Plane-strain apparatus to study the effect of Vibrojet® pile installation on soil state
Plane-strain apparatus to study the effect of Vibrojet® pile installation on soil state
ABSTRACT: The demand for quieter pile installation methods to minimise environmental impact is increasing significantly with the growing number of planned offshore wind farms. One of these methods is the Vibrojet® technique, combining an axial vibrational driving force with jetting-reduced resistance. To jet controllably while preserving bearing capacity, it is important to understand the jetting impact in and around the pile. Jetting is commonly used and well-studied within the dredging industry. Vibrational driving is currently being studied all over the world, however, the behaviour of a jet in this pile installation environment is not yet well understood. We present a novel experimental apparatus that allowed us to research this. The apparatus mimics the conditions inside the pile and around the pile tip that occur when installing a pile using the Vibrojet® technique. It enables digital image correlation, conductivity concentration measurements, and pore pressure and total stress measuring. Complementing the description of the apparatus, we provide two examples of how this apparatus has been used in testing. Lessons learned from this study will shed light to other studies where soil-fluid interaction is investigated.
Charlotte Van Verseveld; Cihan Cengiz; Siemen Dasselaar; Liam Griffin; A. R. Piedrabuena; M. Konstantinou; Giulia Macaro
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Special Session 4: Innovative Methods for Offshore Foundation Installation
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-162