Bridging between fundamental and applied research and engineering practice: some examples from soft soil reclamations and offshore monopile installation

Abstract:
Geotechnical engineering continuously evolves in both practice and academics, requiring the translation of scientific findings into practical applications. Operational feedback is also crucial in understanding fundamental soil behavior. Recent examples illustrate the synergy between soil mechanics research and engineering practice.

One case involved developing a new elasto-viscoplastic model, based on long-term lab testing, to improve creep predictions after soil improvement in reclaimed soft soil. This model, integrated with CPT-based soil conditions and linked to a geospatial database, allowed for large-scale predictions and design validation with monitoring data.

Another case relates to offshore wind farms. Large amounts of operational data can be used as feedback to improve predictions for pile stabbing, pile run and pile driving. However, we cannot do this without a better understanding of soil mechanics such as rate-dependence and viscosity in the dynamic response. Moreover, we are faced with geospatial and model uncertainties. A Bayesian approach is presented to assimilate the available data in predictive models.

To enable a data-informed approach for practical use-cases, processes must integrate the available information, develop and deploy algorithms and train models. Finally, the results need to be usable by practicing engineers for which a platform-based approach geotechnical engineering is presented.