Abstract
For the design of monopile foundations, the soil resistance is usually modeled by the subgrade reaction method. The commonly used p-y approach described in the offshore guidelines is generally assumed to be sufficiently accurate for pile diameters D ≤ 2 m. However, several investigations indicate that the pile deflections of large diameter monopiles are underestimated for service loads and overestimated for small operational loads. A three dimensional finite element model is presented to evaluate the currently used p-y approach for sand soils in dependence of pile dimensions and soil's relative density. Modified p-y formulations presented in literature to account for the effect of the pile diameter are compared to the FE results.
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2014. International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers
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