OFFSHORE STRUCTURES

DESIGN OF SCOUR PROTECTION : EX. 1

Problem characteristics

Monopile foundation in a typical situation in the North Sea.

water depth: 20 m
wave period Tp: 11.2 s
wave height Hs: 6.5 m
cylindrical pile, diameter D=5 m
depth-averaged current velocity Uc= 1.5 m/s
codirectional waves and current (phi=0)
= 1.14 10-6 m/s
seawater = 1026 kg/m

Question

Determine the required stone size D50 of a scour protection around the monopile using 3
different approaches:

1. traditional approach based on amplified bed shear stress and threshold

. Use the formulation by Soulsby to determine the maximum bed
shear stress under a codirectional wave and current loading.

2. design formulae by Soulsby (1997) for the critical stone diameter in current or
waves alone situation, according to the iterative approach by Whitehouse (1998)

3. static design formula by De Vos et al. (2011). You may assume a grading
.

Compute different values of the required stone size D50 for a variation of the
amplification factor in a realistic range. How strongly is each method depending on the
value of the amplification factor ?