Influence of Vibrodriver Parameters on Vibrodriveability: A Geotechnical Centrifuge Study

Abstract

The growing size of offshore wind turbine monopiles and environmental concerns have led to reconsideration of their installation method by impact-driving. In comparison, vibratory driving offers the advantages of lower noise emissions, easier scaling up of the hammer, less pile fatigue, potentially quicker installation, and reduced risk of pile-run. However, vibratory driving has not yet been adopted in the majority of industry projects due to a lack of confidence in vibrodriveability analyses and the subsequent lateral behavior. This emerges from a lack of experience and, specifically, the small number of publicly available testing campaigns. This paper presents the results of a testing campaign conducted in a geotechnical centrifuge model of a newly developed miniature vibrodriver for hollow steel piles installed in dense, fine, dry sand. The experimental model allows assessment of the role of vibrodriving parameters, such as frequency, eccentric moment, and static weight, on pile driveability. This parametric study elucidates their interdependent effects and allows a critical examination of the semianalytical models in use in the industry and their assumptions.