Effect of scour on the behavior of a combined loaded monopile in sand

Abstract

Pile foundations used for offshore wind structures are subjected to large lateral loading from wind and waves while in service as well as significant vertical loading from the top structure. Erosion of soil from around these structures, termed scour, poses a significant problem for the structural stability. In order to better understand the performance of piles facing scour problems, the effect of local scour on the behavior of mono-piles installed in sand under combined lateral and vertical loading has been investigated using the Finite Element Method (FEM) using PLAXIS in this paper. The simulation results showed that vertical loading can decrease pile lateral displacement and improve the lateral capacity of piles in the absence of scour and under scour. The increase of scour depth will largely reduce lateral capacity of piles.