Experimental Study on a Laterally Loaded Pile Under Scour Condition Using Particle Image Velocimetry Technology

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The monopile foundation is a popular foundation type for offshore wind turbines; due to the harsh marine environment, there are lateral loads applied on the monopile foundation from winds and currents, and scouring also often occurs around the pile, reducing the bearing capacity and impacting the normal operation of offshore wind turbines. A series of 1 g model tests is conducted to investigate the lateral load response and scouring response of the monopile in sand. Based on the experimental results, the characteristics of the pile’s load-displacement curves, bending moments, and p-y curves under the effects of scour were analyzed. Particle Image Velocimetry technology was adopted to analyze the deformation development rules of soil particles around the pile. It is found that under the same lateral load, the maximum bending moment of the pile increases and the bearing capacity is reduced as the scour depth increases, the scour width increases, or the scour slope decreases. The effects of scour depth, slope, and width on pile bearing stability decrease successively. Soil displacements and strains in the passive zone in front of the pile develop gradually in both radial and vertical directions.