of the different components of the screw pile to the total required installation torque and to improve the prediction of the installation requirements. This paper presents the development of a two-helix model screw pile for centrifuge testing which was instrumented with strain gauges to enable the measurement of installation torque above both helices and below the upper helix of the pile. Results are presented from the centrifuge test programme in sand which show the torque required to install the pile at three different installation advancment ratios.
Craig Davidson; Mike Brown; Yaseen Sharif; Benjamin Cerfontaine
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Session 6: Onshore and offshore foundation systems
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-220