SUPPORT FOR OFFSHORE MONOPILE INSTALLATION THROUGH THE TRENCH CUTTER TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

Europe is currently facing an energetic revolution. Several offshore wind farm projects are currently under construction or under planning in North and Baltic Sea. Typical foundation structures for offshore wind farms are steel open-ended monopiles with large diameters up to 6 m. Currently, the monopiles are installed by driving with large impact hammers. However, there are many situations where pile refusal is reached, due to hard soil layers or erratic blocks. Driving and drilling technique is therefore applied. This manuscript briefly describes the trench cutter technology normally used for foundation works on land. Three case histories onshore and one offshore project are discussed and the evolution of the trench cutter technology for supporting the installation of offshore monopile is described.