A Study on the Soft Ground Subsidence beneath the Jack-up Rig Working for Offshore Wind Turbine Installation

Abstract

With concern for new renewable energy sources rising, the offshore wind turbine energy market is growing. In order to install offshore wind turbines safely in a harsh environment, jack-up rigs need to be used. Recently, a WTIV(Wind Turbine Installation Vessel), which has a self-propelling system, was developed to replace traditional jack-up rigs. Since the jack-up rig works at 60 meters of depth in offshore and the seafloor is composed mostly of soft clay and sand, it is necessary to conduct a stability examination for ground subsidence before using it. This study conducts an improved numerical analysis of the effect of jack-up rig loading on the soft ground by using FLAC3D considering consolidation theory. This includes analyzing the amount of subsidence when applying different cases of surchargings. It can be concluded that the mid-loading method has an advantage as regards clay layers and the pre-loading method has an advantage as regards sand layers.