Advanced offshore wind monopile designs aim to enable deeper water installations

Researchers at TU Delft are creating perforated monopile concepts for offshore wind turbines in deeper waters. The RAPID‑Wind project uses high‑resolution simulations on the DelftBlue supercomputer and machine‑learning surrogate models to quickly optimise the number, size and geometry of openings that reduce wave loading while preserving structural integrity.

A separate GustoMSC study highlights that lowering these large‑diameter monopiles on jack‑up vessels is becoming a critical load case. As monopiles reach 10–12 m in diameter and weigh up to 2 500 tonnes, hydrodynamic forces during partial submersion can exceed those on the vessel’s legs, making the monopile the dominant source of horizontal loading. The findings underscore the need to consider the coupled dynamics of the monopile, crane, gripper and jack‑up during installation.

Both efforts aim to expand offshore wind development into deeper sites by improving foundation performance and installation safety.