General Solution for Laterally Loaded Monopile Foundation under Scour

Abstract

Scour is a common phenomenon for laterally loaded underwater piles. The underwater piles used in different projects have different pile head conditions and pile types (flexible and rigid). On the one hand, an increasing number of rigid piles have begun to be used for underwater piles; on the other hand, flexible piles may be transformed into rigid piles after scour. This study presents a general method for laterally loaded monopile foundations (flexible and rigid), with both a free head and a fixed head, based on the curved strain wedge model under scour. The rationality and accuracy of the presented analytical solution are verified by two different case studies. The influence of scour dimension on the response of piles with different pile head conditions and pile types is studied. The results reveal that pile head condition, pile type and scour dimension all have a great influence on monopile response and should all be carefully considered. Under the same conditions as other parameters, monopile with a fixed pile head is less susceptible to scour dimension than monopile with a free head, and flexible monopile is less susceptible to scour dimension than rigid monopile.