NAVITUS BAY OFFSCHORE WIND TURBINE PARK ENGLISH CHANNEL (UNITED KINGDOM)

The underground area which is indicated for wind turbines in the English Channel is, due to tectonics, very complex.

GEO2 Engineering B.V. has carried out the interpretation of high quality soil investigation during the FEED phase, as well as the geotechnical design of various foundation principles including gravity-based structures, monopiles and piled jacket foundations. This was done within the framework of  optimising  the large-scale offshore wind turbine park. The geotechnical design kept in mind the cyclic loading and geotechnical fatigue in the  complex soil conditions. Use was made of the RATZ software programme. The depth of water in the area varies from 30 to 50 meter.

As a part of the ongoing value-engineering investigation, further soil testing was suggested together with a strategically designed field test. Moreover, a number of pile-drive feasibility  analyses were carried out, varying from continuous piling to drill-drive-drill operations.