Pile Driving Optimisation & Geotechnical knowledge

Advisory services based on our experience

Do you need pile driving equipment for an onshore or offshore installation operation? IQIP’s got you covered. For over 40 years, we have been providing our customers with reliable and state-of-the-art pile driving and advice to make their projects happen. We know that with every piling operation, our customers face multiple challenges to make their project successful. IQIP can support you in tackling these challenges. Our advisory services can calculate the most effective, efficient and safe piling procedures for your project. Besides that, we can advise you and provide you with the most suitable equipment for your piling operations.

Our advisory team provides invaluable support at all levels to help customers reduce and prevent costs and risks by making informed choices at the earliest possible stage. Based on over 40 years of design and installation experience in on- and offshore operations, we offer advisory in several areas, such as:

Geotechnical analyses for foundation installation methods
Hammer selection, drivability analyses and optimised piling procedures tailored to your project
Support with airborne noise and underwater noise assessments
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for design of foundation elements, e.g. Flange Integrity Assessment
Operational analyses for foundation installation methods
Pile Driving Analysis (PDA) and Installation monitoring

Geotechnical investigation for foundation design and installation method

To help customers select the correct hammer for each project, a careful interpretation and assessment of soil properties needs to be conducted. IQIP’s experienced engineers can offer support with pre- or post-pile driving analyses. We use wave-equation analysis software such as GRL WEAP, detailed FEA, and software developed in-house, which we continuously improve based on project experience.

Are you interested? Use our hammer selector to find the right hammer for your project.

Find out more about our hammer selector today!

Find out more about our Hammer selector today!

Finite element analysis (fea) for design of foundation elements

Through Finite Element Analysis (FEA), we can advise on the correct design for foundation elements, which optimises the installation process, as well as the handling of operational loads. For example, IQIP can assist you with the design of your monopiles. The monopile flange design check comprises two sections: the stress and impact analyses for hydraulic impact hammers operating with maximum energy and a stepwise energy increase simulation for drivability. This information is combined in a Finite Element Model. Besides the Finite Element Model, IQIP offers you a fatigue damage calculation. In this way, we can find the most suitable piling method and design for your monopiles.

Optimised piling procedures

Based upon the constraints of a project, IQIP can propose an optimised piling procedure. This considers the soil conditions and pile design for the project. Environmental limits such as noise can also be incorporated, as well as design limits for the foundation itself. Within the piling procedure, more specific site conditions can be taken into account to address the following scenarios:

Stop criteria for drive-drill-drive methods
Pile-run analyses and adapted procedures to minimise pile-runs
Piled driving under an angle, which we called raked piling

Operational analyses for foundation installation methods

IQIP can support you in finding the most suitable foundation installation methods and equipment for your project. For each specific project, a comprehensive time study can be performed for all operational steps of the installation or decommissioning process. The time study is based upon experience, project-specific conditions relating to the foundation vessel and weather conditions. In addition, IQIP can support you with detailed risk analyses and hydrodynamic studies. The results of the hydrodynamic studies can be used as the basis for sea-fastening designs, overboarding methods, mooring analysis and in-vessel design, or as input for other industry functions.

Pile Driving Analysis (PDA) and Installation monitoring

IQIP can facilitate position measurement and dynamic pile monitoring and provide reports of the status for each foundation installed. If applicable, IQIP is able to perform online fatigue monitoring based upon the speed of impact measured for each blow. During or after the project, back analyses can be performed for the benefit of the installation contractor or its principal.