Numerical model of a large scale monopile test in non-cohesive soil

Accurate modelling of the pile-soil interaction for offshore support structures is a great challenge for the industry. A main influencing parameter is the installation technique and the effects to the surrounding soil. As the numerical modelling of a pile installation process is time consuming, piles are usually modelled numerically as wished-in-place structures. When using this modelling strategy, the initial soil parameters should be adapted, depending on the installation technique. Especially for offshore piles, there are currently no general approaches to consider these installation effects. In this contribution a brief summary regarding impact and vibratory driven installation and their influence on the lateral load-bearing behavior is given. Furthermore, experimental results as well as a hypoplastic numerical prediction of a large-scale impact driven monopile test are presented and their results are evaluated. Finally, conclusions about the consideration of installation effects when modeling the pile load bearing behavior are drawn.