2019_programme: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF PILE DRIVING DISTURBANCES INTO WATER AND SOIL FOR OFFSHORE WINDFARM CONSTRUCTIONS

• Session: 06. Underwater Noise - Modelling and Measurements
  Organiser(s): Gavrilov Alexander, Skarsoulis Emmanuel, Taroudakis Michael
• Lecture: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF PILE DRIVING DISTURBANCES INTO WATER AND SOIL FOR OFFSHORE WINDFARM CONSTRUCTIONS
  Paper ID: 1043
  Author(s): Marcellin Simon, Chati Farid, Leon Fernand, Diab Daher, Decultot Dominique
  Presenter: Diab Daher
  Presentation type: poster
  Abstract: Underwater noise during offshore wind farm construction goes along with significant disturbances that potentially harm marine mammals in the vicinity. There is limited information on the scale of such disturbances, knowing that each implantation site is different from the other. Therefore, it has become important to lead upstream numerical analysis in order to predict pile driving effects and better understand the physical behavior of radiated acoustic waves. As part of the offshore wind farm project in the area of Dieppe-Le Tréport, in France, 11 monopile foundations were driven into the ground during May 2017, where the sedimentology is the same as the future offshore site. Acoustic measurements have been done to serve as a starting point for the development and calibration of a simple 2D finite element model (FEM) for future offshore implementation. \nWith our 2D FEM model, we predicted and investigated sound pressure level and sound exposure level (SEL) in the water, as well as radial displacement in the different sedimentary layers. We showed that more than half of the radiation in the water comes directly from the seabed itself. We then investigated existing solutions for underwater noise reduction, like an air-bubble curtain or low acceleration pile driving. It showed good results on noise reduction, by lowering the SEL by 10 dB at only 50 meters away (upstream). This is significant information that should be considered when planning offshore pile driving and looking for noise reduction solutions.
    Download the full paper
• Corresponding author: Dr Diab Daher
  Affiliation: Laboratoire Ondes et Milieux Complexes, UMR 6294 CNRS
  Country: France
  e-mail: